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Gandharvi Racing Stocks Up at Keeneland September

MarketWatch Interview: Kuldeep Singh Rajput

(L-R): Kuldeep Singh Rajput and Eden Harrington at the Keeneland September Sale

(L-R): Kuldeep Singh Rajput and Eden Harrington at the Keeneland September Sale

Anne M. Eberhardt

Only four days after selling began at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Kuldeep Singh Rajput of Gandharvi Racing had purchased nine yearlings in partnership with China Horse Club. All of the horses were colts from Books 1 and 2, and four were sired by two-time leading general sire Into Mischief . The purchases were topped by Hip 182, a bay colt by Quality Road  that was secured for $750,000 from the Paramount Sales consignment. Together, Rajput and China Horse Club also took home yearlings sired by Maclean's Music , Speightstown , Mendelssohn , and War Front . BloodHorse MarketWatch spoke to Rajput and China Horse Club's vice president Eden Harrington about the goals of the new partnership.

MarketWatch: How did you get your introduction to the industry and why are you in it?

Kuldeep Singh Rajput: My parents used to breed back in India. I didn't grow up on the farm, but I always loved horses and their speed and elegance. I always had a dream that someday I'd own my own racehorse. I used to watch a lot of horse racing on television when I was growing up and it was sometime last year in October I was traveling from the U.S. to Singapore for work and I got introduced to one of the trainers there and bought my first horse. After that we got in touch with a lot of people in the industry—trainers and primarily people in Singapore and Australia. We bought a bunch of yearlings in Singapore to be raced in Australia and just began to get involved in the industry. The entire goal was to start with Australia and Singapore, but I've now bought a couple of good horses in the U.S. My goal in business has always been, "How do you work with reputable partners?" It was very fortunate we bought a horse by Russian Revolution in Australia and Mr. (Teo Ah) Khing (founder and chairman of China Horse Club) reached out to congratulate me and we then started talking. Also, China Horse Club has built a great reputation in the industry with a lot of success, so when we started talking it was a good thing to partner and maybe purchase some horses together. 

Hip 182 sold for $750K at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Photo: Courtesy of china horse club
The Quality Road colt consigned as Hip 182 to the Keeneland September Sale was bought for $750,000 by Gandharvi Racing and China Horse Club

MW: How many 2-year-olds do you currently have in your program?

KSR: We have five 2-year-olds and all of the rest are in Singapore and Australia, with one in the U.K. now, a Kingman  colt (named Kingdom Come) purchased for (£500,000/US$707,262) from the 2021 Arqana Doncaster Sale. All the rest are yearlings. 

MW: Currently, how many yearlings do you have?

KSR: We bought nine here in September and three in Saratoga (at Fasig-Tipton). We have around 16 in Australia.

MW: Are you hoping to go over to Europe and purchase any there?

KSR: We have no specific plans. We take an approach that is we'll be there and we'll have a look and if there is anything good then we will buy. 

MW: What do you look for when purchasing a horse?

Hip 84, 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale
Photo: Courtesy of china horse club
The Maclean's Music colt consigned as Hip 84 at the Keeneland September Sale was a $325,000 purchase by Gandharvi Racing and China Horse Club

Eden Harrington: With China Horse Club, we look for, not exclusively, but predominately racing colts. We try to find some elite colts. There's a lot of people at the moment in the sales ring … trying to find those big colts. Our aspirations are no different. We've worked very hard on the catalog pre-sale and during the sale. We think we've got a fantastic collection of yearlings, so we're very excited about that. They'll go through our system to get broken in and prepared. Trainers, in time, will be selected and we'll work as a team to see how we can capitalize as best we can. We try to make sure the ability that we hope is in these horses we get to see. Our aspiration is always to compete in the big races on the big days, and recently we've targeted horses with hopes to be there for a Kentucky Derby (G1) or Breeders' Cup. A couple of years ago we were here with WinStar Farm and had some fantastic success, with Life Is Good . Leading into the Kentucky Derby we were on a journey thinking maybe we'll be fortunate again just like we were with Justify . That's the journey we're hoping to go on again and these are things you want to try and achieve, not just in the U.S., but in leading locations all around the world.

Teo Ah Khing walks Justify with Mike Smith wins the Belmont Stakes (G1)<br>
Morning scenes on  June 9, 2034 Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Teo Ah Khing walks Justify into the winner's circle after the 2018 Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park

MW: What is your philosophy on how you want to apply your ideas to the racing industry? 

KSR: As I got into horse racing, there are a lot of people in the industry who don't know very much yet about horse racing, and there is no accessibility. I get asked always, "Is there a way I can be part of horse racing?" I think the aspiration always for Gandharvi Racing and China Horse Club is, of course, to buy the right horses and aim for those big races and have some partners who could also be part of the journey, people who can provide them access and bring new, young people into the industry. One step at a time, but that's the hope and, hopefully, there will be a point where we will start thinking about ways we can potentially scale this to make it even more affordable and accessible for everyone.

Going through the sale, you come here and talk to so many people and there's so much improvement that could be made. I think the whole industry could be disrupted—everything from horse ownership, to breeding, to how people manage horses, affordability, accessibility, and how to use the power of technology and artificial intelligence to automate certain processes, which are mostly done manually. My hope is, of course, to get into the racing, but my mind always thinks about, "How can you disrupt this?" We have strong partners like China Horse Club and Mr. Khing who are passionate about, "What's the next five-to-10-year vision and how can we get there?"

MW: Where did you get your name Gandharvi Racing from? 

KSR: That's a great question actually. Gandharvi means "the first mother of horses" in Sanskrit, so that's where the name Gandharvi came from.