Pesi's persistence pays

Well begun: Trainer Pesi Shroff, receiving his first trophy of the fresh Mumbai season from Vivek Jain, chairman of Stewards, RWITC, on the opening day [pic by RS Gupta (c) RWITC]

ACE JOCKEY-turned-trainer Pesi Shroff did the incredible at the Mahalaxmi racecourse on Thursday—he led in six winners on a single card, creating a new record for the western India racing circuit! The old record had stood jointly in the name of trainers Imtiaz Sait and Dallas Todywalla who had won five races each on one card.

Shroff's winners were Jacqueline, Petra, Onassis, Astral Flash, Bright Future and Star Alliance, and interestingly, all of them were ridden by foreign jockeys.

Jockey Paul Mulrennan opened Pesi Shroff's account for the day with Vijay Shirke and KN Dhunjibhoy's Jacqueline, who toyed with her solitary rival to win the Maharaja Of Morvi Trophy, the feature event of the day. The same jockey steered another Shroff runner, Petra, for a back to back victory when he bagged the Mayor's Trophy. Immediately in the next race, Brazilian S A DeSousa thrashed a class IV field by six-and-a-half lengths, astride yet another Shroff ward, Onassis, owned by the same owners in partnership with Farouq Rattonsey.

Shroff's fans went delirious with joy after this hat-trick, but soon discovered they had more to cheer about. The next race saw C D Hayes driving Vijay Mallya's Astral Flash, saddled by none other than Shroff, to win the Mathradas Goculdas Trophy as the shortest priced favourite of the day. This victory also created yet another unique record which may not be broken in a hurry. Shroff became the first trainer in history to lead in as winners the first five horses saddled by him in a fresh season.

Shroff's winning juggernaut was halted, albeit temporarily, by none other than his own brother-in-law, trainer Nosher Cama, when Pure Elation decisively beat De Nada (S A DeSousa up). But he soon bounced back winning both the upper and lower divisions of the Ancient Warrior Plate with the Jhangiani family's Bright Future (Paul Mulrennan up) and Vijay Mallya's Star Alliance.

"Destiny has a hand in records of such magnitude," Shroff was modest when speaking to MiD DAY after the races, "such feats can only humble you when you know that you have always worked hard, but luck has chosen this special day for you. I feel especially happy for my staff because their hard work has finally been recognized."

[© MiD DAY]

She was everyone's darling: Pesi Shroff

In happier days: Trainer Pesi Shroff receiving the Kingfisher Derby trophy from Mrs Rekha Mallya after Set Alight's most impressive performance at Bangalore

I managed to reach trainer Pesi Shroff on his cell phone. He was at his stables in Pune. The heartbroken trainer at once confirmed my worst fears that racing career was indeed over for the queen filly.

Here are the Q & A's:

Prakash Gosavi: Pesi, is it true?

Pesi Shroff: Yes, it is.

PG: How did this happen?

PS: It's a ligament tear. It happened some time ago. She was being treated and we hoped it would stay contained. It was a very small lesion, but has increased in size. That's when we took the decision not to run.

PG: How is she (Set Alight) now?

PS: She's fine--she is right here in front of me as I am talking to you. She is fine otherwise--looking fine, eating well. But we can't risk her. Not after she has had such a fine career behind her. We sure were looking forward to the Invitation Cup, but we cannot sacrifice her for our own egos or to prove a point. She's had a hard racing career, she never shied away from challenge when she was fit--and she deserves to be treated with respect. She is going to stud.

PG: Has Dr Vijay Mallya been informed?

PS: Yes.

PG: What was his reaction?

PS: He is a seasoned horse owner. She has been a very special filly for all of us, and it's a unanimous decision.

PG: Today's the first day of the new year Pesi, and I am sure every race lover's heart is going to bleed for her after hearing this sad news...

PS: You are right, Prakash. Rarely a horse gets such love and adulation from almost every racing fan. And I must also say rarely a horse deserves it all. She was really everybody's darling--and I feel there is going to be that small corner in everybody's heart which she's always going to occupy.

