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Though old-timers will recall every moment of that titanic battle with a twinkle in their eyes, it’s worth narrating one more time. It was supposed to be a cakewalk for Royal Tern, but somewhere along the line the script had gone mighty wrong. The giant Goliath fell to the pocket-sized David, thanks to the wiles of the MAM stable.
Together with the experienced minds of Aris David and saddle king Jagdish, the trap was laid on Invitation Cup day. The MAM team were gambling on the fact that Royal Tern had won the Indian Derby start-to-finish in a canter and Karl Umrigar would employ similar tactics in the Invitation Cup. Their foresight proved right as at first Philanderer and then Red Chieftan threw an off-guard Royal Tern and Umrigar off their regular routine.
From the mile marker till the top of the long Bombay straight, Red Chieftan and Mckeown were going hell for leather. Umrigar didn’t want to give him too much of a break and stayed as close as possible while the wily Jagdish had Own Opinion racing several lengths behind, fighting for his bit. Into the straight, it was Royal Tern first with Own Opinion left with a lot of running to do. But under Jagdish’s smooth handling, he covered the leeway and did a little more to get the better of the Goculdas giant by half a length at the wire. It was one of the finest pieces of ‘setplay’ witnessed at Mahalaxmi.
While the above race has been showcased by all and sundry who were around during that period, not many are aware that Calcutta’s infamous hairpin before the straight and to an extent his rider’s overconfidence resulted in the defeat of a six-year-old Own Opinion in the Calcutta Gold Cup of 1981.
It was only a five-horse-field and Own Opinion was quoted by the Calcutta bookmakers at 20 paise. You could write your own card for the others. Adelita and Robin Corner set a fast pace but began to tire at the top of the straight. To the amazement of turfites, Own Opinion and Jagdish were hemmed in along the rails and appeared to be blocked by Fair Lisa who shot ahead at the distance post. The favourite’s predicament prompted Naresh Engineer on Sun Lion to grab the opportunity. Henry Au’s Calcutta Derby winner galloped resolutely on the outside to hold on by half-a-length from a fast-finishing Own Opinion who was switched out with hardly 75 metres to go.
The senior stipe on that day commented to this correspondent that he had never seen a horse so distraught and unhappy after losing a race as Own Opinion was on that day. He was intelligent enough to know that he had lost a certain race. Normally an extremely calm horse before and after a race, Own Opinion kept throwing his head up and snorting when being led away after the Gold Cup. It was a sad finale to an otherwise brilliant career.
He ran during a golden era of the Indian turf when there were several great horses on the track. His epic battles with Everynsky and Royal Tern will always be recalled with a whiff of nostalgia by those were fortunate enough to witness them. He was extremely versatile too as he has won mile races start-to-finish as well as being equally effective when being waited with. He won the Stayers’ Cup in Madras after a close contest with stablemate Deep Water Blues (the dam of Cordon Bleu). Own Opinion was conceding 11 kg to the filly.
Sired by Simead out of Purita, Own Opinion’s half-brother Aztec (Jaandar-Purita) was one of the best stayers that this country has produced. He won the Stayers Cup in Calcutta in record time and that too in a canter. These two giants were the mare Purita’s greatest contribution to the racing fraternity.
