It is not correct to compare an Indian jockey with a foreign jockey, because though we do not get the top class foreign jockeys( they go to better paying countries)a foreign jockey coming to India comes for 'vacation' as racing in Europe is stopped during winter. Of course they have to be average plus to remain here as they cost many times than an average Indian jockey.
they follow the connection's instructions to win or pull a horse. period.
I don’t follow international racing with my limited resources ,but read ,study and think and think again(only facilty- freely available to us - Indians) to comprehend and keep abreast of the goings on in the international circuit . Hence my info about foreign jockys may be outdated , perhaps, but should not be wrong…
It must be a common knowledge to us, Indians, that due to commercial considerations , at present , top rung European jockeys go to Singapore/Hongkong/Australasia during their ‘winter vacation’ and only B grade jockeys land up in India because we can’t pay up as much as east Asian trainer/owners can…let us accept this fact…
But let us accept another fact…these foreign riders achieve more than accepted percentage of wins than local riders in India , due to :
1)availability of better mounts,
2) more faith in their ability by trainer/owner
3)suspicion of local rider’s connection with bookies/undesirable persons
4)many more unmentionable reasons…
and this brings us to present day reality… which is that inspite of their presence and better winning average an Indian rider becomes a champion because he knows that they will go away in the end of February when European racing season starts. An example. In 2007/2008 D Grant and S Fargeat,both average riders, would have given a tough time to our ace rider C Rajendera if they could ride in April2008 but C Rajendra was not unduly bothered as he knew that he can pickup the ‘thread’ after the departure of these socalled ‘superior’ foreign riders. His complacency was evident to all serious observers… but in 2008/2009 Daniel Grant was the champion because he stayed back!
What does it prove ,or boils down to? One of our famous rider , when thrown out by the racing baron was moving around – racing helmet in hand during morning track work and took almost 2 yrs to get rehabilitated ! He of course gives interviews out of turn !!
But that is not the end…let us analyse the racing when topgrade foreign jockeys use to visit India .. Due to constraint of time I will discuss only one race day – Indian Derby day when ‘no holds barred’ racing on true merit normally take place…
Mumbai, 1991-92, Indian Derby Day – 2 Feb 92
1st. race won by E Johnsson(foreigner),beating Dettori(fav-ended 5th.)
2nd.race won by Bhagwat (Indian)
3rd. race won by RHughes(foreigner)
4th.race won by Moses (Indian)
5th.race won by Aslam ( Indian) beating willie Carson –Indian Derby
6th.race won by Shroff (Indian)
7th.race won by Hanut Singh (Indian)
8th.race won by Bajrang Singh(Indian)
Therefore, on an Indian Derby day 6 Indian rider won races against 2 wins of foreign riders .
and who were those foreign riders who rode against these Indian jockeys….
They were…
Lestor Pigott, Willie Carson, R Hughes, JP Murtagh,K Fallon, E Johnson,P Eddery, J Lowe and L Dettori…
Some of them were/are world famous names , at that/this time, who were beaten on Mumbai racetrack by some ‘not so famous’ Indian jockeys …
Therefore, the ability or the expertise or the superiority of Indian versus foreign jockeys , subject of discussion, must be analysed in a wider perspective and should not be narrowed down to the present crop of ‘visiting professionals’ who become more faithful to the king than the king himself ! I am sure that I have made my position very clear , even then I am ready to discuss these or related points in any forum or at any place and I must categorically state that I’ve great respect for few foreign riders – Lestoer Piggot,Willie Carson, Mike Kinane are some of them…Rest of them will do anything for their Indian retainers because they know that ‘following instructions’ will make them richer by few thousand dollars everytime and anytime they visit this great country of ours – called India.
7/13/2009
7/10/2009
Bangalore summer Derby - an overview
Bangalore Derby contenders : a short Review
Bangalore summer Derby 2009 is an open race unlike earlier years when Set Alight, Southern Empire were undisputed choice to win this race .In my opinion the winner must emerge from the following list (in alphabetical order):
Aboline,
Astral Flash,
Fair Option,
Gypsy Magic,
Jacqueline,
Polish Patriot,
Spearhead,
Sprint Star,
Star of Marmalade.
A long list, true but this indicates the openness of the race. I’ll take up each runner in the alphabetical order and then give my order of preference.
Before I start I must give a short brief of the methodology used by me to enable a first timer to understand the technical jargons used . Thoroughbreds are categorized as sprinters(upto 1400m) , milers(1400m to 1800m) and routers or stayers(winners over 2000m). Dr Roman in his system has divided sires(only) –ignoring the female thoroughbred’s direct contribution, in 5 categories based on his and his progeny’s performance called aptitude . These are named as Brilliant(sprinter), Intermediate (sprinter+), Classic( miler), Solid(normally1800-2200m) and Professional(> 2000m).Polish Patriot’s Roman numbers are 3-5-21-1-2 indicating that he has received 3 Brilliant ,5 Intermediate, 21 Classic, 1 Solid and 2 Professional pts. from his ancestors (upto 4 generation only). Conduit mare classification also follow same methodology but only for female thoroughbreds.
More numbers in an aptitude better may be the performance of a TB in that category.
To start with I’ll give a brief account of pedigree followed by an analysis of the past performance.
Aboline(Burden of Proof-Super Fan) has Roman dosage points(RDP) (3-0-11-0-0) indicating apparent lack of stamina, reinforcing my belief that RDP is a pointer and not a decider for the ‘ability’ of a thoroughbred(TB) because Burden of Proof has produced Derby winners – Fantabulous King(Bangalore Derby) and Full Speed (Mysore Derby). His average winning distance(AWD) of 1392m is comparable to Glory of Dancer – sire of Antonios, winner of Indian Derby. Dam of Antonios is Twin Star ,winner of Indian Oaks (2400m ) and she provides the stamina quotient to him. Based on the same analogy we find that Super Fan – dam of Aboline has won 14 races (1200m to 1900m) and has run 43 races showing durability, hardiness ,a rarity for a US thoroughbred. Though Aboline is a ‘late’ foal born when she was 19 yr old ‘matron’ has received stamina genes from his maternal grand dam Sweet Delilah((3-3-4-0-4) and should not problem upto 2000m –Derby distance. His position on the board will depend on the tactics employed by the connections.