Tought for food

To know how our jockeys react to food before and after retirement, check this article out:

Butter chicken as pension

"Luck of the race will be crucial": Pesi Shroff

Can he do it again? Pesi Shroff, trainer of winner Set Alight, receiving the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby 2008 from Mrs Rekha Mallya last year [Pic: RacingPulse.In]

The Kingfisher Bangalore Derby is no strange event for Pesi Shroff. He has left his mark on its hallowed scroll of honour both as a rider and trainer.

Interestingly, Shroff, India's most celebrated rider, had won every coveted race in the Indian racing calendar in the first ten years of his riding career--except the Bangalore Derby! The race that eluded him for 10 years, he finally won in 1993 with Vijay Mallya's Littleover, trained by Rashid Byramji, beating Dr MAM Ramaswamy's even-money favourite Generous Patron which was ridden by Robin Corner. Pesi later won the event three more times--with Cape Dance (1994), Classical Act (2002) & Fantabulous King (2004).

After hanging up the riding boots and donning the training cap in 2005, however, Shroff did not waste time in attacking this race. In his third year as trainer, he brought the promising Set Alight to Bangalore last year and won the race in what was the biggest margin of victory (22 lengths) in the history of this race.

This Sunday, Shroff has two runners--Jacqueline & Astral Flash--in the line up for the Kingfisher Derby. Jacqueline is winner of the grade 1, Fillies Trial Stakes in which, grapevine has it that Pesi himself was undecided as to who was better of the two, until a small misfortune forced Astral Flash to withdraw from the fray.

"I am unable to prefer one to the other, and I don't wish to," Pesi Shorff told me over the phone an hour ago, "you see, both my fillies are doing well. Jacqueline has come up furhter after her Fillies' victory. Astral Flash is also doing exceedingly well in preparation."

On asked if he has planned any strategy for the race, Shorff answered in the negative. "No. Both are good fillies in their own right, and they will run their own race," he said, before adding, "however, I think luck of the race will be a big factor this time," possibly rererring to the full house field of 18 runners that is bound to force all jockeys to be at their most alert state to guard against traffic problems.

Horse identifiers

Seen here are KN Dhunjibhoy (left) and wife Deepa, leading in the Banaglore Fillies' Trial winner Jacqueline (M Narredu up), with trainer Pesi Shroff on Sunday. [Pic: RacingPulse.In]

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Uploaded on Race TV: For another Friday (Handicapping day), we have uploaded a film "Class, Pace & Trip: The Big 3 factors" on the Friday section of your Race TV channel on Toolbar.

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Royal Ascot racing: A link to the complete card for Royal Ascot is provided on your toolbar. Enjoy!

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What do they do to identify that the right horse is running in the race, and not some lookalike?

Every race club has some system and procedure in place to ensure that your money rides on the horse you meant to risk it on. The people, whose job it is to identify the right horse are called just that--horse identifiers.

In today's Knowledge-day video (Wednesday section on your Race TV on toolbar), we feature a special short clip that shows you how they do it. Check it out.

My take on Set Alight's run in the Derby

Please click on the picture to enlarge the image, in case the red marker post and the coded time stamp is not seen clearly.

Query by Mr Anonymous on the jockey Srinath article thread:

Mr Gosavi this interview is very good. If nothing else it puts forward very well what can be called minority point of view. But may i ask you a question mr gosavi why are you shying away from giving your own personal opinion of the race? Where is your reading of the derby? I checked last weeks all middays and I have not found anything except the article on monday after the derby.

Dear Mr Anonymous, 

I believe in talking BEFORE the event, rather than later, because I strongly believe in William Cowper’s famous quote: “Every fool is wise after the event.” 

Another thing I have believed all my life is that what they taught us at school was wrong. They taught us man is a ‘rational’ animal. I beg to differ. 

Man is not a rational animal; man is a ‘rationalizing’ animal. 

