Twenty-five years on, Squanderer still reigns as India’s racing legend

By Harsh Thakor*

On May 7 this year, the racing world commemorated the 25th death anniversary of Squanderer, arguably the greatest racehorse ever to set foot on the Indian turf. Even 47 years after his retirement, his memories still flash like an inextinguishable streak of light. No horse ever captured the imagination of racegoers more vividly. Squanderer’s turn of foot transcended the surreal, unmatched in the history of Indian racing.

No horse before him created such a myth of invincibility or so profoundly defined the transition of Indian horseflesh. When he hit the front, it gave the sensation of an emperor being crowned. His magical acceleration mocked his opponents, and fans declared there had never been a racehorse like Squanderer—and never would be again. He ushered in a new dawn for Indian racing. No conditions or distances deterred him. Memories of Squanderer with Jagdish astride shimmer forever in the minds of racegoers, a perfect synchronisation of horse and rider.

Squanderer was foaled on May 29, 1973. Unlike the usual progeny of Milky Way, he was a well-conformed, rich bay with not a trace of white. He was purchased at the 1975 RWITC auction for a modest Rs 65,000. His breeding hardly suggested greatness, being by Valoroso out of Milky Way. In the sales ring, he looked ordinary when bought by Ranjit Bhta and Indu Mirchandani, and was entrusted to trainer Rashid Byramji. Squanderer was cheeky and playful, difficult to groom and train, always bucking to unsettle riders. Such was his strength that two boys had to hold him while another sat entrenched in the saddle during paddock parades. His restlessness often forced Jagdish to exert his authority to calm him down.

In his debut season in Bangalore in 1976, Squanderer began with a bang, winning the Kolar Cup. Astonishingly, he was beaten in the Colts Trial by Red Satin, with Jagdish holding him too far behind in the straight. He avenged that defeat in the Bangalore Derby, winning in scintillating fashion. Indian racing had never seen a three-year-old win a Derby with such merit.

In the 1976–77 Bombay season, Squanderer blazed the Mahalaxmi track with unprecedented invincibility. Though he won the 2000 Guineas by only a length from Wild Blossom, he soon elevated racing merit to transcendental levels. He demolished rivals by four lengths in the Ramnivas Ruia Cup, cruised to a facile three-length win in the Indian Derby, and in the RWITC Invitational produced the most stunning burst of speed ever witnessed on an Indian track.

Facing older horses for the first time, he was boxed in on the rails with a furlong to go, Certainty cruising ahead. A slender gap opened, and Squanderer struck like lightning, cutting through to win by three lengths in course-record time. Racegoers witnessed a miracle that day. He conquered class horses like Makalu, The Commissioners, Tradition, and the English mare Certainty, later adding the Bangalore St Leger to his tally.

In summer 1977, Vasant Shinde replaced Jagdish in the saddle. Squanderer initially resented his new pilot, bucking and throwing him off, but they eventually developed a bond, Shinde conversing with him in Marathi. The switch did not hinder his brilliance: he won four races with consummate ease, including the Maharaja’s Cup in Bangalore and the Indian Turf Invitation Cup. In the Indian St Leger at Pune, despite suffering an accident before the race and looking beaten, he clawed back like a true champion. He became only the second horse after Red Rufus to win the Indian Triple Crown and the Turf Invitation Cup. Wild Blossom, his perennial runner-up, would have been a champion in any other era.

In 1978 at Mumbai, Squanderer epitomised racing virtuosity as a five-year-old, winning the Maharaja Harisinghji Cup and Eclipse Stakes under top weight with ease. That summer he added the Governor’s Cup in Bangalore and the Nizam’s Cup, before bidding farewell in the President of India Gold Cup at Hyderabad, cruising past Beloved Prince despite suffering tendon trouble and poor travel conditions. He ended his career with a then-record Rs 17 lakhs in prize money. Sadly, a clash with the 1978 champion Manitou never materialised, though few doubted Squanderer would have prevailed.

Until the advent of Adler in 1993 and Elusive Pimpernel in 1995, trainer Rashid Byramji rated Squanderer the greatest horse he had ever trained. Both Jagdish and Shinde, who won nine races apiece on him, called him the best they had ever ridden. Such accolades, from men associated with the finest horses, underline his greatness. Regrettably, Squanderer failed at stud due to a back injury. Transferred from Kolhapur to Yeravada Stud, he died on May 7, 2000, and was buried beside Prince Pradeep.

On sheer merit, with 18 wins from 19 starts, including 17 consecutively, Squanderer stands atop the pantheon of Indian racehorses. He conquered formidable opponents like Kitty Bank, Beloved Prince, and Certainty. He did not win by spectacular margins but glided into the lead and cruised past the post with mythical reserves of energy. Yet he did not equal the versatility of Elusive Pimpernel, surpass Royal Tern’s feats as a weight carrier at five, or match Adler’s effortless dominance in 1992–93.

The racing world missed seeing Squanderer abroad, unlike later stalwarts Adler and Mystical. Indian racing deserves biographies of its legends, and Squanderer is surely the most deserving.

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*Freelance journalist

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