Astral Flash (Belong to Me-Burooq) with RDP(7-9-20-0-0) has beaten Captivating – highest rated filly
Convincingly at Mumbai and her style of running indicates that she has received her turn of foot from her sire Belong to Me(winner of 7 races ,most of them 1200m) and though her dam , Burooq with RDP(10-11-19-2-0) - has never sat foot on a racetrack her grand dam Nasaayem(10-3-9-4-0) did win a race and her great grand dam Safaanh(5-5-12-10) has produced several stakes winner. But Astral Flash does not inspire the confidence to win this Derby.
Classerville (Placerville-Pleasure Hunt) with RDP ((11-3-13-1-2) is some of the few contestants who have the blood to win classic( 2000m+) races. Though a son of Indian Oaks winner who has placed 2nd. in Invitation Cup he (51 1/2kg) gets beaten by Aboline (56 1/2kg) stand no chance to win this race unless he shows remarkable improvement in his form . QED.
Fair Option(Inner City- Factual) with roman points(1-4-13-0-0) is a ‘dark horse’ who carrying 61kgs. Ended 2 lengths behind Polish Patriot(56kgs) while stalking him 2 to 2 ½ length behind from 300m to 50m. His final position vis-à-vis PP will be worth noticing. He may not win the Derby but if stalks Polish Patriot , he should not be far behind. Ridden hard may be very close to him for his discomfort.
Gypsy Magic(Placerville- Stunning) with dosage of (9-5-13-0-1) is a celebrated full sister of three classic winners , namely, Smart Chieftain, Classical Act and Southern Empire and though none of the daughters of Stunning have performed above ‘par’, Gypsy Magic may prove every theoretician wrong by performing as well as male progeny of Stunning . She did run ‘funnily’ in Poonawalla multimillion and fillies trial , but the blame must go squarely to her rider-partiallty to the trainer for not training her well or properly to ‘behave’, than to her wayward performance. She is one of the best 3 yr old , and whether she wins or loses this Derby contest – she is bound to create more interest in her – because she is the last of the ‘bests’ of Stunning. We will not see any more of them!
Jacqueline(King Charlemagne-Talita Kumi) is an import from Europe like Astral Flash and Polish Patriot. Here I want to use an analogy. If we equate the racing in Mumbai with the quality of product (TBs) with US, racing at Bangalore with TBs at England and France , the products of Germany and Italy will match with Hyderabad.. No disrespect to anyone but an assessment which is personal and therefore may be affected by prejudice and bias . Of course a Fedrico Tesio may create a history but how many Tesios we can find in TB industry. Perhaps none. Not now. Commercial compulsions has forced Tesios to follow the dotted line. Leaving aside the diversion, let us look at Jacqueline(4-0-17-1-2) . a fairly impressive ,balanced pedigree which can partake with mid –distance races and classic distances too! Coming back to pedigree I find following . King Charlemagne (7-1-30-0-0) a proven sprinter sire and conforming to the current breeding practices covered Talita Kumi(5-1-9-2-4) a confirmed stayer (won 200m and 2200m races) and the result was a foal called Jacqueline(4-0-17-1-2) which withourt much effort indicated a TB well suited to a mile and above. She won a 1200m race coming from 10th. position and ended 3rd. in next race (1400m) from 12th position . It is immaterial that a win in this second run of her career would have made her richer by more than half a million rupees! In the third run of her career she won Rs.39,00,000 prize money and is trying to win a classic in the 4th. attempt. Of course some have Derby in their second or third attempt. The sire line - does not provide any comfort, confidence or encouragement for her ability but the dam line does. While King Charlemagne is a pure sprinter his dam is a runner up in two Oaks( Hollywood and Del Mar Oaks) runs in USA . Talita Kumi has also won 2 races at 2000m and 2200m and her dam Temple Music did win 4 races in her career. Correlating various factors it seems that Jacqueline is a potential and serious contender for this Derby.
Polish Patriot(PP) (Polish Precedent- Be Mine)has Roman dosage point(3-5-21-1-2) and a DI 1.37 and CD of 0.19 indicating the concentration of his ‘ability’ in the ‘central region’(my conjecture-not Roman’s) of the racing distances. I do not subscribe to Roman’s theory in totality as it excludes the contribution of the female line which provides, at least 50% of the ‘ability’ if not more to the progeny. Using cyber cop’s information his conduit mare profile is 6-9-2-6-4 and Triads of 17-17-12 confirms the presumption that a smart trainer can convert him into a runner who can win up to 2000m which should be his optimum distance because the inheritance does not reinforce the promise that he will be comfortable beyond that distance at this time. The GSV score of 68+ is good, if not very good, from the point of view of Indian standards because the profile of most of the imported mares does not suggest a GSV score of 70+ common for American thoroughbreds(TBs).
Having a closer look at the ancestors we find Polish Precedent((6-14-26-0-0) – a US born colt did most of running in France and England and has won races at Ascot ,Chantilly and Longchamp –some of the prestigious racecourses, but most of the wins were confined to 1400m and 1600m. Of course he was perhaps never tried for a 2000m race - but he is a proven miler ,no doubt. The grandsire of PP is celebrated Danzig (15-11-14-0-0) who ran 3 times won all the 3 races and retired to stud due to injury.
Apparently the male line provides only speed to PP and therefore, the stamina must come from female source and that is amply proved by BE Mine(family-3). Be Mine(3-3-24-2-4) is a beautiful example of ‘balanced’ Roman numbers. Her DI is 1.0(ideal) and CD(-0.03-good) and the presence of Solid (2pts) and Professional(4) which are necessary for a stayer will be transmitted by her to the progeny. BE Mine’s sire Wolfhound (8-6-40-0-0) is again a speed influence- being a European champ for 1000m-1400m and this speed is augmented by Upper Strata(8-3-12-7-8)- dam of Be Mine and grand dam of Polish Patriot.
Therefore , while the speed comes by the sire line of PP, the stamina is provided by the dam line and that is the correct channel because mitochondria –essential for the sustenance of endurance of a thoroughbred comes only from the dam and not from the sire.
PP started his racing career a bit late, being April born and won creditably his first race- a 1400m in a fairly good time of 1m 28.6s when the penetrometer reading was 4.6cm. In his next outing with a step up distance of 1800m he again won it comfortably in 1m 52.6s(PR – 3.5cm).
