Drama at Poona Derby
Bull Run was purchased in 2014 from Usha Stud Farm in north India and each of the four owners holds a 25% share in the thoroughbred. This is only the second horse partly owned by Sarbh, and it is a very rare phenomenon for such a person to win a Pune Derby, he shared with Parsiana. Sarbh acknowledged that the Pune Derby is a hard fought race for three-year-olds and Katrak had trained Bull Run very well indeed. The owners received a single trophy, but will take home replicas in addition to almost Rs 35 lakhs from the total stake of Rs 57 lakhs.
Continental, owned by Pallonji Mistry and trained by Pesi Shroff, the second favorite at the Pune Derby, collapsed just 50 m from the winning post, fractured a leg and had to be put down. Though the jockey fell, he was fortunately not trampled on. The day being very hot and muggy and as some rain had fallen the track was wet, some horses suffered from exertion and sweated copiously, said Sarbh. After the race, Bull Run too seemed to be in distress and almost collapsed. Fortunately, with timely medical treatment from the Turf Club’s veterinarian Dr Anil Kumar, he was revived. The owners have placed on record their gratitude to the vet. Bull Run is expected to run in the Indian Derby in Bombay on February 7, 2016, subject to Katrak’s okay, Sarbh said.
Concerned at the rigors that race horses are subject to on the track, Parsiana requested Diana Ratnagar, chairperson, Beauty Without Cruelty, to express her views on the dangers posed to them.
"My grandfather Cursetjee Dady Dady, who was known as Kelso in racing circles, was the first Indian Steward of the Turf Club. I remember a horse on our property escaping from its stable at night, stumbling, and breaking its leg. A veterinarian was summoned… the horse was shot dead… 60 years later Continental was killed for the very same reason. With a fractured leg, a thoroughbred is not thought fit to be allowed to live.
"Racehorses with broken bones are euthanized because they won’t recover sufficiently well to race again. Sadly, the focus is not on the welfare of horses, but on winning lakhs of rupees in prize money and trophies.
"The lay person is unaware that a horse is often subjected to gross drug abuse to prepare it for the exacting demands of the race. And, during the race itself, even in unfavorable weather conditions, the horse’s capacity is frequently stretched beyond its limit of endurance and it suffers a breakdown: it may bleed from its lungs or have a heart attack, or its legs may shatter under strain – just like Continental’s fracture and Bull Run’s near collapse after winning.
"Young, healthy horses stand a better chance of winning, so old ones are retired. Retirement involves selling the horse to an amateur riding institute where it will be mercilessly whipped to death; or to establishments which produce serums and vaccines, for which the poor horse is systematically bled to death; and, if no buyer is found, the old horse will be abandoned to die of starvation.
"Ironically, I now represent Beauty Without Cruelty, an NGO (nongovernmental organization) that works against animal exploitation for entertainment, which covers the so-called ‘sport’ of horse racing, and I feel sorry for not having been successful in closing down this big gambling business in which the horse is always the loser.”