S. PADMANABHAN
THE BIG RACE SPECIALIST

The scene is one few thought was possible – an Indian horse in a pre-race parade at the Nad el Sheba racetrack in Dubai and his connections, all from India, deep in conversation with H. H. Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum, the visionary who is taking international racing to a higher level and the man behind the Dubai International Racing Carnival.

Even as Classical Act was on his way into the record books as the first Indian horse to race in the desert kingdom, the Poonawalla brothers, Cyrus and Zavaray, Zeyn Mirza of URBB Ltd, and S. Padmanabhan, the trainer of Classical Act, had much to be proud of.

Getting Classical Act and Zurbaran to Dubai in time for the Racing Carnival was nothing short of an odyssey as lack of quarantine protocols between India and the UAE meant that the horses had to travel first to the USA, be in that country for 45 days and then make their way to Dubai. Padmanabhan can rightly claim the credit for organizing the entire trip and seeing that everything went off smoothly.

As Padmanabhan, or Paddy as he is called in racing circles, explains “this was the time to call in favours from my friends around the world. Fin Powerie, head of Emirates Racing Association agreed to reduce the 90-day quarantine rule to 45 days after I had convinced him that India did not have cases of African Horses Sickness. Trainer Paddy Gallagher at Santa Anita Park in California readily agreed to look after the horses in America and to get them ready for their Dubai campaign. I must say that he took excellent care of both the horses as did Darley Transport who delivered Classical Act and Zurbaran in impeccable condition at Dubai.”

“However none of this would have been possible if Khushro Dhunjibhoy, Byram Jeejeebhoy and Vijay Mallya had not sportingly agreed to send Zurbaran and Classical Act to compete.” The catalyst for this pioneering trip to Dubai was Padmanabhan who has always nurtured a belief that Indian horses are capable of performing internationally and took his chance when the opportunity presented itself.

So where did it all start for Sadakshara Ruben Padmanabhan? His first visit to a racecourse was with his school friend B. L. Mohan whose father was Chief Engineer of Madras Race Club. This Kindled an interest in racing and in 1977, much against his father’s wishes, Paddy took an Assistant Trainer’s license and worked under his friend Mohan. In September of 1981 Padmanabhan joined the ranks of the professional trainers, but at a heavy personal cost. Racing has always had the gambling stigma attached to it and Paddy’s father was dead set against his son making his career in racing, especially as Paddy was already involved in the family printing press. He reminisces about that episode in his life “I had decided to chart my own course and as a result I started out in racing absolutely from scratch. I had only the clothes on my back and had to think quick to survive.

Though Paddy and his father reconciled in later years, it was this ability to think on his feet and instinct for survival that saw Paddy navigator the first crucial years as a trainer and helped him reach the top of his profession.

THE STRUGGLING 80’S

“That first year was the most crucial in my career as a trainer. I had to use every means I could to raise the capital of Rs. 10,000 to get started and I could not afford to hire a head lad. I carried out the duties of a head lad and this helped me appreciate and understand the needs of my horses. I have never forgotten those lessons I learnt in the first months as a trainer.”

Don’t Worry, a nine year old gave Paddy his first ever winner in February 1982. Bangalore had always attracted him and in August 1982 Paddy made his move from Madras. He will always remember his friends, sundaram and his sons, Chockalingam and Subramaniam, who gave him a start in Bangalore by giving him 12 of their horses to train and more importantly a written guarantee that these horses would remain with him for at least one year. As Paddy says “This was a huge vote of confidence for someone who had held a license for less than a year and really set me up in Bangalore.”

Friday 13th February 1983 turned out to be an extremely lucky day for Paddy for it was on that day he saddled Run Dusty Run for his first winner in Bangalore. Paddy finished the season well satisfied with his results and more importantly proved his critics, who had predicted disaster for the young trainer, wrong.

It was around this time that Paddy came into contact with YM Chaudhary. “YM was great influence in my life and he was the one who persuaded me to travel abroad to see how things are done.”

