THE ART OF RACING

A personality who lives life king size, Dr. Vijay Mallya has glamourised the art of racing and has been credited with infusing glitz and glamour, making racing fun and a social affair in the annals of the Indian turf

What would the `king of sports' be without the 'king of good times'? Among the many great personalities who have a towering presence in the sport, Dr. Vijay Mallya should, in my opinion, be credited with glamourising the art of racing. The sheer dynamism of the renowned beer baron is infectious and the enthusiasm for life is evident in all that he undertakes. His aura exudes a larger-than-life feeling and you cannot help but for a few fleeting moments get taken in with the thought that `yes, this is the way to live life'.

The taste for all things finer in life is amply reflected in the Baccarat statue of Lord Ganesha, a Daum creation of Lord Venkateshwara or the fine French paintings that adorn the walls of his warm and cosy liar at Niladri in Mumbai. The man himself lives up to his reputation as he walks in a full three hours late for our meeting on a Saturday evening. Literally brushing aside his other business meetings and people waiting for him he settles down comfortably to talk about - among one of his other passions in life - horses.

Looking at Dr. Mallya, I could imagine the gruelling schedules that a man of his stature must be living up to and probably; a little chat on horses must be a welcome relief. Compared to the earlier part of his illustrious career on the Indian turf, he has now become more focussed in his approach to the sport due to his business commitments and parliamentary duties. The flamboyant chairman of the celebrated UB Group has a passion for everything fast in life. Whether it is at the head of the table in the boardroom, or in the driver's seat on the racetrack, or the turfs, performance and the competitive spirit are what have predominantly attracted him, be it in humans or equines, like the elegant and disciplined performances of the dancing horses in Vienna.

A big buyer of top-class horses from the blue-blooded stud farms in India, today the focus is to promote and race horses from his own farm - The Kunigal Stud Farm. In what many people termed as the beginning of the end to a glamourous innings in the sport, he has every reason to smile today, as his own bred are on a rampage and have swept four of the six classics in South India, which include the Bangalore Derby with Fantabulous King and the Mysore Derby with Full Speed.

Looking back on his decision he says, "I was very actively participating in the industry as a keen racehorse owner till I started breeding my own horses a few years back at Kunigal Stud Farm and decided to concentrate on my own bred. And I really did not go out and buy horses from others. Some people said that I would lose my competitive edge. In a way, maybe they had a point, because there are many stud farms out there that produce top class racehorses and I was a big buyer and I am no longer a big buyer. I was in two minds. I said maybe this is kind of the beginning of the end of the racing glamour that I've enjoyed in my life. But I was pleasantly surprised because it was not the beginning of the end. It was really the beginning of an even more glorious chapter in my racing career, in that Kunigal breds, which I sort of consider as my own babies, started winning." He rates the win of Fantabulous King in the Bangalore Derby as one of his most memorable moments in recent times.

The new resident stallion at the farm, Burden of Proof [IRE] (by Fairy King out of Belle Passe) comes with an impressive track record from Ireland and is today one of the most potent influences on the Indian breeding scene. He has also been the work partner to some of Europe's fastest horses, before he caught the fancy of John Weld, who recommended the horse to Dr. Mallya in Ireland. Speaking very highly of the Irishman (instrumental in developing the Kunigal Stud Farm) and his role in purchasing Burden of Proof, he says, "I brought John to run Kunigal. He was in India for three years and even though he is not here full time we share an excellent relationship. He is very much involved in the Ireland and England racing industry. One fine day he called me to Ballydoyle to witness a horse that was training with noted Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien. What impressed him most was that Burden of Proof had tremendous speed and after I took a look at him, I concurred. The horse had that attitude and a look about him and I said `Okay fine! That's my guy'."

After having witnessed some teething problems initially, the farm finally seems to have come into its own and is well on the path to success, fame and glory for its high-profile owner, who seems to have understood the mechanisms of the breeding industry over his years of being associated with the sport. The excitement of turning the farm around is evident on his face as he says, "Kunigal has had its fair share of teething problems. To get it right, it is not an easy industry. This is not like a machine or a high-tech industry where two and two makes four. This is literally like breeding children and how you can influence genes. So it was a big challenge. My earlier days as an owner have come very useful as in my last 10-15 years of racing I have bought absolutely the best bloodlines and as luck would have it, most of them were fillies. Four of them are McDowell Indian Derby winners (Cordon Bleu, Starfire Girl, Littleover, Supervite) and at Kunigal. All I needed was a good stallion to click. Initially Bold Russian clicked and was showing great promise but then he became infertile. Tejano in my view was the finest looking horse I ever bought. Now I have two new stallions in Burden of Proof and Brave Act and the former is really coming into his own and is the champion first season sire in India this year."

