Jhunjhunwala sets stock by his filly - By Shailendra Awasthi I TOI
Posted on - 31 Jan 2015
Jhunjhunwala sets stock by his filly
By Shailendra Awasthi
TOI
Leading stockbroker Rakesh Jhunjhunwala believes in never giving up on a challenge. After a failed attempt with his horse Hemisphere, he is quite hopeful of winning the Indian Derby, the most sought after prize in Indian racing, this year with the filly Tiger Tops, which he co-owns with builders Haresh Mehta and Pallonji Mistry.
An eternal optimist to the core, the 54-year-old has high hopes on Tiger Tops despite the fact that the four-year-old will be up against Be Safe, considered the best horse in the country at the moment and a hot favourite to win the coveted crown.
Experts and bookmakers pitch Tiger Tops as the second best contender in the Derby this year: the likely opening odds show she is far behind Be Safe. While Be Safe, owned by Chennai's MAM Ramaswamy, was available at 50 paisa to a rupee, bookies were ready to give 7 rupees for a rupee if Tiger Tops wins.
“I know Be Safe is being tipped as a near certainty to win, but my filly has performed brilliantly so far,” says Jhunjhunwala. He is not wrong; Tiger Tops won the Kolkata Monsoon Derby, the Kolkata Winter Oaks and Indian Oaks at Mumbai in a very impressive fashion. Two of these wins came over a distance of 2400 metres which she will need to cover at the Mahalaxmi racecourse this Sunday.
Tiger Tops' main rival Be Safe has yet to run over a 2400 metres in his career and that is the only possible chink in his armoury. Jhunjhunwala is banking on that. “That might be a tough ask for Be Safe. There my filly has an advantage,“ he says.
Though he is not a regular racegoer and visits the racecourse only on big race days, a drive down to Mahalaxmi racecourse on Indian Derby day remains a ritual for him ever since he was introduced to races by his father Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala when he was a child.
“I bet a few thousand rupees when I go to racecourse and yes I had won on Chaitanya Chakram when he won the Indian Derby in 1987,” recalls Jhunjhunwala.
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