In 1985 on a visit to Calcutta Paddy met Sharmila for the first time. They were married in January 1989 and Paddy calls Sharmila “the biggest positive influence in my life. We are kindred spirits and she has stuck with me through thick and thin.”

Sharmila enjoys racing to the hilt and she is never fat from the scene of action whenever one of Paddy’s horses runs in a big race. Sharmila and Paddy work in tandem and she has taken over the paper work and general administration of the stable leaving Paddy to concentrate on the horses.

After nearly a decade of training with middling success it was a chance remark that made Padmanabhan pause and look afresh at the path that he had chosen. In December 1989, Gautam Kotwal introduced Paddy to James Underwood, the internationally renowned bloodstock and pedigree expert. After a visit to Paddy’s yard, James Underwood remarked, “I hope you are not one of those trainers whose horses look well but don’t race well.” Paddy was touched by this remark and asked Underwood why he had made such a statement. Underwood replied saying that while the horses looked well their racing record was far from impressive. He went on to add that the reason for this was the lack of pedigree in the horses under Paddy’s care.

That one statement was enough to change the course of Padmanabhan’s career. He took a conscious decision to concentrate on quality instead of filling up his stables with a lot of ordinary horses. As he says “The next sales were in February 1990 and instead of buying the usual complement of a dozen or so two year olds I purchased only three horses.”

THE LADIES MAN

These three horses turned out to be Golden Fantasy, Eagle Wind and Rolling Thunder.

Paddy convinced his newest owners, Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Jain, to buy Golden Fantasy and she went on to win Paddy his first three classics, the 1991 Mysore 1000 Guineas, The Mysore 2000 Guineas and the The Bangalore 1000 Guineas. Eagle Wind was classic placed and so was Rolling Thunder. All three horses ended their racing careers at the top of class one.

1990 was an extremely crucial year in another respect as Paddy says, “It was the year that I made two good friends among the breeders – Pradeep Mehra and Sonny Brar. I became close to both of them and they have been instrumental in my success, supporting me with good horses and recommending me to several big owners.”

1991 saw the entry of Diamantaire, Nijinsky’s Crown, Treasure Hunt and Dynamic Dancer into Paddy’s yard. These three followed up on the classic successes of Golden Fantasy, and signaled the arrival of Padmanabhan as a classic trainer of repute. Dynamic Dancer won Paddy his first derby, the 1992 Deccan Derby at Hyderabad. There has been no looking back since then, for Paddy and his horses now score regularly in the graded and classic races across the country.

It has not been plain sailing however and there have been a few ‘downs’ too in Padmanabhan’s career. Talking about Littleover, despite the passage of time, it is clear that this episode still rankles inspite of all Paddy’s efforts to keep the filly, she was sold to Dr. Vijay Mallya and left his charge at the end of the 1992-93 Bangalore Winter Season. Littleover went on to win the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby in the summer and the following February she won the Indian Derby.

However every dark cloud has a silver lining and he was soon to get his first champion horse, Winning Pretty Winning Pretty caught Paddy’s eye during the sales, and he convinced Feroz Khan to buy her. She went on to win nine races including Paddy’s only Poonawalla Breeders’ Million, and his first Indian classic, the Indian 1000 Guineas. Winning Pretty was the horse that put Paddy into the top echelons of trainers, and understandably, he has a soft spot for her, “She was my first really big horse.” Zurbaran and Running Flame have given Paddy his biggest successes as a trainer and cemented his place as one of the top classic trainers in the country.

Paddy has had tremendous success with fillies and the likes of Lyrical Bid, Moment of Glory, Wandering Star, Winning Pretty, Congratulations, Dynamic Dancer and Running Flame have all won at Grade 1 Level. Commenting on this he says, “I have had the pleasure of training for some very sporting breeders and owner-breeders like Pathy, Mohan Rao Gogineni, Maharaj of Idar, Pradeep Mehra, Sonny Brar, Cyrus and Zavaray Poonawalla and Khushro Dhunjibhoy to name a few. It is only natural that they retained their fillies for racing, and hence my success with them. Of late I have had great success with Khushro’s colts like Zurbaran, Royal Gladiator, Hawke Bay and Berlioz.”

