Praiseworthy efforts by Nargolkar and Mukhi 

By Sharan Kumar

April  6, 2004

Hot on the heels of the publication of Indian Bloodstock Review 2004 by Anil Mukhi, a book on the champion horses in the country who have left an indelible mark on Indian racing has been brought out in an attractive get up. Called ``A Legacy of Champions’’, the book, published by bloodstock agent Gautham Kothwal is written by Maj Nargolkar who was the Keeper of the Indian Stud Book. The book chronicles the champion Indian horses, which have won the Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup during its 41 years of running. The book does not restrict itself to giving a narration of the prestigious race but goes beyond. It attempts to build the story of each of these champions, their formative years and the lead up to their performance in the event to determine the champion of champions. Each of the articles contains interesting anecdotes as well as detailed pedigree analysis. 

In a compilation of a book of this nature, minor errors are bound to creep up. Having noticed some of them, the publisher could have done well to add a page incorporating the corrections because a serious student of the sport, referring to this book at a later date, may miss the errors. For example, the original owner of celebrated horse Running Flame has been given as R K Jain, but it was in fact owned by S P Khetan and given on racing lease/sale to trainer Padmanabhan. Dr Cyrus Poonawalla has won the Invitation Cup either in his own colours or in partnership thrice at the time of the publication of the book but this fact has not been highlighted. May be the publishers could incorporate the corrections if and when they to bring out the second edition because the book has a reference value to the student of Indian racing history. All said and done, Maj Nargolkar deserves wholesome praise for compiling a beautiful book in so short a time. Nargolkar was frank enough to say that he had done his best given the constraints of time as also the fact that he had to rely so much on information gathered from various agencies which could be open to dispute. Maj Nargolkar put it succinctly when he said: ``An attempt has been made to put on record the facts and stories of the 41 years of the running of Indian Turf Invitation Cup’’. There is always scope for improvements and value additions.

The Indian Bloodstock Review, compiled by Anil Mukhi, himself a bloodstock agent, restricts itself to providing statistical highlights apart from tracing the pedigree of the horses which have won graded races in India. Elaborating as to why he undertook the work, Anil Mukhi said: ``As one professionally involved with the Indian Turf for over 25 years, I have been acutely conscious of the dearth of information regarding Indian horse racing and breeding. For example, how do our top races compare financially with similar races elsewhere in the world? What are the detailed results of such races (placed horses, connections, margins, odds, etc.)? What are the pedigrees of the top Indian horses (i.e. winners of Graded races)? Which stallions stand commercially at stud in India? At present, there is no single source for this information and the book is an attempt at this direction.``

``With this in mind, my wife and I decided to put together a compilation and hence was born the Indian Bloodstock Review. We intend to make this an annual and have plans for vast improvements for subsequent editions. The present effort is a modest one from the production point of view, but we felt that it was necessary to show what sort of material could be presented and hence, rather than delaying publication in the quest for production values, decided to go ahead at short notice. ``

``I am pleased to state that the response, in particular that from abroad, has been most gratifying.`` Purchasers have commented: "I did not even know you had horse racing in India". If the Review serves to educate, and to promote our bloodstock abroad, it will have fulfilled its purpose.’’ Since Mukhi is also an excellent writer, one would expect him to come out with books not restricted to statistics alone but bringing out the exciting facets of Indian racing given the voluminous data that is at his command.

The dearth of literature on Indian racing has affected international awareness of the quality of Indian racing and bloodstock. These two books should help significantly in altering the perception about Indian racing abroad. James Underwood, Editor, European Racing and Breeding Digest put it aptly: `` One can only welcome Srinivas Nargolkar’s ``A Legacy of Champions’’ with great enthusiasm, for so little of India’s turf history has been adequately chronicled in recent years. In this volume, the winners of India’s supreme annual test, the equivalent of Europe’s Arc De Triomphe or Ascot’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, are given their deserved recognition in a work produced with the meticulousness that I have learned to expect from the author through his contribution to my own publications.’’

The books can be obtained at the following address:

A copy of ``Legacy of Champions'' can be obtained from:
GSK International, 
Mayfair Building, 
79 C Veer Nariman Road, 
Churchgate, Mumbai 400 020, India.
e-mail: gskinternational@rediffmail.com

The Indian Bloodstock Review 2004 can be obtained through:

Anil Mukhi, 
Indian Turf Services,
Ist Floor, RNA House, 
Veer Nariman Road,
Bombay MH 400 023.

e-mail: turfserve@hotmail.com