Can he win Derby on 12th. July? Perhaps, yes. Because he can stay the distance and is a live contender with Gypsy Magic, Jacqueline and Sprint Star.
Spearhead(Burden of Proof- Imposing) with adoage(5-4-10-0-1) had an imposing record before entering Colts Trial contest on 21st. June. Running 3rd. to Captivating(best 3yo till then in race no 179, beating classic hopeful –Star of Marmalade in next(race no 210) and winning Juvenile colts in a smashing time of 1m 35.7s (actual time 1m 37.9s) at Mumbai created an aura around him. Like his full brother – Fantabulous King who became a hero after winning Bangalore summer Derby and then went down to zero , Spearhead seems to be heading on the same path. Perhaps.
Sprint Star( Ontario- Royal Retreat)-(3-1-6-4-0) is a funny name for a thoroughbred whose pedigree says that he is an outright stayer and not a sprinter! Maybe, like Abs Fab they tried to run him in sprints and experimented to run him in Colts Trial and after the result gladly paid Rs. 10,00,000/- to enter him in the Derby. Hats off to the courage , the ambition, the risk and the optimism of the connections . This is what the horseracing is in all its glory and uncertainties. I appreciate the courage and the risk involved and wish them success. Sprint Star is the son of Ontario(4-4-6-8-2) a hybrid of speed ,precociousness (Storm Cat, Storm Bird) and endurance, stubbornness, durability(Bustino , Jim French). A strange genetic mix of speed (from Cat and Bird) and stamina and endurance (from Bustino and Jim French) has bestowed an acceleration and the ability to sustain it- provided it is exploited correctly, successfully and improved gradually. IN the absence of Leonardo who also has the blood of Bustino he is a live threat to the best and all other competitors
Star of Marmalade(Placerville-Mystic Memory) with a dosage (8-3-8-0-1) will also compete in this race . The dam of Mystical needs no introduction. but forces one to think that – was Mystical a freak? No other produce of Mystic Memory could enhance her reputation and Star of Marmalade with all the facilities and opportunities has failed to live up to his illustrious pedigree .Let us hope to see him in better light in his winter campaign.
Bangalore summer Derby 2009 is an open race unlike earlier years when Set Alight, Southern Empire were undisputed choice to win this race .In my opinion the winner must emerge from the following list (in alphabetical order):
Aboline,
Astral Flash,
Fair Option,
Gypsy Magic,
Jacqueline,
Polish Patriot,
Spearhead,
Sprint Star,
Star of Marmalade.
A long list, true but this indicates the openness of the race. I’ll take up each runner in the alphabetical order and then give my order of preference.
Before I start I must give a short brief of the methodology used by me to enable a first timer to understand the technical jargons used . Thoroughbreds are categorized as sprinters(upto 1400m) , milers(1400m to 1800m) and routers or stayers(winners over 2000m). Dr Roman in his system has divided sires(only) –ignoring the female thoroughbred’s direct contribution, in 5 categories based on his and his progeny’s performance called aptitude . These are named as Brilliant(sprinter), Intermediate (sprinter+), Classic( miler), Solid(normally1800-2200m) and Professional(> 2000m).Polish Patriot’s Roman numbers are 3-5-21-1-2 indicating that he has received 3 Brilliant ,5 Intermediate, 21 Classic, 1 Solid and 2 Professional pts. from his ancestors (upto 4 generation only). Conduit mare classification also follow same methodology but only for female thoroughbreds.
More numbers in an aptitude better may be the performance of a TB in that category.
To start with I’ll give a brief account of pedigree followed by an analysis of the past performance.
Aboline(Burden of Proof-Super Fan) has Roman dosage points(RDP) (3-0-11-0-0) indicating apparent lack of stamina, reinforcing my belief that RDP is a pointer and not a decider for the ‘ability’ of a thoroughbred(TB) because Burden of Proof has produced Derby winners – Fantabulous King(Bangalore Derby) and Full Speed (Mysore Derby). His average winning distance(AWD) of 1392m is comparable to Glory of Dancer – sire of Antonios, winner of Indian Derby. Dam of Antonios is Twin Star ,winner of Indian Oaks (2400m ) and she provides the stamina quotient to him. Based on the same analogy we find that Super Fan – dam of Aboline has won 14 races (1200m to 1900m) and has run 43 races showing durability, hardiness ,a rarity for a US thoroughbred. Though Aboline is a ‘late’ foal born when she was 19 yr old ‘matron’ has received stamina genes from his maternal grand dam Sweet Delilah((3-3-4-0-4) and should not problem upto 2000m –Derby distance. His position on the board will depend on the tactics employed by the connections.
Astral Flash (Belong to Me-Burooq) with RDP(7-9-20-0-0) has beaten Captivating – highest rated filly
Convincingly at Mumbai and her style of running indicates that she has received her turn of foot from her sire Belong to Me(winner of 7 races ,most of them 1200m) and though her dam , Burooq with RDP(10-11-19-2-0) - has never sat foot on a racetrack her grand dam Nasaayem(10-3-9-4-0) did win a race and her great grand dam Safaanh(5-5-12-10) has produced several stakes winner. But Astral Flash does not inspire the confidence to win this Derby.
Classerville (Placerville-Pleasure Hunt) with RDP ((11-3-13-1-2) is some of the few contestants who have the blood to win classic( 2000m+) races. Though a son of Indian Oaks winner who has placed 2nd. in Invitation Cup he (51 1/2kg) gets beaten by Aboline (56 1/2kg) stand no chance to win this race unless he shows remarkable improvement in his form . QED.
Fair Option(Inner City- Factual) with roman points(1-4-13-0-0) is a ‘dark horse’ who carrying 61kgs. Ended 2 lengths behind Polish Patriot(56kgs) while stalking him 2 to 2 ½ length behind from 300m to 50m. His final position vis-à-vis PP will be worth noticing. He may not win the Derby but if stalks Polish Patriot , he should not be far behind. Ridden hard may be very close to him for his discomfort.
Gypsy Magic(Placerville- Stunning) with dosage of (9-5-13-0-1) is a celebrated full sister of three classic winners , namely, Smart Chieftain, Classical Act and Southern Empire and though none of the daughters of Stunning have performed above ‘par’, Gypsy Magic may prove every theoretician wrong by performing as well as male progeny of Stunning . She did run ‘funnily’ in Poonawalla multimillion and fillies trial , but the blame must go squarely to her rider-partiallty to the trainer for not training her well or properly to ‘behave’, than to her wayward performance. She is one of the best 3 yr old , and whether she wins or loses this Derby contest – she is bound to create more interest in her – because she is the last of the ‘bests’ of Stunning. We will not see any more of them!
