A Maharaja's Turf by Indra Vikram Singh: Collector’s edition on the triumph of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla in the Epsom Derby of England in 1934

 A Maharaja's Turf

Published in India by Sporting Links

ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

Fully Illustrated

Hardcover with jacket 8.75 x 11.5 x 0.6 inches (landscape)

Weight 500 grams

140 Pages

Available at an attractive price on Amazon  https://www.amazon.in/dp/8190166832

This is the story of the exhilarating victory of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla in the Epsom Derby of England in 1934, the only Indian owner to win the blue riband of the turf in its history dating back to 1780. The dapper Indian prince’s horse Windsor Lad left the hitherto undefeated favourite Colombo trailing in third place in the presence of royalty led by King George V and Queen Mary, and a multitude of an estimated quarter to half a million people on that damp afternoon of 6th June. The triumph earned 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.

The enthralling tale recounted by the Maharaja’s grandson Indra Vikram Singh offers an insider's insight, and is embellished with rare media photographs of the race and from the Rajpipla royal family collection over many generations. It has been extensively researched from about 80 newspapers and magazines of 1934, five books and websites, and carries articles by the Maharaja himself. There are news reports, cartoons and caricatures which open out a whole new world. Featured are 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 captures the era between the two World Wars, of imperial times and a royal lifestyle, also going back centuries into history, connecting the past and the present and depicting the march of time, even as the thrilling race remains the central theme. 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.

(The author Indra Vikram Singh can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com. His blogs www.indravikramsingh.blogspot.com and www.singhiv.wordpress.com offer an insight into his work, his family and heritage.)

Contents :

Chapter 1 : Chasing a dream

Chapter 2 : Thoroughbred with great potential

Chapter 3 : Captivating prelude

Chapter 4 : Day of glory

Chapter 5 : "Good old Pip"

Chapter 6 : A time to celebrate

Chapter 7 : Media carnival

Chapter 8 : Windsor Lad: gallant and endearing

Chapter 9 : Marcus Marsh: chip off the old block

Chapter 10 : Charlie Smirke: dashing rider with a point to prove

Chapter 11 : An uncanny forecast..... and the lucky number 13

Chapter 12 : Was 'super horse' Colombo unlucky?

Chapter 13 : Experts and bookmakers bite the dust

Chapter 14 : Poignant moments

Chapter 15 : 'I didn't think I would win the Derby - I knew'

Chapter 16 : "My Three Derbys"

Chapter 17 : A life blessed

Chapter 18 : The family's cherished memories

Chapter 19 : Special postal cover to commemorate the platinum jubilee of the Derby triumph

Chapter 20 : Rajpipla State post

Chapter 21 : The Gohil Rajput clan

Epilogue

Bibliography

Colour photo feature / Royal family of Rajpipla in modern times

Indra Vikram Singh's other books on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.in/s?k=Indra+Vikram+Singh&i=stripbooks&rh=p_6%3AA3HSV0N9AV7NOK&dc&qid=1602408830&rnid=1318474031&ref=sr_nr_p_6_1

Newspaper headlines after Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla’s horse Windsor Lad won the Epsom Derby of England in June 1934. Chapter 7 of Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘A Maharaja’s Turf’

The Star, Wednesday, June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD’S DERBY

Easton Second & The Favourite Third

A WOMAN’S PROPHESY

Maharaja’s Horse A Gallant Winner:

Colombo’s Fight To keep his Unbeaten Record

The Evening Standard, June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD’S DERBY

Nottingham Evening News, June 6, 1934

DERBY VICTORY FOR MAHARAJAH OF RAJPIPLA

Windsor Lad Wins in Great Race Home: Colombo Third

Leicester Evening Mail, June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD TRIUMPHS

IN THRILLING DERBY FINISH

Lincolnshire Echo. June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD EQUALS RECORD TIME

IN WINNING DERBY

Stafford Sentinel, June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD CARRIES OFF GREAT RACE.