But what has preceded this second innings in the sport is the glorious first innings that is a wonderful chapter in itself and befits a man of his class and stature. From the days of his first acquisition in Danny Lad in 1976, he slowly but steadily carved a niche for himself in the annals of Indian racing. The bug first caught him when as a growing child he used to watch horses race at the Tollygunge Club in Kolkata. The fascination with the horses and the jockeys took an interesting development when he leased an ex-race horse from the Club at a nominal charge of Rs.100/- and kept it under the care of trainer Shivender Singh. The horse won a few races at the Royal Calcutta Turf Club and the lion got his first taste of blood.

The real journey began in 1985 and till date he has amassed approximately more than 1,300 wins and 150 classic wins in his racing career. He holds the unique distinction of being the only winner to have five Indian Derby wins to his credit. In a race where having a runner is considered to be a matter of great pride and honour, Dr. Mallya had the luck of destiny on his side as he notched up all the first three slots in the 1988 McDowell Indian Derby with Cordon Bleu, Enrico and Kir Royale, in what could be termed as one of the greatest moment of his racing career.

His association with the sport has had many far-reaching effects and no one connected with this glorious sport can ever doubt his contribution. He has always maintained a clean image in a sport marred with dimensions of coups and gambling. His horses have always run true their potential and the avid racing fan has immense faith in his horses. The love for horses, the glamour and prestige attached to this sport is what attracted him initially to get actively involved. But people who have witnessed the glory of this sport a few decades back lament at the state in which the sport lies today.

At a time when the Indian Derby was shorn of its class and the whole economics of the sport were changing, he stepped in and took on the mantle of playing the `saviour'. As he himself puts it, "When I got in there was a glamour attached to it. Then the economic equations changed. That was a time when training costs were low, cost of purchase of horses was low and in relation to the cost of purchase and the basic training fee, the prize money and the stakes were good. But then everything became topsy-turvy. The price of acquisition of a horse went through the roof. All the breeders started making bidding competitions between Dr. Ramaswamy, Khaitan and me. So the prices went up 4/5/600%. The stakes either stayed static or started going down. So ultimately the equation didn't make sense. So I thought let me do something. Let me just, you know, infuse some energy."

And infuse energy he certainly did! The UB Group came in and sponsored every single classic in Mumbai and Bangalore at one time. But having done that Dr. Mallya had his eyes set on the derbies and limited himself to sponsoring the biggest races in the country. Highlighting this decision he says, "I want to concentrate on quality not quantity and I wanted to be associated with the biggest races. But I wanted to start the process of acceleration of making horse racing really worthwhile for new owners. Because I think that Dr. Ramaswamy, Khaitan and Vijay Mallya cannot be the backbone of the sport and I think we should not even think so. We need a lot more new owners coming in every day. We really need a lot of new blood and new spirit and more participation. So I thought that my participation through a sponsorship route would encourage a lot of new people to come. And, you know, I've created the McDowell Indian Derby into probably the most sought after social event in the Indian racing calendar."

There is certainly no denying this fact. The sport has seen a revival of sorts and has rejuvenated the glamour and glitz that had long been associated with the sport. The old-world charm may have been eroded or lost but the charm and beauty has certainly survived. Dr. Mallya is also candid enough to admit that it has also served in the best interests of his brands and he has always viewed it as a give and take equation, with the satisfaction of contributing to the sport being like the proverbial icing on the cake.

The passion for the sport in the likes of him, Dr. Ramaswamy and Deepak Khaitan is very much evident, as their racing activities do not form the core of their business activities. As some of the new age owners cum breeders have come to the fore with varying philosophies and breed horses with different outlooks, Dr. Mallya says, "My father taught me - believe in the best and forget the rest - if I breed horses and sell some of these its not because I have to sell. All my businesses are at the pinnacle in their respective fields, they are all market leaders. I have just announced Kingfisher Airlines, which is going to cost me thousands of crores. Horse racing is a hobby and will always remain a hobby. It cannot be a business. So if tomorrow somebody comes to me and offers me a crore of rupees for a horse, it is not a business decision anymore. It is more of an emotional feeling. So maybe the others are into breeding with a business perspective, I am not! I just want to win out of my passion for the sport."

