Building Temerity at the gates - By Shailendra Awasthi | TOI
Posted on - 02 Feb 2017
Building Temerity at the gates
By Shailendra Awasthi
TOI - Mumbai
Ace trainer Pesi Shroff 's filly Temerity , who had decimated her rivals in the Indian Oaks, is seen as a serious contender for this Sunday's Indian Derby.
Her rider Neeraj Rawal, who had partnered her in five fantastic wins from seven starts, is very confident that his filly will put on a brave show.No one can doubt the 30-year-old jockey's statement after her thumping win in the recent Ladies Derby . However, just a few weeks ago, Temerity was extremely nervous to approach the gates after a freak incident during December's Indian 1000 Guineas where she got stuck in the front gates while trying to duck it, and as a result, dislodged her rider.Though this hot favourite was taken out and reinstalled after vets found her good enough to race, she did take part in the race but ran with no interest and let down her big army of followers.
“As she wasn't physically injured we thought she is OK to run but in actual race, she simply refused to gallop and I could sense that she was not in a mood to run. So I just eased her up and finished the race,“ Neeraj told TOI.
Her next assignment, the Indian Oaks, was five weeks away and her trainer and jockey started the process of restoring her confidence back at the gates. “She was psychologically disturbed going to the gates. So we decided to remove that fear from her mind. We took her to the gates almost every day , making her stand there and taught her how to come out. Slowly, she got comfortable and every one saw the results in the Indian Oaks,“ said Neeraj.
Neeraj is from the last batch of riders who went through training at RWITC's jockey school in 2003 and got his riding license in April that year towards the fag end of the season. His first ride came in Mysore on Dizzy Lizzy trained by his uncle Satish Narredu and his first win came astride Rosnos Visky in the same season.
Neeraj, who is enjoying most fruitful time of his 13-year-old career, feels he has a good chance of realising his dream this year: winning the Indian Derby . “Winning Indian Derby is every jockey's dream. For the first time I have a mount (Temerity) who has a big chance to win. However, with contenders like Serjeant At Arms, Mrs Patmore and Hall Of Famer in the fray , Indian Derby this year is going to be very competitive,“ he stressed.
