The Poonawalla Stud farms were well and truly revolutionising the breeding industry in the country in the eighties. Their trio on stallions – Malvado, Riyahi and Sovereign Silver were virtually dominating the entire buyers' market. If there was colt or filly worth
buying, you could bet your bottom dollar that he or she had been sired by one of these three stallions.
Today, we take a look at Riyahi, an amazing sire whose progeny rarely failed to reproduce their morning workouts. In this respect, they had an uncanny resemblance to the innumerable colts and fillies produced by Grey Gaston in his heyday. Riyahi won two races in France before being retired to stud at an early age of four years. His percentage of success from his first five crops was stunning! He had 63 winners from 66 starters, beat that.
Riyahi was from the last crop of the sire Red God. Prior to the birth of the former, Red God had already produced two champion sires abroad. These were Blushing Groom and Yellow God. Red God himself was sired by the champion Nasrullah. It was evident very early in Riyahi's career as a stallion that the Poonawallas had done their homework well and had hit upon yet another jackpot.
The flood of classic winners that poured from the stables of Riyahi took the country by storm in the mid-eighties. Oxford Blue (14 wins including South India Derby and Mysore Derby), Star Contender (10 wins including Bangalore Derby), Starfire Girl (four wins including Indian Oaks) and Midnight Madness (four wins including Indian Oaks) all
helped to stamp Riyahi's authority over the Indian racing industry.
However, it was the pair of Divine Light and Cordon Bleu which set him apart as a sire 'extraordinaire'. Both these fillies were owned by Dr. Vijay Mallya and under the care
of that Bangalore maestro known as Rashid Byramji. Divine Light won the Bangalore Derby and held the record over the metric mile for several years while Cordon Bleu won the Indian Derby in dramatic fashion in the hands of Irish saddle ace Michael Kinane.
Cordon Bleu (French for blue riband) was out of the mare Deep Water Blues – an out and out stayer. Prior to the Indian Derby, not all was well with her as she was running high temperature. It was in the air that she may be withdrawn before the big race. But run she did and win she did – and how.
Kinane brought the roan with a scintillating run along the rails to peg back the Bezan Chenoy-trained duo of Kir Royale and Enrico, who had threatened to pull it off after heads turned for home. Cordon Bleu displayed immense courage as she devoured ground to bag this coveted prize. She was freely available in the ring at 15/1 on that day.
That unforgettable win of Cordon Bleu went a long way in immortalising the legend of Riyahi – a stallion par excellence.
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