Grit, Grace & Glory: The Usha Story

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Dear Ameeta

The three copies of your marvellous book arrived safely yesterday. Many thanks for sending them; what a wonderful gift and such a beautiful work in tribute to your fantastic achievements!

All best wishes and again many thanks

Kirsten Rausing, Owner of world champion filly ALPINISTA

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The magnificent and beautifully produced book arrived today. I’ve already started reading it and studying pictures. It is a great addition to my racing library and my knowledge of racing history in India.

“Usha – The Divine Dawn”
…. “Grit, Grace & Glory – The Usha Story” is not only an uplifting and exciting read for racing fans, it is also a Textbook for both novice and experienced Thoroughbred breeders all over the world….. Read the full article…

Georg Lange, Award winning author of the Aga Khan book on racing and breeding

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An amazing beautiful, to be cherished, book sitting on my work desk

So informative, truly an epic.

Lots of luck and good wishes for the future. Thanks so much
Best wishes,

Atul Amersey

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Usha Stud Farm: A Legacy in Grit, Grace, & Glory

The saga of Usha Stud Farm, a veritable epitome of excellence in the realm of horse breeding, isimmortalized within the pages of “Grit, Grace, & Glory.” This opulent coffee table tome traces theremarkable journey of Usha, from its humble origins in the backyard of Maj P K Mehra to its exaltedstatus as the premier nursery of champion Thoroughbreds in India.

With unwavering determination and a commitment to excellence, Usha Stud Farm has etched its name inhistory, claiming the coveted title of Champion Stud Farm for a record number of years including winningon the last three occasions consecutively. Through foresight and strategic planning, the farm continuouslyimports elite stallions, ensuring an unbroken lineage of greatness and safeguarding its position at thezenith of the equestrian world. Continue reading…

Sharan Kumar, Racing Pulse

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Your wonderful book arrived yesterday.

Mariann and I poured over it like a couple of school kids last night over super. The position of who gets to read it properly – first, is hotly contested! Thank you so much.

This is a real treat and hughley appreciated.

My best as always,

Des Leadon, vice-president of ITBF

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Thank you for sending this, the book deserves great accolades and is a huge achievement. I am making my way slowly through it. It is both seriously impressive, at times deeply moving and above all, I am personally learning so much about horses and about life – thank you for this wonderful gift.

Best wishes

Amrita Bilimoria 

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Good Morning Major – pleased to let you know that Grit, Grace and Glory arrived yesterday. 

It is beautifully produced with exceptional illustrations and I am very much looking forward to reading the Usha story. Also to reading your considerable contributions!

I am very grateful to you and to Ameeta for sending me a copy of the book. I will treasure it.

Best Wishes and Kind Regards

Peter Williams

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This wonderful volume, splendidly illustrated with hundreds of photos, is one of the rare international racing books that describes in detail the hard breeding path of al thoroughbred stud to great success on the racetrack.

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Received the book in Pune recently, thank you.

Amazing are the efforts put into in making this fabulous story. Applaud your Grit, Grace & Glory is Major Saab & your
Hard work👏👏👏👏👏👍👍🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Imtiaz Sait, Veteran trainer

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Just glanced through the wonderful book. It’s a gem and a tribute to you and how you have carried forward the rich legacy.
Very very proud of you.
Cheers and God Bless
Lots of love
Dolly & Arun

PS. Admire the way you have included the others who made your journey to fame possible. 👏🏼🥂👌🏽🌈💕

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Thank you very much for the fascinating book “Grit, Grace & Glory” it’s truly well put together showing all the aspects of the most successful breeding operation in the country. I wish you and Usha Stud all the best for the future.

Haider Zakki Soomar, Renowned Owner in India

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What wonderful news!
I would be so pleased to help you in any way that I can.

May I respectfully suggest that a “one on one” dialogue with Winfred, in his role as Chair of the IFHA, would help you to achieve your goals.

You may well have already put this in place, but if not, just let me know and I would happy to facilitate it if appropriate.