Jacqueline(King Charlemagne-Talita Kumi) is an import from Europe like Astral Flash and Polish Patriot. Here I want to use an analogy. If we equate the racing in Mumbai with the quality of product (TBs) with US, racing at Bangalore with TBs at England and France , the products of Germany and Italy will match with Hyderabad.. No disrespect to anyone but an assessment which is personal and therefore may be affected by prejudice and bias . Of course a Fedrico Tesio may create a history but how many Tesios we can find in TB industry. Perhaps none. Not now. Commercial compulsions has forced Tesios to follow the dotted line. Leaving aside the diversion, let us look at Jacqueline(4-0-17-1-2) . a fairly impressive ,balanced pedigree which can partake with mid –distance races and classic distances too! Coming back to pedigree I find following . King Charlemagne (7-1-30-0-0) a proven sprinter sire and conforming to the current breeding practices covered Talita Kumi(5-1-9-2-4) a confirmed stayer (won 200m and 2200m races) and the result was a foal called Jacqueline(4-0-17-1-2) which withourt much effort indicated a TB well suited to a mile and above. She won a 1200m race coming from 10th. position and ended 3rd. in next race (1400m) from 12th position . It is immaterial that a win in this second run of her career would have made her richer by more than half a million rupees! In the third run of her career she won Rs.39,00,000 prize money and is trying to win a classic in the 4th. attempt. Of course some have Derby in their second or third attempt. The sire line - does not provide any comfort, confidence or encouragement for her ability but the dam line does. While King Charlemagne is a pure sprinter his dam is a runner up in two Oaks( Hollywood and Del Mar Oaks) runs in USA . Talita Kumi has also won 2 races at 2000m and 2200m and her dam Temple Music did win 4 races in her career. Correlating various factors it seems that Jacqueline is a potential and serious contender for this Derby.
Polish Patriot(PP) (Polish Precedent- Be Mine)has Roman dosage point(3-5-21-1-2) and a DI 1.37 and CD of 0.19 indicating the concentration of his ‘ability’ in the ‘central region’(my conjecture-not Roman’s) of the racing distances. I do not subscribe to Roman’s theory in totality as it excludes the contribution of the female line which provides, at least 50% of the ‘ability’ if not more to the progeny. Using cyber cop’s information his conduit mare profile is 6-9-2-6-4 and Triads of 17-17-12 confirms the presumption that a smart trainer can convert him into a runner who can win up to 2000m which should be his optimum distance because the inheritance does not reinforce the promise that he will be comfortable beyond that distance at this time. The GSV score of 68+ is good, if not very good, from the point of view of Indian standards because the profile of most of the imported mares does not suggest a GSV score of 70+ common for American thoroughbreds(TBs).
Having a closer look at the ancestors we find Polish Precedent((6-14-26-0-0) – a US born colt did most of running in France and England and has won races at Ascot ,Chantilly and Longchamp –some of the prestigious racecourses, but most of the wins were confined to 1400m and 1600m. Of course he was perhaps never tried for a 2000m race - but he is a proven miler ,no doubt. The grandsire of PP is celebrated Danzig (15-11-14-0-0) who ran 3 times won all the 3 races and retired to stud due to injury.
Apparently the male line provides only speed to PP and therefore, the stamina must come from female source and that is amply proved by BE Mine(family-3). Be Mine(3-3-24-2-4) is a beautiful example of ‘balanced’ Roman numbers. Her DI is 1.0(ideal) and CD(-0.03-good) and the presence of Solid (2pts) and Professional(4) which are necessary for a stayer will be transmitted by her to the progeny. BE Mine’s sire Wolfhound (8-6-40-0-0) is again a speed influence- being a European champ for 1000m-1400m and this speed is augmented by Upper Strata(8-3-12-7-8)- dam of Be Mine and grand dam of Polish Patriot.
Therefore , while the speed comes by the sire line of PP, the stamina is provided by the dam line and that is the correct channel because mitochondria –essential for the sustenance of endurance of a thoroughbred comes only from the dam and not from the sire.
PP started his racing career a bit late, being April born and won creditably his first race- a 1400m in a fairly good time of 1m 28.6s when the penetrometer reading was 4.6cm. In his next outing with a step up distance of 1800m he again won it comfortably in 1m 52.6s(PR – 3.5cm).
Can he win Derby on 12th. July? Perhaps, yes. Because he can stay the distance and is a live contender with Gypsy Magic, Jacqueline and Sprint Star.
Spearhead(Burden of Proof- Imposing) with adoage(5-4-10-0-1) had an imposing record before entering Colts Trial contest on 21st. June. Running 3rd. to Captivating(best 3yo till then in race no 179, beating classic hopeful –Star of Marmalade in next(race no 210) and winning Juvenile colts in a smashing time of 1m 35.7s (actual time 1m 37.9s) at Mumbai created an aura around him. Like his full brother – Fantabulous King who became a hero after winning Bangalore summer Derby and then went down to zero , Spearhead seems to be heading on the same path. Perhaps.
Sprint Star( Ontario- Royal Retreat)-(3-1-6-4-0) is a funny name for a thoroughbred whose pedigree says that he is an outright stayer and not a sprinter! Maybe, like Abs Fab they tried to run him in sprints and experimented to run him in Colts Trial and after the result gladly paid Rs. 10,00,000/- to enter him in the Derby. Hats off to the courage , the ambition, the risk and the optimism of the connections . This is what the horseracing is in all its glory and uncertainties. I appreciate the courage and the risk involved and wish them success. Sprint Star is the son of Ontario(4-4-6-8-2) a hybrid of speed ,precociousness (Storm Cat, Storm Bird) and endurance, stubbornness, durability(Bustino , Jim French). A strange genetic mix of speed (from Cat and Bird) and stamina and endurance (from Bustino and Jim French) has bestowed an acceleration and the ability to sustain it- provided it is exploited correctly, successfully and improved gradually. IN the absence of Leonardo who also has the blood of Bustino he is a live threat to the best and all other competitors
Star of Marmalade(Placerville-Mystic Memory) with a dosage (8-3-8-0-1) will also compete in this race . The dam of Mystical needs no introduction. but forces one to think that – was Mystical a freak? No other produce of Mystic Memory could enhance her reputation and Star of Marmalade with all the facilities and opportunities has failed to live up to his illustrious pedigree .Let us hope to see him in better light in his winter campaign.