I fancy myself as a writer first and a reporter later. So I am happy to be in a profession where I have to first write my opinion (before the race), and report the quotes and result (after the race).  If you have followed my writings over the past two decades, in the rare instances when I wrote against a professional or even the race club, I first put on the table credible proof and only then raised questions. 

Now, in the Set Alight case, I will tell you what I said, wrote or expressed as my opinion BEFORE the race: 

I was, perhaps, the only one from the media who thought Set Alight was not as great NOW as she was being made out to be. In my preview article in MiD DAY (Advantage Set Alight), I talked about it. She certainly did not have the kind of form on which she built up her reputation last year. In the same article, I also pointed out that she had peaked too early as a three-year-old, and any horse that shows precocious talent of such magnitude is bound to regress in form. I also said her latest performances on the Mahalaxmi track were not exactly sizzling, and that it may turn out to be a close race for her.

However, as a danger to Set Alight, I never looked beyond Autonomy. The only problem I had with Autonomy was his jockey. I have many times made clear that I don’t believe in the adage ‘horses for courses’ as much as I believe in ‘jockeys for courses’. During the pre-Derby press conference I had expressed my apprehensions about Richard Hughes even to trainer Bezan Chenoy in an informal chat. Hughes may be a very good or great rider on his home tracks, but he has always been just about an average rider on the Mahalaxmi track. Worse, the only Derby win he figures in on this track was not won by him for the horse, but rather won by the horse for Hughes. As a rider he made a perfect mess of the situation, and only a courageous horse like Smart Chieftan could have bailed out himself and his rider in the last 50 meters, as he did. On top of it, when Bezan told me that Hughes was going to land here on the morning of D day, I felt now there was perhaps no threat for Set Alight, as I had completely ignored Antonio’s chances. (Mr Meherboon Irani, stock broker, may testify about this discussion if he chooses.)

Another thing. When I first read on Indiarace that Malesh was to ride Set Alight, I immediately called a common friend, Mahendra Mallya, Indiarace correspondent (I did not even have Malesh’s number—this is for those who think I hold a brief on Malesh’s behalf) and told him to ask Malesh to reconsider the decision. “Malesh has nothing to gain and everything to lose,” these were my precise words, “if she wins, it’s all Set Alight & Pesi, but if she loses, it’s going to be only Malesh Narredu—that’s how everybody is going to react.”

Well, Mahendra Mallya is my friend, so the credibility of this incident may be challenged. All right, you may ask Pradumna Singh, senior stipendiary steward of RWITC, to whom I repeated the exact same words when we were discussing Set Alight & Derby two days BEFORE the race. 

I even publicly put a question to Pesi Shroff at the pre-derby press conference if he thought Set Alight today was the same filly that won the Bangalore summer derby. I was clearly talking about her form, but Shroff took the question in a lighter vein, and chose to reply: “Well, just before coming here form the stables, I had a good look at her, and to me, she looked the same.” Needless to say, there was a hearty laughter in the audience for that witty reply, but now, with the benefit of hindsight, that was perhaps the only right question asked BEFORE the event.

Now, about my reading of the race, which being a personal opinion, may be open to debate, but I will try to ensure, as is my habit, to talk only of the ‘facts’, as far as possible—so the debate will not degenerate into a brawl. 

Maybe because the race clocked record time (by the way, n number of races have done that, especially this season, so that’s hardly an important factor, I think), the first ‘instinctive’ reaction of everyone is to blame the jockey for going ‘with the pace’, making assumption that initial pace of a race that breaks course record must be lightning fast. 

What if this assumption is WRONG? What if the pace, instead of being lightning fast, was actually very slow for a race like the Derby? I know this might come as a shock to most, but here is the truth. 

The initial pace in the Derby was very slow, almost leisurely, and the first six furlongs were clocked in exactly 1:15.05 seconds—you read it right, worse than the time a bottom class field would clock on this track. 