Winfred would also be useful to you in his role as CEO of the HKJC. His “imprimatur” would be a powerful incentive to achieve runners from Hong Kong.

You could also consider mention of this wonderful initiative at the ITBF, if you felt it appropriate.

Do please keep in touch as this unfolds.
My best as always,
Dr Desmond Leadon
Consultant in Equine Medicine, Irish Equine Centre

At the outset, I thank you for sending me the fascinating Book titled “GRIT, GRACE & GLORY, THE USHA STORY”. The title says it all.

From a humble beginning, if today the Usha Stud Farm is where it is, standing tall amidst other Stud Farms, it is truly because of your commitment, perseverance and hard work to bring to reality the dream of your father my good friend Pradeep. Your admirable spirit to set high standards, achieve them, and setting higher standards & excel further is commendable.

This well authored book, tracing the history of the Usha Stud farm sequentially, chapter wise, with striking pictures interspersed, is an adorable piece. It will be a valuable addition to my library, I shall treasure it forever.

With my best regards,

Yours sincerely,

Dr. A C Muthiah, Leading owner in India

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Grit, Grace and Glory is indeed a page turner! Enjoyed it thoroughly, wealth of information, well brought out, lovely images and very well designed too could be compared to any of best international ones.

You have gone through a tough time in life, I admire and respect you for what you have achieved.

Thank you once again for your kind gesture of sending me the copy.

Siraj Attari, Equine author, collector, in charge of the Equine Museum, India

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I write to thank you for sending me a copy of Grit, Grace & Glory: The Usha Story. Your kindness is much appreciated. Thank you.

I am delighted to read the history of The Usha Stud and to add it to my Library. I have built up a collection of over 18,000 books on the history and development of the thoroughbred horse worldwide. I do have the Bengal Stud Book published in Calcutta in 1826 as the earliest book published in India in my Library, but its contents are a long way from the professional set-up of The Usha Stud today.

The Usha Story is an important story to add to the long history of racing in India. I hope that in another two hundred years time that it will stand proud on the shelves of a future racing library.

It was interesting to read about the philosophy that guides the development of The Usha Stud and how that has been put into practice. I was also pleased to see that Major Nagolkar had contributed to the book. Major Nagolkar was a visitor to my Library in England when he was researching his History of Racing in India. I was disappointed that his work was never published. But my wife and I were always delighted to see him when we met at Longchamps for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Sadly he and we do not make that annual journey nowadays.

I have to admit that I am now the proud owner of two copies of Grit, Grace & Glory: The Usha Story. Another of your contributors, Rolf Johnson, presented me with a copy a couple of weeks ago. Rolf has been a frequent visitor to the Library. I would like to present my spare copy to the Library and Archive at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket. I have been working with the Rooms Management to set up the new Library and I think Grit, Grace & Glory: The Usha Story would be a proper addition to their collection. I hope you do not mind.

And thank you again for sending me a copy of The Usha Story. It is much appreciated.

Tim (Timothy Cox), British racing

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This is an excellent book gifted to me by my long time friend Major Nargolkar. I am really looking forward to reading it. I have already read about 40 odd pages at random (in between), and find it extremely interesting and captivating.

The added bonus for me is the part relating to the Aurobindo Philosophy which is covered extensively. I don’t know that Ameeta Mehra is so much inclined towards spirituality and philosophy.

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I am deeply engrossed in the book (G,G, and G) and despite huge work load and several commitments and interactions required with the publishers and friends etc in connections with my 8th (Windmills to Imagine) and 9th (Conference in a Parallel Universe) books, not forgetting increased frequency of playing Bridge, and watching IPL Etc, I have read quite a lot of the book, but far from finished reading it completely.