7/07/2009
taxes,raid ,bookmaker and punter
A ‘news’ or an article about a raid by RWITC security on ‘unofficial’ or ‘illegal’ bookmakers, on a blog forced me to write this response which the blogger did not publish. Of course that was his blog and his right to refuse/accept a response is unquestionable.
Why people don’t pay tax? How black money was generated in India?
A short recall from the budget speech on 29 Februay 1956 by Mr CD Deshmukh our finance minister-on that day may throw some light. He said : I propose that rate of tax on the highest slab of income ,that is,above Rs 1,50,000(per annum), will be 91.9% against the present figure of 88.6%...
What an honest ,hardworking Indian should do in this kind of ‘socialistic’ progressive society and country? I don’t know?
Few decades ago in 80's punters use to bet with zero tax with bookmakers at RWITC. In early 90's they started paying 10% tax(?). Many of my friends who were owners were doing it openly with the legal bookmakers and though all of them are now punters ,it is a brazen fact that ALL punters who bet more than Rs.2000 or 3000 with legal bookmakers do it even now openly under the very nose of these 'super intelligent' competent and 'sincere' security staff of RWITC!
If anybody wants a proof and RWITC's security staff is serious and Mr. Vivek Jain is really interested then they must go to the bookies ring at Mumbai,ON ANY RACING DAY and move around - they (all three) can find at least 10, if not more illegal bookies doing business. Loiter around the racecourse they may be lucky to find many more. Going on at Borivali is/was an open secret for more than last 2 years.Secrecy of operation has no meaning.
Finally, I must say ,a man is a slave of habits.Many years ago when BTC could convince Karnataka government to reduce taxes and increased their turnover from 100+ crore to 1000+ crore in about 10 or 12 years , why our high profile gentlemen who get selected/elected year after year(literally ad infinitum) could not convince Maharashtra govt. to do the same to eradicate the scourage of illegal betting defies logic and baffles a sensible man(nay person).Maybe,they don't have to pay any tax at all, on their betting !The comments and opinions are plain, bit sarcastic but true. May not go well with few- but I never write for them. Perhaps, I do it for a common, faceless, voiceless person called a punter...
Why people don’t pay tax? How black money was generated in India?
A short recall from the budget speech on 29 Februay 1956 by Mr CD Deshmukh our finance minister-on that day may throw some light. He said : I propose that rate of tax on the highest slab of income ,that is,above Rs 1,50,000(per annum), will be 91.9% against the present figure of 88.6%...
What an honest ,hardworking Indian should do in this kind of ‘socialistic’ progressive society and country? I don’t know?
Few decades ago in 80's punters use to bet with zero tax with bookmakers at RWITC. In early 90's they started paying 10% tax(?). Many of my friends who were owners were doing it openly with the legal bookmakers and though all of them are now punters ,it is a brazen fact that ALL punters who bet more than Rs.2000 or 3000 with legal bookmakers do it even now openly under the very nose of these 'super intelligent' competent and 'sincere' security staff of RWITC!
If anybody wants a proof and RWITC's security staff is serious and Mr. Vivek Jain is really interested then they must go to the bookies ring at Mumbai,ON ANY RACING DAY and move around - they (all three) can find at least 10, if not more illegal bookies doing business. Loiter around the racecourse they may be lucky to find many more. Going on at Borivali is/was an open secret for more than last 2 years.Secrecy of operation has no meaning.
Finally, I must say ,a man is a slave of habits.Many years ago when BTC could convince Karnataka government to reduce taxes and increased their turnover from 100+ crore to 1000+ crore in about 10 or 12 years , why our high profile gentlemen who get selected/elected year after year(literally ad infinitum) could not convince Maharashtra govt. to do the same to eradicate the scourage of illegal betting defies logic and baffles a sensible man(nay person).Maybe,they don't have to pay any tax at all, on their betting !The comments and opinions are plain, bit sarcastic but true. May not go well with few- but I never write for them. Perhaps, I do it for a common, faceless, voiceless person called a punter...
7/02/2009
tips,tipsters and critics
IN A MONEY GAME IT IS NAIVE TO ASK FREE LUNCHES OR DINNER..
Horseracing is a game of skill…Finding a winner of a race needs evaluation of many factors…More factors you include in your analysis better should be the result…How many punters (gamblers) have time, patience to follow these basicprinciples…Very few, but they are quick to blame everyone – tipster, jockey,trainer and owner…I am an occasional punter and a casual tipster-but was neither a jockeyor a trainer or a ownerI have read many postings on this subject, repeated with regular frequency by free-loaders on various racing sites, about free tips ,tipsters failed tips, wild tips(and their occasional success) and realized that a tipster is always held in ridicule by these so calledsmarty Jones…Why?Most of the tipsters are smalltime race aficionados who graduallygraduate to this position from humble beginnings and therefore,most of these smart gamblers take their opinions as a `necessary evil' andrely more on `khabar 'and blame the tipster if their `forecast or prediction'fails… they don't have guts to blame the `khabri'….But what is a tip ?A tip is a personal assessment/opinion about the winning chance ofa runner in a race.It can be right and of course it may be wrong…But who is a tipster ?A person who with sufficient/insufficient expertise/knowledge provides theassessment/opinion…And who is a punter ?A person with money( hard earned/borrowed/black) and wants to makeit grow - fast…But they are of 2 types…1) few- very few- who know horseracing, handicapping, anduse `khabar' to their advantage…they are privileged…ordinarypunter can not compete with them…2) the majority- called’ public’, constituting the majority of punters are those who buy a race book before entering a racecourse and dream of winning a fortune…they are the backbone of horseracing…this, kind/category of punters are those who depend on tips, followtipsters and blame them when they lose…they pay peanuts and desire toown thoroughbreds instead of monkeys… (said by a thoroughbredbreeder )…but what's the truth ?IN early1970's a tipster, by the name – Galloper , used to chargeRs.20/- for a day's tip….gold was Rs 250/10gm. and real estate flats were sold at Rs.50/ toRs. 70/- per sq.ft. at Andheri(Mumbai)… today gold is sold at Rs.14,000/-per10 gm. and the minimum rate per