Horse trainer SS Shah: A trainer and a gentleman

Trainer SS Shah leading in Indian Derby winner Hotstepper (Mick Kinane in saddle) along with owner Ms Sabiha Rattonsey in 2008. Pic/RacingPulse.in

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.