I love the title… the three G`s. I take it that `GRIT` corresponds to the Stallion, `GRACE` corresponds to the `MARE`, and `GLORY` corresponds to the horse who delivers. And all three G`s correspond to the lady `AMEETA MEHRA`, not forgetting her father, Late Pradeep Mehra. To the three G`s I add the three D`s, viz `Desire` to perform, `Discipline` to follow, and `Determination` to succeed. With these qualities ensured, the probabilities of success were always expected to be high, which is how it turned out to be and hopefully will continue to be. Her attachment with the horse, and her understanding of the horse and its sensitivities is reflected very much in her various quotes such as – 1) “Horses hear intention, they are sensitive to the human emotion, and mirror our true self“, 2) “Horses understand the language of love… and give of themselves a thousandfold“, and many others.

I love the interviews with the staff – in the section `Voices of the Staff` – and their replies to the questions asked. Words like `Anushasan` being followed , consistent monitoring at every stage, no `Laparvahi` tolerated, guidance received from her while giving importance to one and all, collective approach and team spirit, treating all with politeness, special attention including attention to detail when it’s a question of taking care and feeding of the horses, etc etc were indeed heartwarming to hear.

It goes without saying that the staff at work and the Horses of all categories `- Stallions, Mares, Foals, Yearlings, etc – are well taken care of and this to my mind constitutes about 60% to the success of the stud farm and the balance 40% to the selection of the Stallions, Mares, and the expertise in deciding who should mate who.

This reminds of an article I wrote as Guest writer for `Indiarace` on “The Laws Of Causation and the `Code Script`, Impact on horses“, available on my website “www.sixwords.in“, where I mentioned that the contribution of Genes gets over at the speck of jelly stage, thereafter it is the interactions of the world that determine the horse`s future. Interactions such as the health of the Mom, the food she eats, and how she looks after the baby inside, the facilities at the stud farm where the first couple of years are spent, the caliber of the trainers, the love and affection of the owners, the preparations, planning and scheduling of the races it runs, the caliber of the jockeys, how the races are run, etc etc. Being a Structural Engineer, I am inclined to think like this: That there is a certain `Code script` built in inside that speck of jelly that constitutes an architect’s plan (or maybe a structural design) that envisages what the structure should become, and then there are the interactions of the world which constitute the `Builder`s craft` that tries to develop the ultimate structure according to the initial plans, but due to the many uncertainties of these interactions, there is a large variation in the extent to which success is achieved. Ultimately it boils down to just statistics and probabilities of expectations.

But it must be said, the selection of Stallions and Mares at the Stud Farm, and the corresponding results achieved were absolute top class and must have been preceded by expert study and analysis. So, out of the remaining 40% also the Farm does very well.

The Foreword was apt and nicely written. I was surprised to note that Dr Karan Singh has written it. I knew the three P`s attributed to him, viz Philosopher, Poet, and Politician but I did not know his interest and knowledge on Horse racing and breeding. In the year 2003, we attended a week long symposium on `Science And Beyond` at NIAS (National Institute of Advanced studies, Bangalore) where some of the world`s greatest scientists and philosophers were present. Dr Karan Singh gave a very interesting inaugural address on the occasion with his in depth understanding of the relation between science and spirituality. His speech set the stage for a very interesting Seminar.

The photographs are excellent, and the book is full of them. My favorites are those on pages 54 and 55… Usha Stud Yearlings.

Your contribution to the book is unmatched. Your style of writing and the `Information In The Field` that you transmit is just awesome. As In the case of your other two books `The Life and Times of Byramji`, and `A Legacy Of Champions` the enormous Wealth Of Information at your disposal, on matters of Racing and Breeding and related subjects including highly systematic and organized methods of storing such information and your ability to retrieve such information in quick time and incorporate the same – most appropriately – with very interesting anecdotes, in your various articles, write-ups is just amazing and mind boggling. Every page of your writing is an interesting story. Going through these in as much as they were relating to the achievements of Usha SF over the past several decades, was a nice recall of the memories of having watched – with friends – many of these classic performances in awe and admiration of the Horses involved and the Stud Farm`s versatility.

All in all, The book is a prized possession, and along with your two other books mentioned above is adorning my shelves along with other five star books.

There is a lot more to write to you about the book and various other aspects. I`ll do so in a few days.

Warm regards and best wishes

Surendra Kumar Sagar

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