KING AND QUEEN ACCORDED ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME

New York Evening Journal, June 6, 1934

WINDSOR LAD WINS DERBY

Bombay Sentinel, June 7, 1934

Indian Owner Wins Epsom Derby

Maharaja of Rajpipla Wildly Cheered By British Sportsmen

Windsor Lad Outstays Easton and Colombo At The Finish

The Times, June 7, 1934

WINSOR LAD’S VICTORY

RECORD EQUALLED

The Daily Mirror, June 7, 1934

INDIAN PRINCE WINS THE DERBY

Windsor Lad Equals Record

COLOMBO WAS NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Manchester Dispatch, June 7, 1934

JOCKEY’S PART IN

WINDSOR LAD’S DERBY TRIUMPH

C. SMIRKE RIDES A BRILLIANT RACE

Birmingham Gazette, 7 June, 1934

LORD GLANELY’S FAVOURITE FAILS TO STAY

POPULAR SUCCESS OF WINDSOR LAD:

GORDON RICHARDS SECOND ON EASTON

Liverpool Post, June 7, 1934

THE DERBY WON BY AN INDIAN PRINCE

WINDSOR LAD EQUALS RECORD TIME

COLOMBO BEATEN AT LAST

GREAT OVATION FOR SUCCESSFUL OWNER

Cardiff Western Mail, June 7, 1934

Colombo, hottest Derby favourite since the War, disappointed

Daily Herald, June 7, 1934

SMIRKE RIDES CLEVERLY TO WIN

ON WINDSOR LAD

“Good Old Pip,” The Crowd Yelled

Windsor Lad Surprises Them All

“UNBEATABLE” FAVOURITE COULDN’T CATCH UP

The Daily Mirror, June 7, 1934

THE KING AND QUEEN SEE

WINDSOR LAD’S VICTORY

THRILLING TUSSLE AT TATTENHAM CORNER

EASTON FINISHES IN FRONT OF COLOMBO

Winner’s Time Equals Last Year’s Record

The Daily Telegraph, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD EQUALS HYPERION’S RECORD IN THE DERBY

COLOMBO UNLUCKY AT VITAL STAGE OF RACE

Gordon Richards Second on Easton: Champion Jockey’s Great Day

The Sporting Life, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD

EQUALS DERBY RECORD

Charles Smirke Rides Brilliantly

to Gain First Classic Success

COLOMBO UNLUCKY IN RUNNING

Manchester Dispatch, June 7, 1934

THE DERBY WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Manchester Dispatch, June 7, 1934

Stamina Pulls Windsor Lad Through

Manchester Dispatch, June 7, 1934

Winner Equals Time Record

Indian Maharaja’s success

The Sporting Life, June 7, 1934

“HE WILL WIN!” SAID

THE OWNER OF WINDSOR LAD …

The Morning Post, June 7, 1934

The Riddle of the Derby

WAS COLOMBO UNLUCKY?

Brilliant Victory of Windsor Lad

THE KING AND QUEEN AT THE RACE

The Morning Post, June 7, 1934

A TRIUMPH OF TRAINING

By WATCHMAN

Sheffield Independent, June 7, 1934

THOUSANDS CHEER AS “GOOD OLD PIP” LEADS IN DERBY WINNER

Maharaja’s Joy – But ‘Bookies’ Pay £1,500,000

Continental Dispatch, June 7, 1934

A GREAT EPSOM DERBY FOR WOMEN

Why They Backed Windsor Lad

THE GYPSY’S WARNING OF A WINNING “W”

Sheffield Independent, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD WINS ON MERIT

BY “CORSAIR”

Liverpool Post, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD AN EASY FIRST

