Sandesh and the sweet taste of success
Shailendra Awasthi | TNN
Mumbai: Young jockey Akhade Sandesh stole the limelight on the sixth-day of the Mumbai Races at the Mahalaxmi Racecourse on Sunday. The 18-year-old displayed the natural talent, a hall mark of saddle artists from the hilly terrains of Matheran, when he scored a thrilling double in two close finishes on Saba and Hi Dolly to the delight of the Sunday crowd.
The two wins have put Sandesh atop the jockeys’ leader board with seven wins from 21 mounts so far. “It feels good when you do well,’’ said Sandesh modestly. He was denied the apprentice jockeys’ crown when he rather unfortunately fell off from a horse named Secret Valley during the last Pune season. “Secret Valley had clipped the heels of the horse in front and stumbled which dislodged me,’’ recalled Sandesh, who stands at 5 feet two inches and weighs 46 kgs.
As Secret Valley was badly injured, he was euthanised. But Sandesh suffered an injury on the back of his head which kept him out of action for a month. When he returned towards the end of the season, Sandesh registered nine wins in three weeks, but fell two wins short of catching Trevor Patel, who pocketed the apprentice champions honours with 18 wins.
The young rider now wants to make up for that loss by winning the jockeys’ championship in the current Mumbai season. His trainer Rehanullah Khan believes Sandesh has it in him to land the riches. “I have seen him from the day he came to my stable to learn riding three years ago,’’ said Khan, a horse trainer for 25 years at Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC).
“From the first day I was impressed by him. He was weak, but had good sitting position and a very stable hand,’’ says Khan giving his vote of confidence to the youngster. “Budding jockeys from Matheran grow up in the company of horses and understand the animal well,’’ says Khan.
Sandesh was the only son of a small-time joyride provider in Matheran. His father knew Iqbal Nathani, a horse owner from Mumbai, who would take his horses for a joyride whenever he visited Matheran. Nathani had promised Sandesh’s father that he would take the young lad to Mumbai once he grows up. “When I completed my 10th standard, my father sent me to Mumbai,’’ recalled Sandesh. Nathani later handed over Sandesh to trainer Khan.
Sandesh got his riding license during the 2009 Pune season, but had to wait for six months to register his first win. It finally came on his 44th career mount on Pepe Junior during the last Mumbai Season in March earlier this year. Sandesh has now completed 25 wins and is very confident of leaving the apprentice rank by completing 40 wins in the current Mumbai season itself.
