Colts, fillies and full throttle

At the Royal Western India Turf Club, Dr Gobin R Gurbaxani was identified as the 'Doctor with a bow tie' at the club. "The weather in Mumbai didn't make wearing jackets very comfortable, but believed in dressing well. Since the dress code at the club was always formal, he would sport a bow tie and was quite popular for it. In fact, even after the club rules were relaxed, he continued to dress like the thorough gentleman he was," said his daughter Gitanjali.

After his demise on April 21, 2014, Gitanjali RWITC to honour his memory. "I requested the committee to name a race after him as the relationship that the Club shares with its members is of close-knit affection. They were kind enough to comply with the request," said Gitanjali.

Keeping its promise, the RWITC has scheduled the first edition of the Dr Gobind R Gurbaxani Memorial Trophy on Sunday.

Earlier this month, the Signature Indian Derby at Mahalaxmi Racecourse saw Suraj Narredu guiding champion horse Be Safe to victory with a timing of 27.7 seconds.

Youngest Indian jockey with 1,000 wins
Suraj Narredu won the his first Indian Derby this year and has finally come to terms with his win. He hails from from a family of race enthusiasts and derby winners, his father Satish Narredu in the capacity of a trainer, and his uncle Malesh Narredu in the capacity of a jockey.

Narredu has worked hard to make it to the illustrious list of jockeys, like his uncle and Pesi Shroff, and to win 50 Classical titles. He aspires to emulate his idol Frankie Dettori's performance on the tracks. Narredu is no stranger to accolades, for he has already won the title of the youngest Indian jockey to notch up 1,000 wins.

"Nothing is real on the tracks till the last moment, till you've won and it's only when the race is over that you can let the reality set in," said Narredu about his wins on the tracks.

Narredu also follows a strict dietary regime that are the requirements of his career, "To be a good jockey you have to maintain a very difficult balance of being your fittest at the lowest body weight that it is possible for you to train. I go to the gym nearly 3 times a week and on other days I'm either travelling or training with the horse. It's important to stay healthy because riding a horse requires you to use every muscle on your body and as racing season comes closer, I start monitoring my diet and make sure I'm fittest best. It's great when you have a job that requires you to stay fit."

Pesi Shroff profile
Pesi Shroff's affair with horses from the tender age of 5 years old. At 15 years, he had resolved to be a jockey and begun his training. In a year he had run his first race and by the time he was 19, he had his first Derby win in the bag. The rest as they say is history. By the time he retired in 2004, he had won 8 Derby races, the most wins by any Indian jockey in the history of the races.

"Every victory has a lot to do with luck. You have to think fast and you have to improvise but there's so much that can go wrong that you must have luck on your side to win," said Shroff.

From the struggle on the tracks to the struggle off the tracks, Shroff has persevered to stick with his love affair with horses and racing. "The hardest thing I had to face as a jockey was to keep my weight in check. It got to a point when I stopped meeting people and going for parties as I had to keep diet under strict observation and I've always loved food."

According to Shroff, "You know that you can make it as a jockey by the age of 20 and the number and severity of the falls you've taken, the mental struggle with discipline and your passion."

After retirement Shroff is now a trainer and handles 80 horses, the highest that a trainer can, by RWITC rules.
Riding like wind on Be Safe

The current star of the racing world is undoubtedly Be Safe, winner of 10 out of 11 races, including this year's Derby. Be Safe is touted as "one of the horses that are worth waiting for" and already there is great excitement among the racing fraternity to see his achievements.

"It is every Indian jockey's ultimate dream to win the Indian Derby and when I won on the first, I was suspended in a state of disbelief. Even after the celebrations were over and I reached the paddock, I asked my uncle if I had actually won the race or if I was dreaming. He then he joked and asked me if I needed to be pinched to believe it. But honestly, the feeling of winning the Derby cannot be explained in words, it's the one goal that we all set in our minds when we decide to be a jockey," said Suraj Narredu.

The story of Be Safe and Narredu's journey together began last year when he received a call from MAM Ramaswamy. "To a jockey, Ramaswamy Sir's horses are a big honour. I couldn't believe my luck when he called me in March last year to ride Be Safe for the summer races. When I first rode Be Safe, I knew that this horse is very special. I knew from that one ride that the colt belonged on a different league and could compete even on the international circuit," said Narredu.

The price factor
Horses are auctioned only a year in Pune, in the months of February or March. Earlier, the auction would take place in Mumbai, but as it was too close to Indian Derby, the venue was later shifted out of the city.

"Around the months of February there are already an excessive number of horses in Mumbai as the auction follows the Derby. The stables therefore have no place to accommodate the extra horses. Thus, we shifted the auction to Pune," said Padmakar Desai, member of security & vigilance working group (Mumbai-Pune), RWITC.

This year, the highest price a horse was sold for was nearly Rs2 lakh, while the cheapest horse went for about Rs40,000.

There have been reports of private deals struck among breeders, owners and trainers. However, this aspect is yet to be corroborated with authentic sources.

They set the tracks on fire

Be Safe
This year's Derby winner, Be Safe, has proved to be lucky for his owners and jockeys and had he been around then, might've given Mystical a run for his money as well. Be Safe, broke the records set by the previous year's Derby winner, Alaindair, by finishing at 2:27:71 (two minutes:twenty-seven:seventy-one seconds). Like Mystical, Be Safe has only lost the one race and doesn't seem on his way to lose anymore. Be Safe did not need to be whipped for the derby and seems to do well under pressure. According to his jockey, Suraj Narredu, Be Safe is one of the surest winners he has ever sat on. Be Safe is also owned by MAM Ramaswamy, who holds the record for owning the most number of horses to win the Indian Derby.

Mystical
Mystical is widely regarded as one of the finest horses ever born on Indian soil. In 2006, the Bangalore-based bay came in first in the nine out of ten races in 2006, the one race where he didn't finish first? The Indian Derby, where he came in third, attributed to poor judgement of pace. Mystical more than made up for that one failing. The next year Mystical became the first horse in 2007 to win two races back to back at the Dubai Racing Carnival. Bred by Zavaray Poonawalla and owned by MAM Ramaswamy, Mystical is a sure legend of his time.