Merited Winner of the Derby

COLOMBO FAILS IN STAMINA TEST

Daily Sketch, June 7, 1934 

COLOMBO’S FATAL BREATHER

AFTER A MILE

GIMCRACK’S SUGGESTION

The Times, June 7, 1934

THE KING AND QUEEN AT THE DERBY

RACEGOERS’ FASHIONS

Glasgow Bulletin, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD’S £1,000,000 BILL FOR BOOKIES

250,000 Crowd See Hot Derby Favourite Well Beaten

The Sporting Life, June 7, 1934

Classic Lines in Windsor Lad’s Pedigree

STAMINA INHERITED FROM BRIDGE OF EARN

AND CARBINE

BY ITHURIEL

Nottingham Guardian, June 7, 1934

DERBY PROPHESY OF 1868 FULFILLED

CROWD CHEER “GOOD OLD PIP”

AFTER WINDSOR LAD’S WIN

BOOKMAKERS HARD HIT

News Chronicle, June 7, 1934

Windsor Lad Wins a Great Derby

A HAPPY “COMEBACK” FOR C. SMIRKE

By CAPTAIN HEATH

Daily Express, June 7, 1934

HOW COLOMBO LOST THE DERBY:

 ‘Unbeatable’ Horse Checked By ‘The Knight’s’ Failure 

TATTENHAM CORNER TANGLE

SMIRKE’S WIN AFTER 5-YEAR BAN

WINDSOR LAD “LIKE A MACHINE”

Yorkshire Post, June 7, 1934

WHAT THE JOCKEYS HAD TO SAY

C. Smirke Describes His First “Classic” Win

Daily Mail, June 7, 1934

THE FAVOURITE’S FAILURE

The New York Times, June 7, 1934

WINDSOR LAD TAKES DERBY BY A LENGTH

15-2 Shot Equals Record in Historic Race at Epsom by Beating Easton.

King and Queen of the Royal Family Among 5,00,000 Who View the Spectacle.

By FERDINAND KUHN JR.

Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

The Times of India, June 8, 1934

MAHARAJA OF RAJPIPLA WINS

BLUE RIBAND OF THE TURF

WINDSOR LAD’S GREAT RACE

FAVOURITE FAILS TO STAY

Thousands Cheer “Good Old Pip”: Owner Congratulated by King

WINNER ACHIEVES NEWMARKET-DERBY DOUBLE

The Daily Telegraph, June 8, 1934

DERBY WINNER & COLOMBO

A £4,000 TO £100 BET

By HOTSPUR

The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, June 8, 1934

What’s in a Number?

Windsor Express, June 8, 1934

WINDSOR LAD

Windsor Express, June 8, 1934

WINDSOR LAD WINS THE DERBY

Western Gazette, June 8, 1934

THE DERBY

THE FAVOURITE FAILS TO STAY

GIPSY’S PROPHESY FULFILLED

Greenoce Tele, June 9, 1934

The New-Style Derby

The Field, June 9, 1934

THE MAHARAJA OF RAJPIPLA’S DERBY

How Windsor Lad and Easton Beat the Favourite

Chester Guardian, June 9, 1934

REFLECTIONS ON THE DERBY

TRIUMPH OF WINDSOR LAD

BAD FOR THE BOOKIES

By THE VETERAN

Horse & Hound, June 9, 1934

The Derby and Things

Observer, June 10, 1934

COLOMBO’S DEFEAT

WAS THE JOCKEY TO BLAME?

Sunday Sportsman, June 10, 1934

THE DERBY

Sunday Dispatch, June 10, 1934

WHY COLOMBO FAILED AND HOW

By KEYSTONE

Sunday Dispatch, June 10, 1934

WHY I BACKED THE DERBY WINNER

By Lady Oxford

Sunday Chronicle, June 10, 1934

This Derby

“W” Plan

REYNOLD’S ILLUSTRATED NEWS, June 10, 1934 

Dublin Daily Mail, June 12, 1934

THE DERBY

Truth, June 13, 1934

COULD COLOMBO HAVE WON?

