Rashid Byramji (5 November 1934 – 29 January 2022) was an Indian horse trainer. He was popularly known as the "horse whisperer" of Indian horse racing. In a career spanning over six decades, Byramji held the records for 3,170 wins including 230 classics. He was the only trainer to have had 10 Indian Derby winners and 12 Indian Invitation Cup winners.
| Occupation | Horse trainer |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 November 1934 Bombay, British Raj |
| Died | 29 January 2022 (aged 87) Bengaluru, Karnataka, India |
| Spouse(s) | Dolly Nazir |
| Significant horses | |
| Elusive Pimpernel, Squanderer | |
Early life
editByramji was born on 5 November 1934 into a parsi family of horse trainers.[1] He was exposed to horses at an young age watching his grandfather, Byramji Rustomji, and his father, Rustomji Byramji, train horses.[2] He completed his schooling in Bombay.[3]
Career
editByramji obtained his trainers' license at 21 from the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) in 1955.[4] He started his training career working on four horses provided by Indian businessman and founder of the Serum Institute of India, Cyrus S. Poonawalla. Byramji had his first victory within six months of starting out when he trained Lingamala to victory. He would go on to win four more races with the same horse.
This initial streak of victories was followed by a lull, in which he did not see many victories. Byramji went during this time to the stable owner, S. A. Irani, and asked to be relieved of his duties. Irani, however, persisted and Byramji was back to winning ways, winning nine of the next races in a row.[2] He moved to Bangalore after a misunderstanding with the stewards at the RWITC in Bombay in 1965. He won his first derby in Bangalore, and followed it up with an Indian derby and an invitation cup victory.[2][5]
In a career spanning six decades, he held the all-India record at 3,170 wins, including 230 classics, and was the only trainer to have had 10 Indian Derby winners and 12 Indian Invitation Cup winners. Byramji was crowned 'Champion Trainer' 42 times in a career that started in 1956.[6][7][8][9][10] He also held the record for two hat-tricks in the Indian Derby and three hat-tricks in the Indian turf invitation cups.[11] Through his career, he won 11 consecutive Bangalore Summer Championships.[1] In an article on his death, The Hindu newspaper noted that he "took the art of training thoroughbreds to a different level altogether and no other trainer in the annals of the Indian Turf has made such an incredible impact on the Sport."[1]
Byramji obtained his doctorate degree from the University of Glasgow, Scotland for conditioning of horses.[4] He trained both all-time great horses seen on Indian turf, Elusive Pimpernel (won 22 of 23 starts)[12][13] and Squanderer (won 18 of 19 starts).[14][15] Through his career, he worked with various owners, including Vijay Mallya, Cyrus Poonawalla, and jockeys, including Pesi Shroff, Aslam Kader, and Lester Piggott.[4]
Byramji retired at the end of the Bangalore winter season in March 2017.[1][11]
Horses trained
editIndian Derby winners
editSource(s):[11]
- Prince Khartoum (1972)
- Topmost (1974)
- Commanche (1976)
- Squanderer (1977)
- Manitou (1978)
- Mohawk (1980)
- Track Lightning (1981)
- Cordon Bleu (1988)
- Astronomic (1993)
- Littleover (1994)
- Elusive Pimpernel (1995)
Indian Turf Invitation Cup winners
editSource(s):[11]
- Prince Khartoum (Chennai, 1972)
- Topmost (Mumbai, 1974)
- Comanche (Chennai, 1976)
- Squanderer (Bengaluru, 1977)
- Manitou (Hyderabad, 1978)
- Everynsky (Kolkata, 1980)
- Track Lightning (Chennai, 1981)
- Almanac (Bengaluru, 1982)
- Delage (Chennai, 1991)
- Bugs Bunny (Bengaluru, 1992)
- Adler (Hyderabad, 1993)
- Elusive Pimpernel (Kolkata, 1995)
Personal life
editA resident of Bangalore from 1965 until his death, Byramji was married to Dolly Nazir, a swimmer who competed in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.[16][3] His son Darius has followed in his footsteps to be a horse trainer as well.[2]
Byramji died at his home in Bangalore, on 29 January 2022, at the age of 87.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Madan, Cyrus J. (30 January 2022). "The touch of the master's hand or simply 'Byramji effect'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Leaving behind a rich legacy". Deccan Herald. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ a b c Veerappa, Manuja (30 January 2022). "Era comes to an end as Byramji passes away". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ a b c Sharma, S C (15 July 2019). "Most respectful, successful and greatest ever - trainer". www.indiarace.com. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ W, -R. (7 December 2017). "RASHID R. BYRAMJI A LEGEND RETIRES". Racing World -Horse Racing India. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "The Times Group". epaperbeta.timesofindia.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ "Trainer R R Byramji-www.indiarace.com". indiarace.com. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ Winning Post (2 August 2016), Interview with Trainer Mr.R. R. Byramji, retrieved 23 May 2018
- ^ Winning Post (7 July 2013), The Winning Post, 5th July - A special episode dedicated to legendary trainer RR Byramji, retrieved 23 May 2018
- ^ "Legendary trainer Byramji feted at BTC". Deccan Herald. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Racing legend R.R. Byramji passes away at 88". Star of Mysore. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
- ^ "Elusive". indiarace.com. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ Foresee Multimedia Pvt Ltd (7 June 2017), Elusive Pimpernel, retrieved 20 May 2018
- ^ "A legend is no more". The Hindu. 20 May 2000. Retrieved 20 May 2018.[dead link]
- ^ Sawhny, Bob (31 January 2011). "The Brilliant Squanderer was The Greatest Indian Thoroughbred". rwitc.com. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
SQUANDERER (Valoroso - Milky Way): An extremely versatile Triple Crown winner (1977) who won as many as 18 races from 19 starts and placed third once.
- ^ "Dolly Nazir Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2018.