Horse Sense

THE winner of the Pune Derby in 1990 was Ashwamedha. A horse Arun Nanda, Rediffusion head honcho and former media advisor to the late Rajiv Gandhi, bought for his daughter. What followed was an impulsive, impromptu party for over a 1,000 people right then and there. Says Nanda, who considers himself a very logical person, 8220;At times like this, logic goes for one big six. It might sound a bit silly, but the sheer joy a win brings makes you walk around in a total haze.8221;

nbsp;	STYLE STALLIONS
		nbsp;	Dr Cyrus Poonawalla Hat, cigar, bodyguard and a gold ring with a horseshoe and a horse head on it Vijay Mallya Cufflinks with VM embossed on them, matching tie and handkerchief, and a big red tikka on the forehead before every important race Arun Nanda Full suit and dark glasses MAM Ramaswamy Safari suit, lucky handkerchief peeping out of the pocket and a favourite spot at one end of the wooden bench where no else dare sit when he8217;s around Shyam Ruia Designer Safari suits or full suits, a tie, a pen on the sleeves and a quiet no-interviews stance Khushroo Dhunjibhoy A collection of walking sticks with a horse head as the grip. Attends races in smart jackets, open collar shirts and a big, broad smile! Wife Deepa is always in favourite and, apparently lucky, blue	nbsp;

Nanda is seated in the plush committee room of the Pune racecourse, and the season is at its zenith. The room is filled with other racing8212;and breeding8212;obsessed people like him.

One of them sits on an old wooden bench, his 8216;lucky spot8217;, and won8217;t budge from there until the race is over. MAM Ramaswamy, chairman of the Chettinad Cement Corporation, is also wearing his 8216;lucky8217; suit, with an old handkerchief jutting out of his pocket8212;the latter has been his indispensable racing companion for every Classic race day.

Their vice-presidents and senior execs may agonise over their swing on the greens. But for these gentlemen, among the cream of

India8217;s corporate world, there is, outside work, only one obsession8212;equines.

An obsession that makes them its slave to the last detail. Ask the dapper8212;smart jacket, matching hat8212;Dr Cyrus S Poonawalla, chairman of the eponymous group, who sits there puffing his Cuban cigar, and he8217;ll tell you. 8220;Since there is a dress code, I like to follow it properly. I do have about a dozen good hats to go with different jackets,8217;8217; smiles Poonawalla, among India8217;s leading horse breeders. As he gesticulates, a horse-head-shaped gold ring glints on his finger.

This workaholic chairman of the Serum Institute of India doesn8217;t gamble, is known for his philanthropic nature, and is also a tough boss. But place him in his ultra modern 350-acre stud farm and CSP as he is commonly known seems to be in his element as a breeder who knows a winner when he sees one. 8220;The love for horses is inborn. The satisfaction you get as a breeder is when your chosen horse makes it past the winning post.8221;

8220;Racing is not my business, but it gives me a great deal of happiness,8217;8217; says Ramaswamy, who owns 1,000 race horses, has had 379 Classic wins, and says he gets sick if any of his horses fall ill.

The happiness derived could then be what drives a lot of business barons to blank out their professional commitments and metamorphose from dignified corporate leaders to decidedly nervous high school boys. Their stomach ties itself into knots, their hearts beat faster, and the entire being focuses8212;for that one and half minutes8212;on the stride of their favourite horse.

And this is true of everybody who frequents the courses. From liquor baron Vijay Mallya to Shyam Ruia, the reticent director of Raptakos Brett and Co to the Poonawallas to Arun Nanda.

8220;Every year my heart starts pounding in the first week of February when it8217;s time for the McDowell Indian Derby,8217;8217; says Mallya, owner of many a thoroughbred and winner of five Indian derbies.

Recounts Nanda, 8216;8216;When I was media advisor to Rajiv Gandhi, I used to visit Delhi on most Saturdays. But my Sundays were booked for the races and I would beg to be excused. Finally, even the Prime Minister realised that it would be very difficult to get me on a Sunday.8221;

Nanda, a 1966 IIM Ahmedabad gold medallist the first-ever IIM batch, was conquered by racing 35 years ago when he accidentally sauntered into Mumbai8217;s racecourse looking for his cousin. Today, he owns 10 horses. A reserved person at work, Nanda says he loves to socialise with other owners.

Khushroo Dhunjibhoy, chairman, Five Star Shipping, and current chairman of the Royal Western India Turf Club RWITC, identifies with Nanda. 8220;Horses and racing dominate my life completely. I spend a third of my time involved with them,8221; says Dhunjibhoy, who spends his weekends at his 250-acre Nanoli stud farm on Pune8217;s outskirts with his horses, including the prized Fellabellas8212;JR, Belle, and their kid Archie8212;miniature horses imported from South America. Archie, for whom there have been many offers the going price is about a lakh, including one from the Maharaja of Jaipur, is Dhunjibhoy8217;s gift to his granddaughter.

Dhunjibhoy8217;s farm, which houses 250 horses, was once one big rock. He had it blasted, planted 60,000 trees and converted it into the lush green haven that it is today. Ask him what is dearer to him8212;horses or ships8212;and the response is quick and obvious. This businessman also likes to talk about the time he bought a horse in Gujarat, going against the no-more-buying-horses promise he had made to his wife. The horse, appropriately named Indiscretion, later went on to win many a race for Dhunjibhoy.

He, in fact, has a collection of walking sticks with the grip shaped like a horse head. There are others who like picking up tiepins, cufflinks and belts with an equine design.

Poonawalla8217;s farm is studded with trophies along with mounted portraits of some of his best stallions and racehorses like Clark Gable and Cordon Bleu plus two rooms dedicated to his all-time favourites8212;Astonish and Adler. Or in the case of Ruia8217;s 143-horse Equus stud farm, you could have the picture of a horse head made with tiles lining the floor of your heated swimming pool.

But it8217;s not just about collections. The normally reserved Ruia8217;s remembrances at his farm speak volumes. Like the grave under a beautiful marble statue of Venus of his very first horse Venus DeMilo. Or the paddock he got made for Adariysa, a high pedigree filly who fractured her leg some years ago. While most owners would have put down a horse unable to race, Ruia spent

Rs 5 lakh on her treatment and the new paddock, and looked after her for the rest of her life.

The involvement is most in evidence on important race days at the RWITC, as the normally calm magnates walk around nervously near the paddocks, and fidget with their lucky horse-print tie or hanky.

Nanda talks about gents who walk away with tears running down their cheeks and those who are speechless with happiness. Racing, he says, gives birth to quaint friendships. 8220;Among textile baron

P Mafatlal8217;s best friends was a clerk at the racecourse, simply because Mafatlal respected his judgement of horses.8221;

Their social life also soon becomes an extension of the racecourse. Says Poonawalla, 8220;Racing dominates a large portion of my time, inputs and social life. One meets the horse racing and breeding fraternity all year round.8221;

8220;When a horse you recommended scores, the feeling is euphoric. A supreme vindication of the understanding you possess of horses,8221; adds Nanda.

The driver for their magnificent obsession could be one among many8212;passion, a love for horses, or a chance to be their own selves. But we will let Adar Poonawalla, Cyrus8217; son, have the last word: 8220;It8217;s all about unpredictability. Even the best businesses become predictable. You avoid pitfalls, maximise profits and mostly have control over the results. In racing, your best efforts could let you down in a pulsating one and half minutes or a horse you ran purely on gut feel may win you the Derby. That is an incomparable feeling.8221;