Don’t believe it? Okay, here are the timings of ALL the class V races run over 1200m this season until the Derby weekend:

Race# 2: 1:12.39

Race# 10: 1:12.28

Race# 11: 1:13.74            

Race# 12: 1:13.85

Race# 38: 1:14.41            

Race# 39: 1:13.83            

Race# 77: 1:13.62            

Race# 78: 1:13.55

Race# 95: 1:14.34            

Race# 97: 1:13.81            

Race# 108: 1:13.05          

Race# 115: 1:14.50

Race# 153: 1:12.95          

Race# 164: 1:14.14          

Race# 165: 1:15.05  

Have a good look at these figures. Ten of the 15 races for bottom class horses on this track have clocked less than 1:14, and the slowest time—now this gets real interesting—is the same as the pace of the grade 1, Indian Derby at the half-way mark! 

Now tell me, by any stretch of imagination, can you call it lightning fast?

Very fast?

All right, ……..fast?

See the point? 

Okay, looking at the last couple of figures in that list, some may argue that the six furlongs timings were perhaps getting slower as the season progressed. Let’s then blow that myth too. 

Let’s look at the track condition that prevailed on the Derby weekend. There were no Class V, 1200m races on the Derby day, but there were two a day before. Now look at those timings: 

Race# 181: 1:12.98

Race# 182: 1:12.53 

So, whichever way you look at it, the “alleged” fast initial pace, due to which Set Alight’s chances got blown away because Malesh Narredu stalked it, turns out to be an illusion. At best, it was a leisurely pace (a point I made in my MiD DAY column next day, refer “I had a gut feeling..”), and at worst, it was a very slow pace if you judge by the standards of a race like the Indian Derby. Any student of pace handicapping will tell you that the right thing for the jockey to do in a very slow pace is either to be as close to the pace as possible, or get into striking position before the race takes a serious turn. It is ironical Narredu is being crucified for doing precisely that. 

Coming back to the latter half of the race, let’s put things in perspective now. Here are split timings of the latter half of the race at various markers: 

Marker          Pace             Set Alight                Antonios

1200m         1:15.05          1:15.38                  1:15.76

1000m        1:27.09           1:27.61                  1:28.03

800m:         1:40.05          1:40.37                  1:40.67                 

600m:         1:52.91          1:52.91                  1:53.27

400m:         2:04.80          2:04.80                  2:05.25

200m:         2:16.43          2:16.43                  2:16.72

WP:            2:28.58          2:28.84                 2:28.58 

We have seen that the pace was leisurely until halfway; now focus on another interesting fact, from 1200m marker until the 200m marker, Set Alight has taken 61.38 seconds (2:16.43s minus 1:15.05s), which again, on this fast track, cannot be said to be suicidal. 

On the Mahalaxmi track, one of the most authentic tests of the physical condition of a horse is its ability to put in a sub-12 (a furlong in under 12 seconds) gallop in at least two of the last four furlongs. And if the horse is classy, like Set Alight, it would easily do three sub-12 numbers in that zone. 

With this in mind, let’s go for the pace within the race, and closely inspect the last four furlongs, the most controversial part of the trip as far as Narredu’s ride is concerned, because that’s where he chose to go ahead and lead the pack (between 800 & 600), and then kept going till the 200m marker where Set Alight still looked like a winner, before running out of steam in the last furlong when Antonios made a sitting duck out of her. 

                           8-600     6-400   4-200   200-WP

Set Alight             12.54     11.89     11.63     12.41    

Antonios              12.60     11.98     11.47      11.86 

It would also be revealing to check Set Alight’s Ruia Cup numbers, and juxtapose them with her Derby numbers: (Her Ruia Cup victory was effortless, in record time, and her own timings at 800m onwards were:  1:14.45, 1:26.23, 1:37.81, 1:48.97, 2:01.15) 

Translated to seconds, the comparison looks like this:

                                8-600     6-400     4-200     200-WP

Set Alight  Ruia           11.78     11.58     11.16     12.18   (3 sub-12s, including an exceptional 11.16)

(400m extra)   Derby    12.54     11.89     11.63     12.41    (2 sub-12s, found wanting when asked for the 3^rd) 

It is a matter of conjecture why Set Alight on this occasion, despite racing in leisurely pace, could not produce three sub-12s in the last four furlongs. The reasons, generally, are lack of class, health or stamina. 

