PADDY WAS BOTH WINNER AND GENT

Rolf Johnson pays tribute to Indian racing legend 'Sir Paddy' Padmanabhan

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The life of Sadakshara Reuben Padmanabhan, which ended aged 71 on October 19 after long illness, spans time and continents. Based in Bangalore he was known in racing circles round the world as ‘Paddy’. His career bridged the era between two other training titans of India, Rashid Byramji and Pesi Shroff.

In the UK, Paddy was rechristened ‘Sir Paddy’, respectfully, by his fellow trainer and friend, four-time champion Richard Hannon Snr.

He was one of India’s most erudite and worldly wise trainers. When I say era, the breadth of his achievements is not defined merely by sterile statistics: the 100 Indian Classic winners and Himalayan successes in all races were never the complete measure of the man. For Paddy had an air about him - not one of self-conscious surety of outcomes and yet he was the man to indubitably provide them. “The Mastermind who rewrote Indian Racing script” pronounced Sharan Kumar of the Indian racing website Racing Pulse. As a eulogy there is nothing to add to Sharan’s piece, other than one’s personal encounters with Paddy and with the jockeys from this side of the world whom he employed and who revered both him and his widow Sharmila.

A measure of that esteem was given by Richard Hughes, Martin Dwyer, and his longest collaborator David Allan. By their own admissions, they returned home better ‘knights of the pigskin’ for the experience of riding for him. (Forgive the archaic indulgence of the nostalgic description in India for riders of bygone days. It is still in use).