Jockey Suraj enters record books with 2000th win | TOI
Posted on - 10 Dec 2019
Jockey Suraj enters record books with 2000th win | TOI
Jockey Suraj Narredu entered the record books by registering his 2000th winner during the 11th meeting of the Hyderabad Winter season at the Malakpet Racecourse on Monday. It’s a record that will take some beating and had the pundits and professionals lauding the commendable feat. A third-place finish in the upper division of Tribute Plate, the second race in the eight-event card, only seemed to have spurred the Bengaluru-based 34-year-old jockey as he notched up two successive wins in races six and seven.
While LVR Deshmukh’s Ruletheworld in Salarjung Cup over 2000 metres, the feature, took him closer to the mark, KSV Prasad Rajutrained Guiding Force helped him achieve the feat — the second Indian to achieve the milestone after late B Prakash — by winning the Crown Treasure Plate over 1400 metres.
“I am very excited and happy to have reached this milestone,” Suraj told ToI. “It’s a huge sense of satisfaction that all the hard work and sacrifice has paid off,” said Suraj, who started riding at the BARI school in Bengaluru aged 12.
Suraj, who comes with a rich racing background, was only following in the footsteps of his father Satish, a former jockey and currently a trainer, and was the fastest to 1000 wins. “The journey has been pretty good. I have had my shares of ups and downs. But every time I was down, I came back stronger and have learnt from the experiences.”
Suraj posted his first Classic win in 2003 and has to his credit several Classic wins, 15 Derby wins and two Indian Derbies. The mantra has been the same all through. “Honesty, hard work and sacrifice. According to me this mantra will never fail. You will be rewarded sooner or later. It all depends on how badly you want it.”
Suraj reckoned that racing has not changed much ever since he took to the sport, but the breeding industry has improved. “I don't see much difference in racing ever since I started. It's been pretty much the same in the last 17 years. Only the breeding industry has grown leaps and bounds and we have horses racing from top stallions and mares in India,” he said. Suraj, who idolises Frank Dettori, has also plied his wares in the USA, France, Dubai and Ireland. He is the only India to win a Group 2 race abroad. “I am proud to put Indian racing and Jockeys Association of India (JAI) on the international map. The way racing is run abroad is remarkable. It's looked at as a proper sport more than the gambling aspect. From a jockey’s perspective and following my interaction with other top jockeys around the world, I've tried to learn timing, balance and better understanding of pace. Also their dedication to the sport and importance of fitness has made me imbibe those qualities,” Suraj said.
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