Horse trainer SS Shah: A trainer and a gentleman

Veteran horse trainer SS Shah announces retirement on Sunday after a career spanning 55 years

Horse trainer SS Shah called it a day on Sunday at 87, shutting the stable door on a career that kicked off in 1969 and racked up nearly 1,000 winners, including three Indian Derbys—first with Mansoor in 1973, and then, after a gap of 35 years, a dazzling back-to-back double in 2008 (Hotstepper) and 2009 (Antonios). His final bow? A 15/1 stunner on Sunday at Mahalaxmi with Golden Rule, a mare who galloped into the winner’s circle just as her master stepped out of the game.

The irony was the six-year-old mare was actually set to retire before her master, destined to join the stables at the Amateur Riders’ Club last week. But after a gritty run in her previous start, Shah and his assistant Ms Roxanne requested the club for a week’s grace. They rolled the dice on the Sunday card, hoping the veteran could bow out a winner. And she obliged. At 15/1, Golden Rule stunned the pundits, proving once again that Shah’s instinct for a horse’s heart was sharper than any formbook.

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Farouq Rattonsey, the horse owner who led in Shah’s Derby triumphs in 2008 and 2009, spoke to mid-day on phone, describing his trainer as “Very honest, very straightforward—and wildly optimistic," and added, laughing, “the kind of optimism that rubs off. When the wise men swore Hotstepper had no hope in the 2008 Derby, I was daft enough to dream of Mick Kinane aboard. My family thought I’d gone bonkers. But Shah saab grinned and said, ‘He can certainly stay the trip.’ Kinane asked for £10,000-plus expenses. I didn’t hesitate. The rest? History.”

Trainer MK Jadhav, a friend and rival across five decades, dug up a nugget from Shah’s early days: “Not many would remember this, but Sayed bhai began as a jockey. I saw him pilot Falcon, a pacemaker, to set up his brother SM Shah’s Our Select against Buland—Pandu Khade in the irons—for the 2000 Guineas (1967). Pandu outfoxed the kid, and Buland dead-heated with Our Select. SM Shah, his elder brother, was like a father to Sayed after they lost their parents young. Recently, when I was laid low by health troubles, he looked after my string—saddled winners this Mumbai season like it was a stroll.”

Shah’s swansong with Golden Rule wasn’t blind luck. It was the final flourish of a professional who lived racing with a gentleman’s grace and trained with a maestro’s touch. A 15/1 upset to cap it all? That’s God tipping His hat to a legend.

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