Paddy, when asked this question, had no hesitation in naming congratulations as the horse who tested his training abilities to the limit, “Congratulations was the most challenging horse I trained. She was a true prima donna and you could never force her to do anything. I used to work her on a flexible schedule, galloping her on the days she was in a good mood. She gave me great depressions and even greater highs. She was bred and owned by Pradeep Mehra, and on many occasions he wanted to retire her to stud rather than struggle on. However in the end, her Indian Oaks victory more than made up for the hard times she gave us. She was the last classic winner that Pradeep and Veena led in, and she will always be special. I lost a very special friend when Pradeep was tragically killed in a chopper crash in 2001.”

One of Padmanabhan’s biggest assets is his thirst for knowledge. He has acquired more than a working knowledge of equine medicine and is well versed with pedigrees from around the world. Technology has always been a major factor in his scheme of things, and he was the first trainer in India to use a computer for storing data. He recalls; “On my first visit to America in 1986 I picked up a Transportable, the forerunner to the laptop.” Nowadays Paddy keeps himself up to date with the latest advances in equine studies through the Internet.

After his initial trip abroad in 1986 it became a routine for Paddy to travel abroad to France, England, Ireland and the US, visiting stud farms, training establishments and rececourses. Paddy acknowledges that these trips have had a profound impact on the way he looks at horses “Seeing top stallions, yearlings and race horses have helped me learn about the breed characteristics, and I believe that it has also given me that indefinable extra that helps in choosing yearlings.” These words seem to have some truth in them, when you consider that the classic winners Winning Pretty, moment of Glory, Wandering Star and Running flame had all been passed over by other as yearlings.

Paddy’s sense of adventure is well honed, and he has the courage of his convictions. Nothing illustrates this more than his belief in Running Flame. Taking over the filly after her owner had decided to quit racing. Paddy and Sharmila, in whose colours the filly raced, experienced their biggest moments in racing as Running Flame won the Indian 1000 Guineas, Oaks and the Invitation Cup. After racing opportunities dried up in this country, in a bold and unprecedented step Paddy and Sharmila exported Running Flame to America. Today Running Flame has a yearling filly by Silver Hawk.

Paddy has always believed in giving his horses the best be it top quality feed, equipment or jockeys. He has forged strong partnerships with the likes of Paul Eddery, Martin Dwyer, Richard Huges, Pesi Shroff and Mallesh Narredu. He believes that “the jockey is one of the most important factors in a trainers success. And there has to be a good understanding with the jockey who is riding your horse.”

For Padmanabhan, training is a cerebral exercise and eh treats every horse under his care as an individual. Nothing gives him a bigger thrill than seeing his horses win top-level races.

“One of the best decision’s I made was to change the type of horses I trained, way back in 1990. Winning a big or high profile race seems elusive and almost impossible to achieve at first. But once you have entered the winner’s circle in such a race it becomes addictive, and you want to do it more often. This is what keeps me motivated and also keeps my entire team motivated. You have to have the hunger for success to remain at the top once you get there.”

He acknowledges that without good owners it is impossible for a trainer to be successful, and says, “I have been lucky to have trained for a lot of sporting owners and breeders who have invested valuable bloodstock with me and have helped me get the results.” So with nearly 70 graded race wins including 32 classics in India what is left for Paddy to aim for? His answer to this question was forthright “I would like to win an international Group race with an Indian horse. Also there is a gap in my record in that I have not won the Summer Derby at Bangalore and the Indian Derby.”

With an owner profile that reads like who’s who of India racing and breeding Khuhroo Dhunjibhoy, Dr. Cyrus Poonawalla, Zavaray Poonawalla, Byram Jeejeebhoy, Aruna Nanda, Shyam Ruia Jamshed Appoo, Sunil Jhangiani, Ameeta Mehra and Devika Mehra. It may not be too long before this dream is realised especially as Padmanabhan has a track record of working towards making his dreams come true.