British Pathe video of the Epsom Derby 1934 won by my grandfather Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla's horse Windsor Lad

Here is the link to the British Pathe video of the Epsom Derby 1934. My grandfather Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla is still the only Indian owner to win this blue riband of the turf, which began in 1780. His horse Windsor Lad triumphed on 6th June 1934, leaving the hitherto unbeaten hot favourite Colombo trailing in third place. There were an estimated quarter to a half million people on the Epsom Downs that damp afternoon, including the entire British royal family led by King George V and Queen Mary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO-Q51JsgFI

I have recounted the story of this exhilarating victory in my book 'A Maharaja's Turf'.

(Author Indra Vikram Singh - grandson of Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla - can be contacted on email teddy.rajpipla@gmail.com and singh_iv@hotmail.com. His other blog is singhiv.wordpress.com).

A Maharaja’s Turf  

Published by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

Distributed in India by :  

Variety Book Depot, 

AVG Bhawan, M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus,

New Delhi - 110 001.  Tel. +91 11 23417175, 23412567.

“Good old Pip”. The moments after the Epsom Derby 1934 win

A familiar face on the English racecourses for over a dozen years already, extremely popular with the racing crowds and well-liked by friends and acquaintances alike, the ever-smiling and amiable Maharaja, generous to a fault, drew rousing cheers from the multitude estimated to be anywhere between a quarter and a half million that exhilarating afternoon on the Epsom Downs.

As soon as the dapper prince, in his tail-coat and top-hat, stepped on to the course after Windsor Lad had blazed past the finishing post, the spectators were on their feet, calling out “Good old Pip” over and over again. It was a memorable ovation that only a few Indians like the immortal cricketer Prince Ranjitsinhji would have ever experienced in England. Countless people stepped forward to congratulate him, among the first being his good friend the Aga Khan.   

The media flocked to Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla, to photograph and film him and get quotes and reactions for the morning papers. By the time he led his gallant colt to the unsaddling enclosure, there was a great melee around him.

Just then a gentle word was whispered in his ear that the King wanted to see him. People recalled those moments, “In the unsaddling enclosure the smiling Indian simply got ‘lost’ under his emotions. It took him some time to realise that General Tomkinson (manager of the King’s stable) was calling him to go to receive the congratulations of the King and the Royal Family. The words were not heard for a moment or two. This Indian ruler has given the lead which can well be emulated by others. He took the public into his confidence from the earliest moment by his open declarations of confidence in Windsor Lad’s chance.”

Up above to the royal box did the victorious ruler ascend to receive the felicitations of King George V and Queen Mary and all the members of the royal family present. The King raised a toast to this brilliant triumph, crowning an unforgettable day in the life of Maharaja Vijaysinhji.

(Except from Á Maharaja's Turf'' by the Maharaja's grandson Indra Vikram Singh)

Experts' comments on Indra Vikram Singh's book 'A Maharaja's Turf', and its stockists in the United Kingdom

WHAT EXPERTS ON RACING AND PRINCELY INDIA, AND THE MEDIA, SAY ABOUT 'A MAHARAJA'S TURF'

“A most enjoyable and interesting book, which tells the story of the huge success in European racing of the Maharaja of Rajpipla at a time when he, and several other Indian princes, ranked high on the owners lists.”  …..Lester Piggott, OBE, one of the greatest jockeys ever, with 4,493 career wins including nine Epsom Derby victories.

“Intriguing, most interesting, it brought back lots of memories.”  …..Sir Peter O’Sullevan, often described as ‘the voice of racing’, ‘the most famous commentator of the 20^th century’ and ‘the true voice of the sport’.

“The volume brings together an impressive range of primary material on the life and racing interests of Maharaja Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla. Anyone interested in the culture of princely India in the 20^th century will find the book a fascinating read and a rich source of information.”  .....Dr Amin Jaffer, International Director Asian Art, Christie’s, London.

“This is a wonderful record of a unique era.”  .....Brough Scott, UK Sportswriter of the Year 2010.

“Indra Vikram Singh has told an important story well”  ......Tim Cox, highly-acclaimed historian of the thoroughbred breed, owner of an extensive library.