(Author Indra Vikram Singh, grandson of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla, can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com. Follow Indra Vikram Singh on Twitter @IVRajpipla).

A Maharaja’s Turf

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Published in India by Sporting Links

Fully Illustrated

Hardcover 8.75 x 11.5 x 0.6 inches (landscape)

140 Pages

MRP Rupees 1995




Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books published by Sporting Links:

A Maharaja’s Turf  ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket  ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Don’s Century  ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Crowning Glory  ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Distributed in India by:  Variety Book Depot, AVG Bhawan, M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110 001, India. Tel. + 91 11 23417175, 23412567, Email varietybookdepot@gmail.com.

Enthralling description of the Epsom Derby 1934 in The New York Times. Excerpt from Indra Vikram Singh’s book ‘A Maharaja’s Turf’

Ferdinand Kuhn jr. wrote in The New York Times:

“Windsor Lad, the superb 3-year-old owned by the Maharajah of Rajpipla, won the English Derby by a length today after one of the most thrilling last-minute struggles in all the 151 years of racing on Epsom Downs. Lord Woolavington’s Easton finished second. He was ridden by Gordon Richards, England’s champion jockey, who narrowly missed gaining the first Derby triumph of his career. A neck behind Easton came Lord Glanely’s Colombo, the overwhelming favourite, who had failed only after an effort which left most hardened racegoers spellbound.

From a good start Medieval Knight was the first to show in front. At the mile post he was still in front but yielded the pace setting to Tiberius as the field sped downhill on the back stretch. At Tattenham Corner Tiberius was still in the van but jockey Smirke had moved Windsor Lad fast into second place.

Down the broad straightaway under the eyes of King George and perhaps half a million of his subjects these three had shot ahead out of a field of nineteen and until the last three had thundered along almost neck and neck. Close to the rails was Windsor Lad, his jockey crouching low and cracking the whip to urge the horse on. In the middle was Easton, with Richards straining every nerve to win. On the outside, nearest the packed grandstand, Colombo was making the fight of his life as if conscious of all the hundreds of thousands of pounds that had been staked on him. His jockey had lost his position against the rails rounding Tattenham Corner, but Colombo soon forged ahead from behind. To the astonished crowd it looked as if the favourite might snatch the victory away from Windsor Lad after all.

But fifty yards from home the strain was too much. Once they headed for the judges, the Maharajah’s colt quickly bounded for the front while Colombo swung wide. That move may have cost the race as Smirke took Windsor Lad the shortest way home. Colombo, who had never been beaten before, dropped behind while the purple and cream colours of the Maharajah flashed past in front.

Windsor Lad finished in 2 minutes 34 seconds, thus equalling the all-time record established by Hyperion last year. Sir Abe Bailey’s Tiberius finished fourth. All the rest were hopelessly beaten, including the only American-owned entry Bondsman, who struggled home in eleventh place.”

(Author Indra Vikram Singh, grandson of Maharaja Sir Vijaysinhji of Rajpipla, can be contacted on email singh_iv@hotmail.com. Follow Indra Vikram Singh on Twitter @IVRajpipla).

A Maharaja’s Turf

ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Published in India by Sporting Links

Fully Illustrated

Hardcover 8.75 x 11.5 x 0.6 inches (landscape)

140 Pages

MRP Rupees 1995

Indra Vikram Singh’s latest books published by Sporting Links:

A Maharaja’s Turf  ISBN 978-81-901668-3-6

The Big Book of World Cup Cricket  ISBN 978-81-901668-4-3

Don’s Century  ISBN 978-81-901668-5-0

Crowning Glory  ISBN 978-81-901668-6-7

Distributed in India by:  Variety Book Depot, AVG Bhawan, M-3, Middle Circle, Connaught Circus, New Delhi-110 001, India. Tel. + 91 11 23417175, 23412567, Email varietybookdepot@gmail.com.