The Making of Becket

(Becket created history by defeating queen filly Jacqueline in the Indian Turf Invitation Cup last Sunday at Mahalaxmi. In an exclusive piece penned for Sunday MiD DAY, Becket’s trainer S Padmanabhan narrates how Becket braved numerous setbacks to achieve the champion status…... )

By S Padmanabhan

After Becket swooped onto Jacqueline to put his head in front at the wire and win the grade 1, Indian Turf Invitation Cup last Sunday, I found myself shaking an unending stream of hands offering congratulations. Though, as professionals, I and jockey Suraj Narredu basked in the glory of the moment, the real credit, to my mind, should have gone to neither of us—but to Becket’s owner Haresh Mehta.

Had it not been for Haresh Mehta’s unquestioning support and unflinching faith, I would not have been able to get Becket right after a series of setbacks that at one time nearly put an end to his racing career. But through every crisis, Haresh showed exemplary patience and understanding, and made available everything that I said I would need, without even inquiring about the cost.

“He is a very special horse,” I had told him as soon as I set eyes on Becket for the first time at the Sohna stud farm, and I meant it. I knew Haresh must have eagerly looked forward to Becket’s debut as a two-year-old.

But Becket showed signs of a back problem soon after he came to my stables in August 2008.

“I am sorry we can’t rush his debut,” I told Haresh, “he will need time to get over it.”

“It’s all right,” Haresh said calmly.

By December the same year, however, Becket improved well and I decided to send him to Mahalaxmi for debut, after which, the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multimillion 2009 would be the obvious target. But a day after arriving at Mumbai, Becket suffered a stress fracture. “I am afraid this looks worse,” I informed the owner, “I am taking him back to Bangalore, he needs a long rest.” “Don’t worry,” replied Haresh, “do what you think is right.”

It took five long months before Becket could be made ready for a late debut on 24 May, 2009 at Bangalore. All looked fine until on the way to the races Becket violently reacted to the loud band playing in the center of the ground, fell on his back and injured himself. It was a freak accident—almost one of a kind, but then it had to happen only with Becket.

This piece of singular bad luck was topped a week later by an injury to his hoof that resulted in a very bad infection. The infection looked so bad, foreign experts I consulted told me Becket may not ever race, and preserving the horse should be our first priority.

I thought of only one man who could perhaps save Becket and his racing career. It was an outside chance, but I had to take it. I thought of Bernard Duvernay, an excellent master farrier from Switzerland whom I hold in very high esteem.

“Go ahead and get him, whatever the cost,” Haresh Mehta told me.

Bernard landed in India after three weeks of intense phone discussions and data sharing about the horse’s condition. In the meanwhile, I could not stand the sight of Becket having to practically stand on three legs. But Bernard did a fantastic job that saw him get back to work in just a week’s time.

However, Becket by this time had missed the entire 2009 Bangalore summer season, and finally, on the last day of September we entered him in a non-descript maiden field at Mysore which he ruthlessly thrashed by ten lengths. We next sent him to Hyderabad in search of a bit more decent company where he crushed his rivals by eight lengths to win the Sohna Stud Million, sponsored by the stud farm where he was born.

It was now time for Becket’s Classic campaign to begin, and we thought of taking the route of the Bangalore 2000 Guineas (December 2009) and the RR Ruia Cup at Mahalaxmi (January 2010), before pitching him in the Indian Derby in February.

However, just on the eve of the final acceptances for the 2000 Guineas, we noticed a swelling on his forelegs, the left looking worse than the right. It turned out to be a bad form of cellulitis.

But by this time I had become an expert in breaking the bad news to Haresh Mehta.

Haresh moved heaven and earth to fly in a special equipment for massaging the affected leg. With it, Becket’s recovery was absolutely miraculous.

God was perhaps tired of testing Becket’s unyielding spirit and his owner’s dogged persistence to make every resource available to get the horse right.

We decided to take the most unconventional route to Classics and gave him a trial race on the new-year day at Bangalore. Like a true champion, he annihilated a class II field mercilessly by six lengths, before winning the Bangalore Derby with utter ease, and leaving for Mahalaxmi.

Although he narrowly went down to the superb Jacqueline in the Derby, he struck back with vengeance to humble her in a decisive manner in the Invitation Cup last Sunday. That was the least he could have done for himself and his owner Haresh Mehta who had stood by him like a rock in every crisis.

(c) Sunday MiD DAY