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.

An open letter to trainer Satish Narredu

Sprint Star with the Narredu brothers: Malesh (atop horse) and trainer Satish (right)

Dear Satish,

I am sorry if this letter hurts you, but I must say what I must, mustn’t I? (Three ‘must’s in once sentence? What has happened to me?)

And what the heck! It’s meant to hurt you—plain and simple.

It’s all because of you (and that Sprint Star of yours).

What business did you have to enter that horse for a mile race in the first place? And if you had plans to enter him in the Classics, why was he named “Sprint” star?

Your brother has always been accused of fooling the public. No wonder he was your collaborator in this coup. Shame on you and shame on your brother.

The less said about your brother, the better. He had no business to win two plum Classics back-to-back in a matter of eight days. Who does he think he is? Calvin Borel?

Didn’t you realize we all great tipsters had tipped Aboline as a near-certainty for the race? Don’t you know it is our job to decide which is the best horse in a race? It’s just that we don’t always agree, or there is actually no reason to run a race in the first place. If our first three choices could be identical, the race clubs have agreed to directly give away the prizes in the paddock instead of making the horses run on the racetrack. Don’t you believe this? SMS me your fax number, and I will send you a copy of the letter written by the Turf Authority to our racing journalists’ association.

You have rubbed us the wrong way, and you will pay the price, Satish.

We have already ridiculed your winner, called you a liar and a red-boarder, and that’s only for starters. (In case you don’t know what is meant by redboarder, it’s a term used for people who claim ‘after the race’ that they had predicted the winner ‘before the race’).

We did not spare even the Indian Derby winner (Antonios) for beating our darling Set Alight. As you know, there was a story in every angle connected with Antonios’ victory—from owners who won two back to back Derbies with unfancied horses, to a septuagenarian trainer who won his first Derby in 1973 (that’s 36 years ago!) reviving his luck in an incredible way, to a Brazilian rider who converted a chance ride into Derby glory—but we just blanked them all out.

We had talked about Set Alight ad infinitum before the race, so we made sure everybody kept on talking about Set Alight ad infinitum after the race. That’s our power for you.

Antonios’ owner—Farouq Rattonsey—at least had the decency to admit he did not have the guts to say so although he personally fancied the horse’s chances. A lesser sin compared to yours, Satish.

You are really rubbing it in when you say that you were ‘very confident’ of winning the race. Some others are pointing out that for anyone with racing knowledge, Sprint Star’s mock race was a clear indication that the horse could upset. Why, in fact one of us writers—a blogger by the name Tiger—actually mentioned BEFORE the race that only Sprint Star was the horse to spoil Aboline’s party, a sin for which we fellow writers will never forgive him.

In fact, we have already called for an emergency meeting of all race writers to urge disciplinary action against this man. That should tell you we don’t even spare our own men who commit this unspeakable crime, so who do you think you are Mr Satish Narredu?

On behalf of the racing journalists’ association of India, I warn you to make the following corrections to your functioning style immediately, failing which, I am afraid the responsibility for the consequences will lie solely with you.

i) Not to give misleading names to horses owned or trained by you.

ii) If the first demand is not met, then at least not to enter a horse named ‘Sprint Star’ in a race beyond 1,400m and a horse named ‘Waiting For Cows To Come Home’ in a race under 1,200m.

iii) Not to enter horses in Classics.

iv) And if you enter, then not to win.

v) And if you enter and win, then not to give post race interviews.

vi) And if you enter and win and give post race interviews, then not to make a statement that you strongly fancied the horse.

vii) And if you enter and win and give post race interviews and say that you always fancied the horse, then you must produce the winning tote tickets or a Xerox copy of a bookmaker’s sheet to support your claim, failing which we reserve our right (and might) to go after you as we please.

Prakash Gosavi

(Self-appointed) President of the (non-existent) Racing Journalists’ Association of India

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.

 

"Antonios is a worthy champion": Srinath

On Wednesday (April 15), a friend called me to say, "Jockey Srinath is very upset about the way people are reacting after Set Alight's loss in the Derby. Would you lke to speak to him?" "Sure," said I, "give me his phone number." 

This article is based on the talk I had with the ace jockey--only, I have put it in the first-person version so that readers can have a feel of Srinath directly talking to them on one-on-one basis.

By Y S Srinath

When I was at the track yesterday morning, a senior racegoer who is pally with professionals asked me, "So tell me, by how many lengths would you have won if you were riding Set Alight?" "Are you out of your mind?," I shot back, "what makes you think she could have won?" 

A colleague then told me that a huge controversy had developed over the last 48 hours about Malesh Narredu's handling of Set Alight, in the press and on internet forums, and suggested I should read all about it. And now, after reading the stuff, all I can say is that I am absolutely disgusted! Every idiot who does not understand racing and riding has used and abused the freedom of expression, sadly, under the cover of anonymity that the internet offers, in vilifying the man (Narredu) who rode one of the best races under the circumstances. 

I should know, because I was in the race, riding Oaks winner Riyasat, and I have also watched the video a number of times. Here is my reading of the race. 