“This book is for those who love sports, and fancy learning about the lives and ways of royalty. The Maharaja of Rajpipla had a passion for horses and sports like horse racing and polo. “Like his collection of Rolls-Royce cars and priceless properties, a part of Maharaja Vijaysinhji’s fortune was in the stables that housed some of the finest horses one would ever find anywhere.” He went on to own the Irish colt, Windsor Lad - so named as the Maharaja’s home in Britain was in Windsor - that won him the English Derby. What is singular is that the Maharaja won the first-ever Indian Derby (1919), the Irish Derby (1926) and the English Derby (1934), a unique hat-trick.” …..New Indian Express.

STOCKISTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ‘A MAHARAJA’S TURF’ PERSONALLY SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

City Books

23 Western Road,

Hove,

E. Sussex BN3 1AF

Tel. + 44 1273 725306

Website: www.city-books.co.uk

Email: info@city-books.co.uk

Daunt Books

83/84 Marylebone High Street,

London W1U 4QW.

Tel. + 44 207 2242295

Website: www.dauntbooks.co.uk

Email: orders@dauntbooks.co.uk

G. Heywood Hill Limited

10 Curzon Street,

London W1J SHH.

Tel. + 44 207 6290647

Website: www.heywoodhill.com

The National Horseracing Museum

99 High Street,

Newmarket,

Suffolk CB8 8JH,

Tel. + 44 1638 667333

Website: www.nhrm.co.uk

Email: admin@ nhrm.co.uk

(Author Prince Indra Vikram Singh of Rajpipla can be contacted on email teddy.rajpipla@gmail.com).

Interpreter of our royal heritage: Feature on Indra Vikram Singh Rajpipla in the New Indian Express

Article in The New Indian Express, April 7, 2012

Interpreter of our royal heritage

by N. Kalyani

It is on a chilly forenoon that I met Indra Vikram Singh in Delhi for a chat. With no airs about him, the scion of the royal family of the erstwhile Rajpipla kingdom in Gujarat, in a sweater — sleeves pulled up — readily autographs A Maharaja’s Turf for me.

Singh has come out with five books — all in 2011 — all collectibles. While four of these, A Maharaja’s Turf, The Big Book of World Cup Cricket, Don’s Century and Crowning Glory, are self-published by his publishing house, Sporting Links, The Little Big Book of World Cup Cricket has been brought out by Media Eight. His earlier books include Test Cricket — End of the Road? and World Cup Cricket.

Grandson of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji, the last ruler of Rajpipla, Indra Vikram Singh talks with some nostalgia for times past. “History is not about dates and facts; history requires interpretation. History needs to be revisited,” he says. He points out how the British policy of divide-and-rule found expression even in aspects like the location of palaces of rulers of the princely states vis-a-vis their people. Earlier the rulers built their palaces close to their people. Post-1857, the British made them build their palaces at a distance from the habitation of the people they ruled “to create a gulf between rulers and subjects”. And about Indian rulers who lived a part of the year in Britain, as in the case of his grandfather, in Windsor, he says it was not because “they had the wealth or wished to enjoy cooler climes during summer”, but to interact with the British aristocracy to keep a check on harassment back home in their principalities.

Speaking of the Rajpipla palaces, he is proud of the Vadia palace, built by his grandfather, that was fully air conditioned and had Italian marble floors and Burma teak woodwork. He also points out “the narrow gauge rail line was introduced in Rajpipla by my grandfather. Even the Sardar Sarovar dam was his idea”.

A cricket buff, who captained teams in his school and college (Singh graduated from DU’s Hans Raj College), his four books on the sport are a result of a good deal of research. While Crowning Glory is an account of India’s ICC World Cup 2011 victory, Don’s Century is a biography of the one and only Don Bradman (Singh is the only Indian to have penned a biography of Bradman), and includes a panorama of batting from the 1860s to present times, including other cricket greats like W G Grace, K S Ranjitsinhji and Tendulkar. Ask Singh how he managed to pen these books all at once, and he reveals fascinating details that hint at his inquisitive mind and fetish for collecting and preserving old books, publications, magazines, letters and sundry items from childhood, that provided material for his books. For A Maharaja’s Turf, articles from some 80 newspapers, a scrap book made by a grand uncle and his son, books and film clippings on the historic Derby, all helped in getting the tome ready.  

Besides writing and publishing, Singh is now getting into heritage preservation and heritage tourism. All power to this new-age scion.

http://newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/books/article374143.ece

(Prince Indra Vikram Singh of Rajpipla can be contacted on email teddy.rajpipla@gmail.com).