|
The trio that stand out from his long list of achievers are Mystical, Smart Chieftan and Own Opinion. It remains a mystery how Mystical missed out on the most important race of all – The Indian Derby. The duo which finished ahead of him, Velvet Rope and Holding Court, cannot be considered among the all time greats. As such, one is inclined to rate Indian Triple Crown winner Smart Chieftan ahead of him. Own Opinion of course ran with the crème de la crème of Indian racing and has to be rated as the country’s best horse ever on a hypothetical ‘rating-by-size’ scale. The pocket-sized dynamite could carry crushing imposts and still give his rivals a beating. But more about him later, let’s deal with Smart Chieftan first.
Smart Chieftan was a gelding sired by the prolific stallion Placerville (who stands at the Poonawalla Stud farm) out of the mare Stunning, which incidentally makes the current Bangalore based filly Change Of Luck a full-sister to him. In the Leger earlier this year, this filly got the better of the indomitable Becket in a tight finish. After a stuttering start to his career when he went down tamely in his maiden start and subsequently finished in the ruck in the Knock-Out Million at Bangalore, there was no stopping Smart Chieftan as he improved with every run. He won a seven furlong sprint effortlessly before pegging back the favourite Acrobat in the Kingfisher Derby over a mile and a quarter. Malesh Narredu rode a finely judged race atop the 8/1 shot and from then onwards, the bay showed his penchant for making a late bid for honours.
Rather amazingly, western India could not throw up a challenge to the Chieftan that year, which was the beginning of a new millennium. Smart Chieftan not only pocketed the Indian Triple Crown as an on-money runner right through but also won the Invitation Cup at Bangalore by four long lengths. In Mumbai, the horse was entrusted to jockey-turned-trainer Karan Singh.
Richard Hughes formed an enviable bond with the champion horse and rode him to victory on all major occasions, except in the Leger where Appu made good his opportunity to increase his classic tally. At that point in his career, Smart Chieftan was the highest stake-money earner of all time – yet another feather in the cap for this great galloper and his devoted owner.