Since we all know Set Alight is stuffed with class every ounce, it could be either health or stamina.

If it is health, she may not race for a long time now; if it is stamina, we will have to wait for confirmation until she runs 12 furlongs or more against worthy rivals. 

I will wait until then before making further comments on this issue.  

Special note: It is possible Pesi Shroff too believes Narredu lost the race ‘out of the gates’ only because his belief is based on the perception of a fast pace leading to the record timing. It is possible his belief was further strengthened when one of the race books printed at Bombay last Sunday carried erroneous split timings for the Derby—listing 1:13.02 as half time (1200m) instead of 1:15.05, a difference of over 2 seconds! It may not be just a co-incidence that Shroff, who kept silent through the week, chose to speak about it only after a week. I feel so because knowing Pesi, the last thing he would do is to blame someone else for a horse's failure. My only feeling is he has done it--if at all those are his exact words--because maybe he is misled about the pace scenario of the race. I shall know when I meet him next, and if it must be reported, I will do it in this blog.

 

Advantage Set Alight

Punching for home: Jockey Chris Hayes strikes a dynamic winning pose on Set Alight near the finish of the Gitanjali Indian 1000 Guineas, grade 1  [pic: rwitc archives]

All roads will lead to Mahalaxmi this Sunday; and all eyes--and most of the money--will be on Set Alight.

The experts' verdict is almost unanimous, and Set Alight, who is still unbeaten with ten victories from as many starts, is expected to romp home in style, and stake a worthy claim to the title of an 'all time great' filly, if not the greatest. The 67th running of the country's premier racing event, Indian Derby (grade 1), is scheduled at 5.05 pm at the Mahalaxmi racetrack on Sunday (April 12). For Vijay Mallya, who sponsors this race through his flagship UB group for a straight 25th year this time, nothing can match the joy of leading in his own filly, Set Alight, as winner of the Derby.

There is no doubt that on the strength of her past performance, Set Alight towers over her rivals and has absolutely super credentials to win the Derby. But will she make it a one-horse race as is widely believed by the experts? "Yes," says everybody; "Perhaps not," says yours truly. While she looked absolutely invincible when she won the Bangalore Summer Derby in July last year, the same cannot be said--at least with the same confidence--now when her biggest race is just round the corner. What has changed since then? I will try to answer that question.

As is the case with any precocious talent, Set Alight peaked a bit too early as a three-year-old. The Bangalore summer Derby margin of 14 lengths to the runner up and more than 20 lengths to the field amply illustrates this fact. No three year old has displayed that kind of contempt for rivals when winning in record time. No wonder, the superlatives flew in from all directions and Set Alight, at the biological age of barely two years and two months, was already being extolled as the greatest filly to have graced the Indian turf. The question to ask now is does she still maintain that peak form? Or has she regressed a bit over the last six months especially after catching the epidemic fever at Pune in October of last year?

It's true that she never needed to work up sweat during her last three victories at Mahalaxmi, but they were not exactly sizzling performances. She was a street ahead of her rivals then, and maybe she is still several lengths ahead of most of them even now. But there will be one horse--Autonomy--who was not among her conquests when she was in exceptional form, and who is the only horse she had lost to on the track before winning the race back in the stewrads' room. Will she treat him with as much disdain as she is used to? 

No, if jockey Richard Hughes changes his tactics--rides Autonomy off-the-pace and settles him in mid-bunch--until the final bend. Then, it could be a closer contest. But if Hughes sticks to his 'with the pace' strategy, it might be a one-horse affair as expected by one and all.