sq.ft. at Andheri is Rs. 7000/-… atipster( say VM Dalal) still charges Rs.50/- for a day's tipwhile one of his predecessor charged Rs.20/- in 1970- 39 years back…what is that which most of these critics on a free forum want from a tipster or a blogger? By paying peanuts they want to own an empire-perhaps. Not monkeys??Not convinced ? OK …let me give you a real life example…Few years back, to be exact and to the point ,during 2003 Puneracing season ,RWITC in a rare show of wisdom announced a prizefor the best tipster of a PARTICULAR DAY… the announcement wasmade on 10th. raceday in September2003 and the 18th. raceday inOctober was the D day. I have written an article earlier onthis subject few years back and will not repeat it but will present only thesalient points…for details you may refer to my old posting on IR.com(not available now)…The study was carried out in the following way…The tipsters selected were from Mumbai and they were …1)Cole race card tipster 2)Cole track reporter3)Money Spinner 4)LuckySpinner 5)Times of India. I could not include others as I did not have data about them. TO EVALUATE ONLY THEIR FIRST CHOICE WAS CONSIDEREDthe prize money was a whopping Rs. 100,000/-On 10th.day ( the day of announcement of the prize) theirperformance was…COLE--COLE TR…MONEY SPINNER…LUCKY SPINNER...TIMES OF INDIAOn 10th. day the return on betting on their FIRST choicewas as follows-20 ……..-26 …………+ 12…………………-8…………………-16but after declaration of prize, their selections improved and on18th. day the return-16………-23………….+18………………….+6………………..-36except TOI every other tipsters ROI has improved inanticipation of winning the bumper prize..After the prize was won by Gujrat Samachar tipster, theperformance of ALL the above tipsters went down…what does it prove ? pay peanuts – get monkeys…
To quote a punch-line from the ‘bai’ of a TV channel ( [ V ] )
‘itne paise may itnaich milenga’
Horseracing is a game of skill…Finding a winner of a race needs evaluation of many factors…More factors you include in your analysis better should be the result…How many punters (gamblers) have time, patience to follow these basicprinciples…Very few, but they are quick to blame everyone – tipster, jockey,trainer and owner…I am an occasional punter and a casual tipster-but was neither a jockeyor a trainer or a ownerI have read many postings on this subject, repeated with regular frequency by free-loaders on various racing sites, about free tips ,tipsters failed tips, wild tips(and their occasional success) and realized that a tipster is always held in ridicule by these so calledsmarty Jones…Why?Most of the tipsters are smalltime race aficionados who graduallygraduate to this position from humble beginnings and therefore,most of these smart gamblers take their opinions as a `necessary evil' andrely more on `khabar 'and blame the tipster if their `forecast or prediction'fails… they don't have guts to blame the `khabri'….But what is a tip ?A tip is a personal assessment/opinion about the winning chance ofa runner in a race.It can be right and of course it may be wrong…But who is a tipster ?A person who with sufficient/insufficient expertise/knowledge provides theassessment/opinion…And who is a punter ?A person with money( hard earned/borrowed/black) and wants to makeit grow - fast…But they are of 2 types…1) few- very few- who know horseracing, handicapping, anduse `khabar' to their advantage…they are privileged…ordinarypunter can not compete with them…2) the majority- called’ public’, constituting the majority of punters are those who buy a race book before entering a racecourse and dream of winning a fortune…they are the backbone of horseracing…this, kind/category of punters are those who depend on tips, followtipsters and blame them when they lose…they pay peanuts and desire toown thoroughbreds instead of monkeys… (said by a thoroughbredbreeder )…but what's the truth ?IN early1970's a tipster, by the name – Galloper , used to chargeRs.20/- for a day's tip….gold was Rs 250/10gm. and real estate flats were sold at Rs.50/ toRs. 70/- per sq.ft. at Andheri(Mumbai)… today gold is sold at Rs.14,000/-per10 gm. and the minimum rate per sq.ft. at Andheri is Rs. 7000/-… atipster( say VM Dalal) still charges Rs.50/- for a day's tipwhile one of his predecessor charged Rs.20/- in 1970- 39 years back…what is that which most of these critics on a free forum want from a tipster or a blogger? By paying peanuts they want to own an empire-perhaps. Not monkeys??Not convinced ? OK …let me give you a real life example…Few years back, to be exact and to the point ,during 2003 Puneracing season ,RWITC in a rare show of wisdom announced a prizefor the best tipster of a PARTICULAR DAY… the announcement wasmade on 10th. raceday in September2003 and the 18th. raceday inOctober was the D day. I have written an article earlier onthis subject few years back and will not repeat it but will present only thesalient points…for details you may refer to my old posting on IR.com(not available now)…The study was carried out in the following way…The tipsters selected were from Mumbai and they were …1)Cole race card tipster 2)Cole track reporter3)Money Spinner 4)LuckySpinner 5)Times of India. I could not include others as I did not have data about them. TO EVALUATE ONLY THEIR FIRST CHOICE WAS CONSIDEREDthe prize money was a whopping Rs. 100,000/-On 10th.day ( the day of announcement of the prize) theirperformance was…COLE--COLE TR…MONEY SPINNER…LUCKY SPINNER...TIMES OF INDIAOn 10th. day the return on betting on their FIRST choicewas as follows-20 ……..-26 …………+ 12…………………-8…………………-16but after declaration of prize, their selections improved and on18th. day the return-16………-23………….+18………………….+6………………..-36except TOI every other tipsters ROI has improved inanticipation of winning the bumper prize..After the prize was won by Gujrat Samachar tipster, theperformance of ALL the above tipsters went down…what does it prove ? pay peanuts – get monkeys…
To quote a punch-line from the ‘bai’ of a TV channel ( [ V ] )
‘itne paise may itnaich milenga’
6/29/2009
Indian vs foreign sires
all thoroughbreds in the world are the descendents of the 3 Arabian stallions brought to England in the later half of 18th. Century. Their offsprings gradually spread allover the globe and created thousand of sires and hundreds of sirelines in different countries including India. In the early part of 19th, century the sirelines and the stallions from England/Ireland were sought after, prized and had a virtual hegemony over the world thoroughbred indutry which continued till late 40’s of last century – with small hiccups produced by some French,American breeders and a Itallion called Federico Tessio who bred Nearco – the grandsire of Northern Dancer who ultimately changed the power center of the whole thoroughbred industry in the world..