First, Set Alight was a bit too hyper in the paddock parade. Maybe the heat and the crowd, in a way, got to her. She jumped smartly, but was too keen, almost in a hurry! In the video you can see her mouth was open for the first couple of furlongs and she didn't want to be restrained. It was as if she wanted to get over and done with this race as soon as possible. I think Malesh did a splendid job in that he still managed to calm and settle her well, although I am sure no jockey would like to be so close to the pace in a mile-and-a-half race. But then, the last thing a jockey wants is to antagonize a strong-willed horse.

I had settled Riyasat way off the pace and I was having a good look at all the runners ahead of me, and especially Set Alight and Autonomy, who were perceived as the main two contenders. After the halfway mark, Autonomy hurriedly improved and got alongside Antonios who too had made steady progress from mid-bunch to be in striking position around the turn. 

At the final turn, I saw Abs Fabs and Go Guzzi Go, at the head of the pack, starting to fall back and a gap opened for Set Alight and Malesh. In retrospect, I think this was a crucial moment, and Malesh surely did the right thing by asking her to take that gap, and not stay with this duo who fell back so alarmingly, they finished in the last four. It is unfortunate that Set Alight, already very keen and impatient by this time, perhaps misinterpreted this signal (horses do it more often than you might think), and spurted ahead with such energy that I instantly had an inkling she could be collared near home if she spends all of it. And when I saw Antonios gaining momentum with every stride in the final furlong, I knew the result of the race. 

Later, when I watched the race on video, I realised what a worthy winner Antonios actually was. He had a rough passage, met with interference at an extremely crucial juncture before the turn, but still managed to unleash a terrific burst to win decisively by a length-and-a-half, and that too, in record time! I have no doubt if he had a clear passage, the margin would have been much bigger. 

The sorriest aspect of this whole, needless controversy is that in all the noise made by people who are clearly talking through their pockets, racing fraternity has missed a great opportunity to applaud a real hero, Antonios, and his connections--owners and especially the trainer, whose hard work, toil and training made it possible for a 50 to 1 shot to get into the Derby scroll of honour.

"Had a gut feeling--but didn't have the guts.": Farouq Rattonsey

A jubilant Farouq K Rattonsey leading in Derby winner Antonios (SA DeSousa up) along with trainer S S Shah (extreme left)  [pic: rwitc archives]

The grade 1, McDowell Signature Indian Derby maintained its reputation as graveyard of the favourites for the straight ninth year when the SS Shah-trained rank outsider Antonios stunned piping-hot favourite public fancy Set Alight to claim the richest prize in the Indian turf history. Ridden to perfection by Brazilian rider SA DeSousa, the Nanoli-stud bred four-year-old colt earned a back-to-back Derby victory for the Rattonsey family who had just last year tasted their first success with Hotstepper.

The ecstasy of the moment hit the owners--JK Rattonsey, Farouq Rattonsey & Hussain Nensey--so hard, the otherwise sober trio went wild with joy and put in an extempore bhangda performance with their family and supporters, and Khushroo Dhunjibhoy's Nanoli camp on the first deck of the members' enclosure. Interestingly, when Hotstepper had won this race last year beating hot favourite Bourbon King, Farouq Rattonsey had given an exclusive interview to MiD DAY before the race and had confidently predicted his horse would win the race. 

When asked yesterday if he had fancied his chances this time, he confessed to MiD DAY, "To tell you the truth, I had a gut feeling we could win, but did not have the guts to say so." The moot point is even if Rattonsey had shouted from the rooftops like last time, nobody would have perhaps taken him seriously--Antonios ran friendless at the odds of 50 to 1. Hussain Nensey, Rattonsey's partner, said, "I thought we had a small, outside chance, so why not be there?" His instinct apparently forced to him to take a flight from Dubai to Mumbai 

The 15 runners were flagged off about 15 minutes later than the scheduled time, and strangely, Set Alight (M Narredu up) found herself in front, on the heels of Go Guzzi Go (I Chisty up) who, contrary to expectations, set a leisurely pace. Antonios (SA DeSousa up) chose to race in mid-bunch, while Autonomy (R Hughes up) was ridden way off the pace. The pace suddenly stepped up after the half-way mark, and Set Alight wasted no time in taking charge on rounding the bend, while Autonomy had moved up rapidly to make his bid, with Antonios on his outside. However, none of them made any impression until the final furlong marker, and the massive crowd started chanting "Set Alight" to cheer up the favourite who looked like sailing for an easy victory. But with Autonomy throwing in towel, SA DeSousa atop Antonios charged at Set Alight with renewed vigour and gathered such momentum that he practically flew past set alight barely 30 meters from home, but still spared a good length and a half to her at the wire.

Brazilian jockey DeSousa who gave a dream ride to Antonios, however, refused to take any credit for the victory. "The whole credit goes to trainer Shah," he said in a post-race interview, "this (Antonios) is not a horse, this is a machine, a perfect machine created by his trainer, and I just operated it." Farouq Rattonsey chimed in endorsing the jockey's view, "We owe this success to Shahsaab and his assistant Ms Roxanne, both of whom have taken great pains to get the horse at this mark," he said.

(MiD DAY, April 13, 2009)

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)