Those who eagerly watched the high-class and riveting action from Dubai a few weeks ago could hardly have failed to notice that the baton of superior bloodstock breeding appears to have passed from the traditional sources, such as England, Ireland and France, to countries which were once looked down upon. For the second year in a row, horses from the European powerhouses were completely shut out of the winners' circle on Dubai World Cup day.
      At Nad Al Sheba on March 29th 2008, the evening's honours were split evenly between runners trained in the U.S.A. (3 wins) and those trained by South African schoolers (3 wins), with honours unquestionably going to the latter, as until the last decade or so, South African-trained horses have been unknown quantities outside their native land while the Americans are always expected to win anyway.
      Arguably the most significant effort on the part of a South African-bred in recent times has been that of London News, who annexed the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Gr.l, in Hong Kong in 1997. Further proof of the calibre of South African-breds followed.

The stunning Broward Handicap, Gr.3, win of Horse Chestnut in Florida in 2000 and the brilliant performances of the ill-fated Spook Express in 2001, which included a runner-up effort to Banks Hill in the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Gr.l, in New York, highlighted the treasures that were to be found South of the Zambezi.
      Admittedly one of this year's victorious SA-trained brigade (Honour Devil) was bred in Argentina, and has never raced in South Africa while another was bred in Australia (Sun Classique) — but by a South African breeder, Lionel Cohen, in whose home country she raced successfully at Gr.1 level before beginning her triumphant Dubai odyssey. The third, Jay Peg, was a product of the Cape Province's High Season Stud and was sold as a yearling for 130,000 rand (about Rs. 6.5 lakhs) at the 2005 Equimark Vintage Sale — in his Dubai win he demonstrated sterling fighting qualities while beating nine Gr.l winners from around the globe!
      It must be noted that South Africa has no restrictions on importing foreign horses, whether for racing or breeding. Nor are there restrictions on owners — fully 30% of

the turnover at the 2007 National Yearling Sale was attributable to international buyers, including the sale topper (at 2.6 million rand), who was bought by Kentucky horseman, Barry Irwin of Team Valor, who ranks high amongst those to have recognized the South African turf for what it is — a diamond in the rough. In April, Irwin returned to South Africa and picked up another 13 head.
     In complete contrast — and an anachronism is this globalized day and age — are the restrictions in India. There appears to be no articulated policy for import of racehorses to this country, while that for import of breeding stock restricts this item to owners of stud farms (why?). Moreover, so unsure of the quality of the Indian-bred are the turf authorities in India that they have mandated an 8 kgs. penalty for foreign-breds in those Indian terms races in which such horses are eligible e.g. the Eclipse Stakes of India, Gr.2.
     The combination of hypocrisy and xenophobia is self-evident: on the one hand we want to send our top performers abroad, touting them as being of high quality, while on the other we say our horses are at least 8 kg. inferior, merely to begin with!
How is it that the much-hyped Indian Premier League for cricket is not restricted to Indian citizens? Why is it that against "foreign performers" who have been permitted (no import licence necessary!) like Andrew Symonds, Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid were not given opening scores of 80 runs apiece each time they went out to bat? And the answer is obvious — to achieve world class ability, skills must be tempered against the best in open international competition - and not with the aid of artificial crutches like bans, restrictions and penalties.
     Why do we have such an inferiority complex with respect to our racehorses in a country that has such a rich tradition of equestrian activities? If these foolish policies continue, one can confidently assert that India will never produce world class racehorses. Certainly we ought to be appreciative of runners like Mystical and Saddle Up, who have done the country proud with their international efforts. Yet, these achievements must be placed in proper perspective, and we must not forget that all that the current retrograde policies have achieved is that:
a) Only one Indian-bred victory has ever been recorded in North America (Adler), and that too courtesy of the stewards at lowly Ellis Park.
b) No Indian horse has won a flat race of any description in Europe in 50 years.

c) An Indian website suggested recently that ratings of   exported   Indian-breds   have   to   be   lowered by 45 points  for the horses to be competitive internationally.
d) No foreign-bred and raced horse has been seen on an Indian track since Nakhli and Make My Day jetted in from Dubai a quarter of a century ago — Indian racegoers have thus been deprived of seeing imported runners, despite being able to drive to Mahalakshmi or Malakpet in a Maybach or a Mercedes-Benz...
     This is hardly the stuff to get excited about!
     For India, and particularly for its younger generation who hold high aspirations, to be able to raise its head high in the bloodstock world, it is imperative to take decisive and bold steps. One potential course of action for the industry would be to petition:

1. The Turf Authorities of India to reduce the "foreign-bred" 8 kgs. penalty by 2 kgs. each year for 4 years (till 2012) and then to drop it altogether, and to open the Classics to foreign-breds (initially with the 8 kgs. penalty in 2008, dropping by 2 kgs. each year, then with none, from 2012 onwards).
2. The Government of India to scrap import licensing for horses, whether for racing or breeding, altogether (we have over $300 billion reserves to play with), and to remove duty on breeding stock.

     Let's not forget that Dark Legend (3rd in the 1917 Epsom Derby to Gay Crusader) who probably had an international rating of 120 was imported to India by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. As his owner unfortunately died shortly thereafter, the horse was auctioned at Calcutta, and purchased for Rs. 1,01,000 by the noted sportsman, J.C. Galstaun, for whom he won the King Emperor's Cup and the Viceroy's Cup in 1918/9. The horse was by no means invincible and other runners of the time like First Flier, One and Roubaix provided him with stiff competition. If that was the calibre of the sport in India about ninety years ago, then it has surely deteriorated due to the wrong policies and we have been reduced to racing, despite the advent of the 21st century, with animals rated at best at around 105 (barring the odd Mystical or Saddle Up).
     And finally, let us take heart from the more recent example of Germany, which jumped in at the deep end, opened its classics to foreign-bred horses in 1993, and was rewarded less than 15 years later with Manduro, the best horse in the world in 2007! My case rests...