This is the story of the exhilarating win of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla in the English Derby at Epsom in 1934, the only Indian owner to win the blue riband of the turf in its 231-year history. His horse Windsor Lad triumphed on that cloudy afternoon of 6th June, earning the Maharaja a unique hat-trick of Derby victories as he had already clinched the first Indian Derby at Calcutta in 1919 with his horse Tipster, and the Irish Derby at Curragh in 1926 with Embargo.
It is a fully illustrated book by Maharaja Vijaysinhji’s grandson Indra Vikram Singh, with classic media photographs of the race and from the Rajpipla royal family collection over many generations. The book has been extensively researched from about 80 newspapers and magazines of 1934 and five books, besides websites, and carries articles by Maharaja Vijaysinhji himself. There are news reports, cartoons and caricatures which open out a whole new world to the modern reader. Featured in its pages are King George V and Queen Mary and other members of the British royal family, the Aga Khan, Maharaja Man Singh II of Jaipur and the leading racehorses, owners, trainers and jockeys of the day, among other eminent personalities.
The book affords a look at a bygone era of a princely way of life and the days of the Raj, into the period between the two World Wars, delves into history and links the past with present times. It unfolds the tale of the uncanny prophesy of Gipsy Lee, the several coincidences around the number 13, the defeat of a ‘super-horse’, and the unrelenting quest of a prince to realise his dream, that is bound to keep the reader transfixed.
A Maharaja’s Turf is published by Sporting Links and already available in leading bookshops in India.
ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6, 148 pages, Hardbound, Fully illustrated, MRP Rupees 1995.
The author Indra Vikram Singh may be contacted on email teddy.rajpipla@gmail.com, singh_iv@hotmail.com or mobile phone no. + 91 9899579063.
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