The depth of his involvement is aptly reflected in the qualitative aspect of all his racing activities. After his definitive foray into racing in 1985, he formed United Racing & Bloodstock Breeders Ltd. in 1988 to bring under a single banner his rapidly growing interests in racing and breeding. With top-class bloodlines in his stables, the gradual progression into breeding came in 1992 with the takeover of the Kunigal Stud Farm just outside Bangalore. Both the arenas have top-class management at the helm taking care and monitoring the day-to-day activities. He has brought in the most talented and successful professionals like John Weld who was initially roped in to bring the farm to world-class standards. Pesi Shroff, one of the top jockeys in the country had been his retained jockey for more than a decade now, till he recently announced his retirement and now will be training horses for him and others. He has had a long-standing association with legendary trainer Rashid Byramji, Ponappa and Jaggi Dhariwal among others. Zeyn Mirza has been installed as the Racing Manager, who has an enviable record. And the concentration is obviously now on breeding and racing the farm's own bred.

Dr. Mallya has always been global in his thinking. Whether it has been his business or his hobbies, being competitive on a global level has always been a priority. The earlier days as a keen owner saw him take Adler to the US where he won laurels for him and the country. A couple of years after taking over Kunigal, his own-bred Saddle Up, who was `Champion Horse 1999' in India, took on foreign competition in grand style in Singapore and Malaysia and earned the unique distinction of being `Champion Horse' - Middle Distance 2001, `Champion Older Horse' - Long Distance 2001 and `Champion Older Horse' - Distance in 2002. Recalling Saddle Up's stupendous performance he says, "Saddle Up in Singapore was a dream for me. In that beautiful environment in the new Turf Club, I went there and watched Saddle Up run. And he won the Queen Elizabeth's Cup twice."

After having made some headway through the maze of government restrictions and quarantine related issues to compete globally, he laments on the spectre of vested interests that have been a stumbling block towards Indian horses racing abroad. Citing his privileges as a Member of Parliament, he says, "There are too many personal vested interests in racing in India. Nobody looks at it as a sport in general benefiting everybody. I mean I have the privilege of access to various ministries. I have told the Turf Club, `make use of me if you want to'. But nobody really has. Today, we have another racehorse owner, Dr. Ramaswamy, who recently became a Member of Parliament as well. And I am sure he can do a lot because we, Members of Parliament, have the privilege of access to various departments and ministries. But at the end of the day, somebody has to take the initiative."

No stranger to these obstacles himself, in the earlier days, as a member of the managing committee at RWITC, he had grandiose plans for Indian racing and had mooted the idea of starting night racing in Mumbai. The current furore over the proposed redevelopment of part of the racecourse amuses him as he finds many similarities to what he had planned way back. Puffing back contentedly on his cigar he looks smilingly at me through the haze of smoke saying, "Many of those who are on the committee today were my colleagues during my tenure. RWTTC has a serious financial problem and I was witness to it. I think it was during my time I mooted the idea of night racing and the idea of development of part of the property. In fact, there was a memorandum of understanding actually arrived at between RWITC and Gammon India Limited for sponsoring night racing in return for part development of the property to make it financially viable. The way I conceived it with restaurants and bars and entertainment for the family, night racing would have been the complete destination. It would have changed the entertainment landscape of Bombay and would have brought huge profits to RWITC. But anyway, it didn't work at that time and then they sort of modified the plan. And then I went off the committee and did not seek re-election. And now it seems to be, well, property development."

The vision, dynamism and large-heartedness have made him a darling with the masses and the race going fraternity. He feels that the introduction of an independent body to control all the racecourses in India would be a good start to bring in transparency in a sport that has been loaded with controversies in recent years. He also echoes the sentiment of making the sport a family event and a complete entertainment avenue. According to him the sport lacks adequate and focussed marketing and the image has been steadily crumbling in the eyes of the general public.

These statements should not be taken lightly considering that they come from a visionary boasting a business acumen that has made him a household name in the country. But he surely has no regrets about his life and times. Looking back from the days when at a young age of 28 he took over the reins of a burgeoning business empire, he reminisces, "It has been a roller coaster ride but in the fast lane. The years have flown by and so have the achievements. Equally, you know, whenever I made mistakes, the effect of those mistakes has also disappeared equally fast. So it's good to be fast."

And with the second innings in the `king of sports' having started with a bang, he is certainly here to stay and without resting on his past laurels, seems all set to rewrite the history books in the annals of Indian racing.