BTC stewards suspend Suraj Narredu licence

The stewards of the Bangalore Turf Club on Friday suspended the licence of top jockey Suraj Narredu for a period of four months after an inquiry found out that he had deliberately underperformed with Salazaar in the Stayers Trial Stakes.

“In Race No 118 of the Bangalore Winter Meeting, the Stayers Trial Stakes conducted on February 5, Salazaar was the pre-race favourite but it ended up finishing third. The riding of Suraj didn’t appear right. Upon conducting an inquiry, the stewards of BTC found out that Suraj didn’t ride Salazaar to its full potential. He was found to have deliberately underperformed. Hence, the jury decided to suspend him from racing from March 5 until June 4. Suraj, of course, has the right to appeal against the decision,” a top source from BTC told DH on condition of anonymity.

Suraj, whose father and uncle are top trainers in the country, said he’ll appeal the decision. "The Stewards in their wisdom have given their verdict and I do not wish to comment on that. I will most certainly be appealing against the decision,” he told DH.

The suspension, if it stays after appeal, will come as a huge blow to Suraj as he won’t be able to race anywhere in the country. “The ban would not just apply to BTC, it’ll be across India. Since Bangalore is part of the Turf Authorities of India, a suspension or ban here means it’ll be applicable across the country. That’s the way the rules are. So Suraj will not be able to race until June 4. Also, he could be in trouble if he wished to ride abroad. While we won’t stop him, if the respective club seeks information from us about his licence, we will send our reports. It all depends on the appeal now.”

It was not immediately clear as to who lodged the complaint against Suraj's performance for BTC to conduct an inquiry.