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When Chaitanya Ratham completed an unbeaten hat-trick of wins, the last two by a distance, on Pongal Day, 1985, many interested buyers must have looked eagerly for her full-brother, who was entered in the Madras Auction Sale the following day.
They must all have been disappointed, as he had already been sold privately for Rs.1,20,000 to Jaggy Dhariwal, the man who trained the older full-sister.
M/s V. C. Narasimha Reddy, V. Vasanth Kumar Reddy and Sukhbir Bedi,
who had interests in Ratham, promptly took quarter shares in Chaitanya Chakram-
as the colt came to be called- while Dhariwal sportingly gave his own quarter to
Mr. K. S. Ramachandran.
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By the time Chakram, he was invariably referred to by the latter part of his name, was ready to race in December 1985, Chaitanya Ratham had won eight of her ten starts, including the Nilgiris Derby and the Deccan Derby, the latter race by a distance. The question uppermost in the minds of the trainer and the owners was whether lightning could strike twice!
Though Chakram showed the same spark in his work, the actual race confirmation was important, and it came on December 29th, when he won by three-and-a-half lengths, and survived a rather optimistic objection.
The Ramaswamy-colt Autonomist beat him in the Guindy Grand Prix. But, after that there was no stopping Chakram as he reeled off eight wins in a row, beginning with a prep race in Udhagamandalam and ending with the Deccan Derby at Malakpet, both by a distance. In between, he also won the Nilgiris Colts' Trial Stakes by a conservative four-and-a-half lengths, both the Summer Classics in Bangalore by eight lengths, the Hyderabad Colts' Trial Stakes by seven-and-a-half lengths and the Mysore Derby by seven lengths. Llyod Marshall rode him in all his races, except the one at Mysore, where his elder brother Sinclair was astride. From the start of the Bangalore Summer Season, trainer Jaggy Dhariwal was a
part-owner in the colt, Mr. Ramachandran having relinquished his share.
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Viewed individually or as a whole, Chakram's performances had simply been awesome. There is something about a front-running horse that immediately catches the public's attention. And when that horse regularly leaves his opponents out in the cold as he strides majestically towards the winning post, you have an idol. Chakram had never once been extended on four different tracks, and his connections- especially the breeder, Sunny Brar- knew that they had a real good horse on their hands. A horse good enough to invade Mumbai with. Accordingly, the sights were set high.
Chakram was back on the track after a short rest and commenced his second year's racing with a seven-and-a-half length victory in the Golconda 2000 Guineas. He was promptly re-located at Mahalakshmi with a view to give him ample time to get used to a new track.
Though Mahalakshmi had not seen him before, his formidable reputation ensured that he went as a short-priced favourite in the Ruia, which he won unextended by two lengths from Ocean Park, hitting the front as soon as the stalls opened and winning at his own pace.
Chakram had now won nine races in a row. His principal adversary in the Indian Derby was the Grey Gaston colt, Capricorn, who had been unbeaten in his last six races, and had beaten Ocean Park by two-and-a-half lengths in the Indian 2000 Guineas. On that line, there was nothing much to go by in making the choice and both should have had almost equal backing. There was another development on the eve of the race. It was announced that trainer Bezan Chinoy and jockey Pesi Shroff were breaking up their highly successful partnership, and that Shinde would ride Capricorn in the Indian Derby. Mahalakshmi has generally been loyal to its local horses and has always had a soft corner for Shinde.
So, it was Capricorn who went to the post as the favourite at 10 to 9 on, while Marshall's mount was at 7 to 2. Chakram knew only one-way of racing and Marshall wasn't going to change that even if this was the Indian Derby. The gates opened and Chakram bounded forward with his customary gusto, took the lead and settled down to a strong gallop. The filly Barefoot Contessa followed him till a kilometre from home, where Shinde moved into the second spot, never letting Chakram steal too long a lead.
Chakram entered the straight all on his own, but it was not long before Shinde brought Capricorn into contention. The two gusty horses fought a stirring battle all the way to the post. At one stage, they were almost going head-to-head, but Chakram never let up and as they crossed the line, he had a neck to spare. The third-placed Whopper was six lengths away, with Dedication another seven-and-a-half lengths behind. The ' private match' between the first two ensured that a new track record was established.
For the Invitation Cup at Bangalore though, Chakram was the even money favourite. With Shinde, claimed by Byramji to ride the Bangalore Arc winner Premium Spirit, Corner was given the ride on Capricorn. The no-hoper filly Sonatina streaked away and shot her bolt approaching the mile marker, where Chakram took over and led untroubled to the wire, with Premium Spirit coming from way behind to deprive Capricorn of the runner-up berth right on the post. Capricorn, this time, finished three-lengths-and-a-head back in third, though the time for the Invitation was slower than in the Indian Derby.
After a streak of 11 consecutive wins, Chakram tasted defeat when he appeared after a long break in the Maharaja's Cup, where Azhar, getting 16 kgs, went past him in the closing stages to win by three-parts of a length. He then won his next three starts-the Nizam's Gold Cup, the President of India Gold Cup and the Golconda St. Leger- by a distance. Leo D'Silva took over from Marshall in the last two races. In the President of India Gold Cup, Premium Spirit, beaten by only three- lengths in the Invitation Cup, was a forlorn distance behind. Chakram ran only twice more. Though a 10-to-2-on favourite for the Idar Gold Cup over 1200m, he was obviously out for just an airing. Then Whopper beat him by a length-and-a-half in the Super Mile at the Invitation Cup weekend.
Chakram was purchased by the Hyderabad Race Club, which then had a breeding programme, and was located at the Lumbini Stud, near Bangalore. After the closure of Lumbini, he stood for a while at the Malakpet Race Course and finally, returned to the place of his birth, the Hargobind Stud at Sarai Nanga. He covered, at best, a moderate lot of mares, and it was no surprise that he failed to excel as a stallion.
Lightning, it is said, does not fall in the same place twice. But it did, as far as the owners; the trainer and the jockey of Chaitanya Chakram are concerned. This is because they were immensely successful not only with the colt, but earlier also with his full-sister, Chaitanya Ratham. With Ratham, they won 12 races, including the South India Derby and the Deccan Derby. After her victory in the former race, Dr. M. A. M. Ramaswamy bought her, as it was his burning ambition to win the Indian Derby. Ratham could run only third in that race, but Chakram went one step ahead and won it. Mr. V. C. Narasimha Reddy and his partners, thus, won the Indian Derby before Dr. Ramaswamy did. In the process, they disproved another adage-They had their cake and ate it too.
- Maj. S. Nargolkar(Retd)
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