In India during the 70’s alongwith imported stallions like Valoroso ( sire of legendary Squanderer) we had Grey Gaston , Riyahi, Everyday II etc. we had few Indian stallions like Red Rufus, Prince Khartoum and Prince Pradeep who sired many winners ,like Reprint (winner of 1000Guiness and Indian Oaks) and while foreign stallion bred, Squanderer was winning Indian Triple crown our Indian stallion bred were also winning important races like Reprint. Indian stallions did hold their position against the onslaught of imported stallions in mid 20th. Century in India, but gradually lost their hold against the imports and today while in USA in the list of 2000+ stallions, we hardly find more than 5% imports ; in India we have more than 95% imported stallions .
But ,this is not all ,none of the Indian stallion ,now, gets a quality (class I) mare to produce competitor and are literslly reduced to a laughing stock from the breeding stock !
Till mid 40’s exactly similar situation was prevailing in USA though their ‘local breds’ were regularly beating the progeny of ‘imported breds’. US breeders from 50’s switched over to their local stallions and the results are there for all to see . they have virtual monopoly over the world breeding scenario .
And where are we ? With almost 70 years of racing we can count Indian stallions on the fingers of one hand.
While Prince Pradeep got some of the good broodmares of his time and regularly produced classic winners, what did another recent Triple crown winner – Elusive Pimpernel or current sire Indictment was offered in their short career . Go through the records , the answer is all there , in black and white…
In India during the 70’s alongwith imported stallions like Valoroso ( sire of legendary Squanderer) we had Grey Gaston , Riyahi, Everyday II etc. we had few Indian stallions like Red Rufus, Prince Khartoum and Prince Pradeep who sired many winners ,like Reprint (winner of 1000Guiness and Indian Oaks) and while foreign stallion bred, Squanderer was winning Indian Triple crown our Indian stallion bred were also winning important races like Reprint. Indian stallions did hold their position against the onslaught of imported stallions in mid 20th. Century in India, but gradually lost their hold against the imports and today while in USA in the list of 2000+ stallions, we hardly find more than 5% imports ; in India we have more than 95% imported stallions .
But ,this is not all ,none of the Indian stallion ,now, gets a quality (class I) mare to produce competitor and are literslly reduced to a laughing stock from the breeding stock !
Till mid 40’s exactly similar situation was prevailing in USA though their ‘local breds’ were regularly beating the progeny of ‘imported breds’. US breeders from 50’s switched over to their local stallions and the results are there for all to see . they have virtual monopoly over the world breeding scenario .
And where are we ? With almost 70 years of racing we can count Indian stallions on the fingers of one hand.
While Prince Pradeep got some of the good broodmares of his time and regularly produced classic winners, what did another recent Triple crown winner – Elusive Pimpernel or current sire Indictment was offered in their short career . Go through the records , the answer is all there , in black and white…
fundamentals of horseracing-1
Few stray thoughts about horseracing…
let me start with some postulates which are true but have no scientific backup...
1) horseracing is a game of skill...
2) horseracing gambling is as risky as any other form of gambling...3) there will be more losers than winners in any game of gambling...
4) there will always be more losers in horseracing than winners ...
5) horserace gambling needs much more study, analysis, than other games like Poker ,card games, betting on cricket etc.
6) punters will lose because they do not know handicapping well...
7) it is human nature to blame others for your failures rather than accept it...
there are many more but I cannot carry on like this ,ad infinitum...
Most of the punters (nay losers) blame, while losing bet on a favorite, fixing of races by owner/trainer/jockey/bookie/mafia as the main reason for their loss. Punters and sometimes, even tipsters offer the opinion that jockey is the main culprit and a punter is helpless to face these 'deadly' combos....
well, I don't agree .I have said many times that since many years I treat horseracing as a business entity and gambling being an integral part of it , losses and profits will accrue to the participants (owners/trainers/punters and others associated with the game)...
An owner buys a horse by investing few lacs and spends roughly 1 to 2 lacs fot BTF etc. before he could start recovering his money ,maybe with profit (if lucky) and certainly has NO obligation to punters for the performance of his horse - neither his trainer or jockey has...
It is the raceclub and the clubs officials, stewards who are morally and LEGALLY responsible for the fair conduct of the race under their jurisdiction...we cannot and should not blame the owners,trainers and jockeys - blindly...in some cases they are blameworthy but not in all favs' losses...in late 80's and till mid 90's many of my owner friends gradually sold out their strings and changed over to pure punters as they could not afford to maintain their horses and make money...In retrospect I can confidently say that without proper application and understanding they went in the game and lost...
I don't believe that most races are fixed , yes few are manipulated - maybe 20 to 30 % but 70 % + races in India are still run and won on merit and you can make money out of these ‘open’ races, if you can spot them... but will you bet on Coceptual (8/1) against Arcidian(6/4) , or Jacqueline (7/2) against Gypsy Magic(6/4))... Very few will do that and therefore only few will win the races.
horseracing is a game where handicapping is of PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE and not knowing it will lead a punter to a poor house in due course of time.Having bagful of money is no guarantee to be a winner in this game, with few hundreds in the pocket also you can be a winner.
chanakya
let me start with some postulates which are true but have no scientific backup...
1) horseracing is a game of skill...
2) horseracing gambling is as risky as any other form of gambling...3) there will be more losers than winners in any game of gambling...
4) there will always be more losers in horseracing than winners ...
5) horserace gambling needs much more study, analysis, than other games like Poker ,card games, betting on cricket etc.
6) punters will lose because they do not know handicapping well...
7) it is human nature to blame others for your failures rather than accept it...
there are many more but I cannot carry on like this ,ad infinitum...
Most of the punters (nay losers) blame, while losing bet on a favorite, fixing of races by owner/trainer/jockey/bookie/mafia as the main reason for their loss. Punters and sometimes, even tipsters offer the opinion that jockey is the main culprit and a punter is helpless to face these 'deadly' combos....
well, I don't agree .I have said many times that since many years I treat horseracing as a business entity and gambling being an integral part of it , losses and profits will accrue to the participants (owners/trainers/punters and others associated with the game)...