Having said that, with only two days to go for the D-day, the advantage lies clearly with Set Alight.

(MiD DAY, April 11, 2009)

"She's the best I have owned": Vijay Mallya

Dr Vijay Mallya leading in Set Alight (C Hayes up) after her victory in the grade 1, Gitanjali Indian 1000 Guineas at the Mahalaxmi racetrack on Sunday, March 1, 2009

"I think she's the best filly I have owned," said Dr Vijay Mallya, who owns Set Alight, winner of the Gitanjali 1000 Guineas run at the Mahalaxmi racetrack yesterday. He was responding to a question put to him by race caller Mahendra Mallya during the trophy presentation ceremony. Minutes earlier, queen filly Set Alight, one of the shortest-priced winners in the history of the Indian 1000 Guineas, had demolished a decent set of challengers that included the Bangalore Derby winner Icebreaker and seven other rivals. In the hands of foreigner CD Hayes, the Pesi Shroff trainee raced in mid-bunch for most of the mile trip, moved up on tight reins to draw alongside Icebreaker (David Allan up) at the 200-meter marker, and then skipped away to a lengthening two-and-a-half-length victory in the smart time of 1 minute 35.59 seconds.

Vijay Mallya went on to explain how special Set Alight is for him. "When I say she's the best, that's saying a lot, because I have been particularly lucky with fillies as four of my five Indian Derby winners have been fillies," he elaborated, "this one (Set Alight) is special because I had also owned her mother (Set Aside)."  

Mallya obviously has reason to be thrilled by Set Alight's Derby prospects. Set Alight will be the first serious contender from the Mallya camp after a virtual drought of eight long years. His last Derby victory was gained by Storm Again in 2001, after which none of the Mallya horses figured even as contenders for the the biggest race that is sponsored by none other than Mallya's own UB Group. Set Alight has not only ended that long drought, but she is now also a strong ante post favourite for the McDowell Indian Derby to be run on April 12.

All round praise

Everyone from the Gitanjali chief honcho Mehul Choksey to special guest and former film actress Poonam Dhillon was all praise for the queen filly. "I enjoyed watching Dr Mallya's horse winning in a such great fashion," said Choksey, while Poonam Dhillon said she was totally absorbed by such a thrilling contest, adding, "now I know why people get addicted to this wonderful sport."

Set Alight was bred at the Usha stud farm, perceived as arch rival of the Poonawalla stud farm since the two breeding establishments have traditionally fought for the top spot in this sport in India. However, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of RWITC and chief of the Poonawalla stud, was magnanimous in praising his arch rival's superstar: "She (Set Alight) is a champion," he said, "and to know whether she's one of the all-time-greats, we will have to wait for her to run the Derby."

Ameeta Mehra, owner of Usha stud where Set Alight was bred in 2005, said she was amazed by Set Alight's progress and thrilled by her performance. Ameeta also has another reason to smile as Autonomy, who won the MiD DAY trophy recently and will be a front-line contender for the Johnny Walker Indian 2000 Guineas to be run next Sunday, is also bred by her. 

Phenomenale in the 2000 Guineas fray

By the way, Pesi Shroff, who has given ample joy to breeder Ameeta Mehra by training Set Alight so wonderfully, is all set to thwart the march of her other hope, Autonomy, trained by none other than Bezan Chenoy. Interestingly, Shroff, as a jockey, had parted company with trainer Bezan Chenoy in not-so-amiable atmosphere 20 years ago, after winning two back-to-back Derbies with his horses Enterprising (1984) & Revelation (1985). And the galloping talent that Shroff is planning to unleash against Autonomy in the 2000 Guineas is none other than the number two filly in his yard, Phenomenale, reportedly the costliest got-abroad import who won the Nanoli Pune Derby in only the third start of her career. Phenomenale is owned jointly by the Poonawallas and Rattonseys. 

When I asked Pesi Shroff, he confirmed, "Yes, Phenomenale will run in the 2000 Guineas."