Balam, the Colt from the blue

Balam, the Colt from the blue
ANIL MUKHI

Over the 57 years since the country's premier race the Indian Derby was first run, there have been several significant incidents and controversies. In a sport so closely associated with fun, glamour, riches, luck and the like, these come as no surprise. Here are some of the notable highlights during the running of the Indian Derby:

1946-47 -- a terrible accident: The season was dominated by the exceptional feats of that great filly, Her Majesty, even though she did not win the Indian Derby! In view of her superlative record, nothing less than a stunning victory was expected from her in the race, for which she started favourite at 6 to 1 on. Here she met her old rival Bucephalus, whom she had trounced on both the occasions they had met.
Five furlongs from the start, there was high drama when Her Majesty's pacemaker, Equity, broke a fetlock and collapsed. WT Evans, on Her Majesty, was just behind her stablemate, and was unable to avoid hitting Equity. With superb horsemanship, however, Evansmanaged to keep the filly on her feet.

1948-49 -- the first success for an Indian jockey: Four of the first six Indian Derbies had fallen to fillies. In 1949 along came a top-class colt. His name was Balam, a horse of captivating appearance. He turned out to be one of the most illustrious Indian-breds of all time.

1953-54 -- India's first Triple Crown winner: Around the early '50s, Indian racing was in the process of breathing its last. Thanks to the eccentric views of those who arrogated to themselves the moral authority to decide what others should do, it had been decided that the `evil' sport should be outlawed. Herculean efforts by breeders and other enlightened persons had kept its pulse beating, albeit weakly.

1955-56 -- riots postpone racing: Originally scheduled for January 29th, the Indian Derby of 1956 was postponed to Feb 12 due to disturbed conditions in the city of Bombay. It was the time of the infamous linguistic riots. The fortnight's respite turned out favourablefor the ultimate winner, Star Of Gwalior. Bred at the Manjri Stud, this backward four-year-old made astonishing improvement to pull off a sensational victory in the Indian Derby.

1961-62 -- a near miss for Bollywood: For the first time in 19 years, an Indian stallion sired a Derby winner. Loyal Manzar started a hot favourite in the race and won easily. This coarse, thickset chestnut colt had been bought at the sales by the famous trainer ALJ Talib, reportedly on behalf of the matinee idol Raj Kapoor, who had plans to come into racing in a big way.

(Professional Management Group)