An owner buys a horse by investing few lacs and spends roughly 1 to 2 lacs fot BTF etc. before he could start recovering his money ,maybe with profit (if lucky) and certainly has NO obligation to punters for the performance of his horse - neither his trainer or jockey has...
It is the raceclub and the clubs officials, stewards who are morally and LEGALLY responsible for the fair conduct of the race under their jurisdiction...we cannot and should not blame the owners,trainers and jockeys - blindly...in some cases they are blameworthy but not in all favs' losses...in late 80's and till mid 90's many of my owner friends gradually sold out their strings and changed over to pure punters as they could not afford to maintain their horses and make money...In retrospect I can confidently say that without proper application and understanding they went in the game and lost...
I don't believe that most races are fixed , yes few are manipulated - maybe 20 to 30 % but 70 % + races in India are still run and won on merit and you can make money out of these ‘open’ races, if you can spot them... but will you bet on Coceptual (8/1) against Arcidian(6/4) , or Jacqueline (7/2) against Gypsy Magic(6/4))... Very few will do that and therefore only few will win the races.
horseracing is a game where handicapping is of PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE and not knowing it will lead a punter to a poor house in due course of time.Having bagful of money is no guarantee to be a winner in this game, with few hundreds in the pocket also you can be a winner.
chanakya
6/26/2009
False rails and their importance
False rails are extensively used in Indian racecourses and except the classic or important race days most of the race days have different width of false rails , sometimes to fox the railbirds . following article is an attempt to clarify few notions of the race goers.
A thoroughbred is trained to run almost along a straight line and to facilitate this permanent wooden (now plastic) rails are laid along the main track and the racing distances (1000m, 1600m, 2400m, etc.) are measured with respect to these rails . Every runner tries to ‘hug’ these rails to travel the shortest way and the heavy pounding of their hooves affect the turf surface which takes time to ’re-grow’ or come back to normal shape unlike a AWT surface or the ‘dirt’ surface of U.S. tracks . To enable this turf track to recover , false rails are placed few meters away from the permanent rails which varies from few meters to as wide as 13 meters for Mumbai .If the races are run on a straight course then false rails would not have much effect on the final time of a race but due to constraint of space all the tracks in India and other countries are mostly oval shaped or elliptical and will have 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 bends for the distance of 1000m to 2400m (Mumbai has only one bend from 1600m to winning post (WP) while Bangalore and Hyderabad have almost 3 bends along a 1600m stretch ) . While Chennai and Hyderabad tracks are basically triangular in shape most of other are oval and the length of the bend also varies from track to track . For example the Mumbai bend starts roughly from 800m to 600m the Bangalore’s semicircular bend starts from 950m to 450m ( that is why a 1000m race cannot be run here) . Therefore, these peculiarities will affect the final time of races run on different tracks .
Let us come down to false rails . As said earlier , false rails do not affect a straight course but it INCREASES THE DISTANCE COVERED ALONG A BEND OR A CURVE. A false rail of 1m will increase the distance by 3m (1 length) for Bangalore but will increase it by 1.6m for Mumbai and thus 5m false rails will increase the travel distance by 15m( 5 ½ lengths) for Bangalore and 8 m for Mumbai (these are rough approximations given as an example and can be refined further for mathematical calculations- which is beyond the scope of this article) and thus the final timings with false rails will be slower . this was the case in the last century and in 70’s 80’s and 90’s the timings with false rails were slower because no compensation for increase distance due to use of false rails was given . But since lasr t few years , Mumbai/Pune , Bangalore/Mysore and Hyderabad have started using Rodometer to compensate this increase in distance due to false rails . The distance is NOW measured one to two meter away from the false rails and the starting gates are placed accordingly . This theoretically enables a runner to travel the actual distance as published for the race in the programme . Therefore, the effect of false rails on Indian tracks is now negligible or almost redundant …
In USA they give the exact distance of the race run ,e.g., 1002m(for 1000m), 1201m ,1603m etc. as measured by Rodometer…
A thoroughbred is trained to run almost along a straight line and to facilitate this permanent wooden (now plastic) rails are laid along the main track and the racing distances (1000m, 1600m, 2400m, etc.) are measured with respect to these rails . Every runner tries to ‘hug’ these rails to travel the shortest way and the heavy pounding of their hooves affect the turf surface which takes time to ’re-grow’ or come back to normal shape unlike a AWT surface or the ‘dirt’ surface of U.S. tracks . To enable this turf track to recover , false rails are placed few meters away from the permanent rails which varies from few meters to as wide as 13 meters for Mumbai .If the races are run on a straight course then false rails would not have much effect on the final time of a race but due to constraint of space all the tracks in India and other countries are mostly oval shaped or elliptical and will have 1 , 2 , 3 or 4 bends for the distance of 1000m to 2400m (Mumbai has only one bend from 1600m to winning post (WP) while Bangalore and Hyderabad have almost 3 bends along a 1600m stretch ) . While Chennai and Hyderabad tracks are basically triangular in shape most of other are oval and the length of the bend also varies from track to track . For example the Mumbai bend starts roughly from 800m to 600m the Bangalore’s semicircular bend starts from 950m to 450m ( that is why a 1000m race cannot be run here) . Therefore, these peculiarities will affect the final time of races run on different tracks .
Let us come down to false rails . As said earlier , false rails do not affect a straight course but it INCREASES THE DISTANCE COVERED ALONG A BEND OR A CURVE. A false rail of 1m will increase the distance by 3m (1 length) for Bangalore but will increase it by 1.6m for Mumbai and thus 5m false rails will increase the travel distance by 15m( 5 ½ lengths) for Bangalore and 8 m for Mumbai (these are rough approximations given as an example and can be refined further for mathematical calculations- which is beyond the scope of this article) and thus the final timings with false rails will be slower . this was the case in the last century and in 70’s 80’s and 90’s the timings with false rails were slower because no compensation for increase distance due to use of false rails was given . But since lasr t few years , Mumbai/Pune , Bangalore/Mysore and Hyderabad have started using Rodometer to compensate this increase in distance due to false rails . The distance is NOW measured one to two meter away from the false rails and the starting gates are placed accordingly . This theoretically enables a runner to travel the actual distance as published for the race in the programme . Therefore, the effect of false rails on Indian tracks is now negligible or almost redundant …
In USA they give the exact distance of the race run ,e.g., 1002m(for 1000m), 1201m ,1603m etc. as measured by Rodometer…
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