PESI SHROFF:- LIVING LEGEND OF INDIAN RACING Berjis Desai On 15th April, 1979, a champion jockey called Karl Umrigar fell off his mount, his left lung was punctured under the hoof of his horse, bravely battled for his life for eighteen days, but finally succumbed. Umrigar was Pesi Shroff’s first cousin, and his to-be-wife, Tina’s brother. This tragic shock did not affect Pesi Shroff’s resolve to be a professional jockey. Neither did any other setback or problem or threats over his dream career of 23 years, during which he rode 5614 races and won 1751 of them. This included 106 classic winners, out of which were a mind boggling 29 Derbys. He rode across the country for almost all the leading racehorse owners including Vijay Mallya, M.A.M. Ramaswamy, Cyrus Poonawalla, Deepak Khaitan, Vijay Shirke, Noshir Irani and Khushroo Dhunjibhoy. Indian professionals hate to retire until they are pushed out. Pesi won his last Indian Derby on ‘Psychic Flame’, a 10-1 outsider, and hung his boots within months, at the peak of his illustrious career. The RWITC, Mumbai Turf Club for the uninitiated, immediately granted him a trainer’s licence, in an unprecedented move. In his new avatar, over the last nine years, Pesi has been Champion Trainer seven times, and won all the Indian classics as also regional Derbys. So far, he has saddled more than 750 winners (73 graded races), and without any doubt, is India’s numero uno racehorse trainer. One of his wards, the Champion filly, Jacqueline, went on to win four successive Indian classics in a span of just 48 days, and entered the Guinness Book of World Records, for this worldwide unprecedented feat of stamina and speed. She was an unsound horse, carefully nurtured by Pesi, into a champion of all times. Shroff’s wife, Tina, a horsewoman herself, is the backbone behind his efficient stable management and skilful handling of temperamental clients. His son, Yohann, and daughter, Anya, are both amateur riders. He has also spawned another Zoroastrian champion jockey in his stable called S. Zervan, who is moulding his career on his idol and mentor. Pesi has always vigorously fought for the legitimate rights of jockeys and trainers, often inviting the ire of prickly regulators of the sport. Shroff’s feat is all the more remarkable given the unsavoury state of Indian horse racing, always mired in unseemly controversies. Unlike other first class athletes, jockeys, rather deceptively, do not look the part. However they are tough as nails; professional horse racing being a high endurance sport. Few know that after skiing, horseracing is the second most dangerous sport. In thoroughbred racing, weight control by the jockey is critical. For 23 long years, Pesi underwent the almost yogic regimen of eating the tiniest of meals (thought he did not follow the practice of many other jockeys to vomit out a heavy meal). Pesi’s success, both as a champion jockey and trainer, is greatly attributable to a highly disciplined mind, hardwork (up at 4 a.m. every single day) and a keen strategic mind. Two fascinating episodes is proof of Shroff, the strategist. In a three horse race with a piping hot favourite, Shroff knew that his horse had no chance. However, he was aware that the favourite had a tendency to turn back, when she found that there were no other horses racing alongside. Shroff and the other jockey decided to make a slow start. The favourite darted forth, found no company, got nervous, and as was her wont, turned back, giving Shroff an upset victory. Even as a rookie, Shroff was no pushover. In a particular case, Shroff knew that the favourite got fidgety when standing too long in the gates to open. In those days, horses had to move into the gates according to the numerical order of the draw. The favourite ridden by a champion foreign jockey ordered Shroff to move in first. Point blank, Shroff refused and insisted that the horses will get in, only according to the draw. The foreign jockey glared at him in anger, but had to reluctantly go in first. Shroff then told the handlers to give his horse one more round. By then, the favourite was most uncomfortable in the gate, and lost. Shroff, like most horsemen, believe that a jockey must always communicate with the horse, who feels the nervous tension of a race, knows that the objective is to win, and feels bad, if narrowly beaten. As a trainer, Shroff instinctively knows what ails his ward and subsequent medical examination often proves him right. Zoroastrians can feel proud that even Shroff’s bitter opponents concede that the performance gap between them and Shroff will not be easily breached, for years to come. Courtesy : HAMAZOR (August 2013)
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 02:47:52 +0000
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