Beachcomber Magazine 05

HORSE STABLES THE ART OF DISCOVERY 44 major races (Duchess, Barbé, Mai- den and Gold Cup) in 2017. This had only happened once before, 83 years ago. His two sons, Tika- nand and Hemant Kumar, are cur- rently preparing to take over from their father. Tikanand, a renowned lawyer, is managing the stables and horse acquisitions in South Africa. Dr Hemant Kumar, who studied and practised medicine for twenty-two years in England, is set to become the trainer at the stables. THE STABLES, A BIG FAMILY The stables have twenty-two grooms, and around forty horses in three training centres: the Guy Desmarais centre in Floréal, with trotting and galloping tracks, has been run for almost 40 years by Kamal Bissumbhur, the Port Louis Stables and the Pointe aux Sables Centre where the horses have a pool and go for runs in the lagoon. Naresh Kowlessur is the head groom. Naresh speaks Creole and the name Gu-ja-dhur trips beauti- fully off his tongue. “ The stables are to racing what the sun is to the sea! My job is my life, and it’s been current owner Rampatee Guja- dhur, who helps his father with the training. “ The first Indo-Mauritian stables had the backing of the ma- jority of the population. It was in 1912 that the steed Aéroplane gave us our first victory. The excellence of the Gujadhur stables stems from its longevity and its many successes. ” In the Gujadhur box, adjoining the family home, there are photo- graphs on the wall of memorable victories. There is a colourised photograph of Damoiselle and her turbaned owner in Calcutta in 1918. Another small, yellowing snapshot immortalises the legen- dary pair: Sir Radhamohun, son of the founder and a well-known fi- gure in both the equestrian and political scene (member of Parlia- ment and Mayor of Port Louis), and his uncle Gunness (aka Ton Mica), who formed a charismatic partnership at the head of the sta- bles. THE SOVEREIGNS “ My grandfather Sir Radhamohun was a very pious man who never ate outside his home. In 1972, Queen Elizabeth II invited him to lunch on her yacht Britannia, he declined the lunch invitation but agreed to attend without eating anything. In 1976, he was knighted by the Queen. He wrote the his- tory of horseracing on our island, with Ton Mica, who was mourned by the whole island when he died in 2007. ” Trainer at the stables since 2002, Sir Radhamohun’s son, Ramapa- tee Gujadhur, nicknamed “ Mr Clas- sic ”, and awarded the best trainer prize in 2012 and 2015, wrote his own page in history when he led the stables to victory in the four   The Pointe aux Sables centre, with a pool, a beach and a lagoon, exclusively used by the Gujadhur's horses for relaxation. The team of two apprentice jockeys and four grooms managed by head groom, Naresh Kowlessur (front row, right). Le centre de Pointe aux Sables, avec piscine, plage et lagon, est réservé à la détente des coursiers de l’écurie Gujadhur. L’équipe, composée de deux apprentis jockeys et quatre palefreniers, est dirigée par le chef palefrenier Naresh Kowlessur (1 er rang, à droite).