Suraj climbs Mount-2000

Little over a handful of people in India have won a thousand races in their lifetime. But when Suraj Narredu achieved the feat in 2010, astride the famed Becket, he was still only the third person in the family to get there. His father (Satish) and uncle (Malesh) had already beaten him to it. He is the fastest in the country to four figures but it wasn’t a unique feat though.

On Monday, Suraj scripted a first for the Narredu household, and that is saying something. In winning the Crown Treasure Plate in Hyderabad, astride Guiding Force, he became the first Narredu to 2000 winners, and the second in the country to the mark once considered unbreachable.

When B Prakash achieved the milestone, few reckoned anyone else would. In fact, Suraj was touted as the only one with the requisite precision and gumption to get there. Aware of the sacrifices, the commitment and the implausible alignment of the intangibles needed to achieve such a feat, even the experts voiced the possibility only in hushed tones. Numbers, men thought, impossible.

A decade later, the Bengaluru rider has done it.

"Never did I think I would get this far in racing when I started," said an elated Suraj after the podium ceremony. "I thought winning it on Ruletheworld (the sixth race on the card) would be appropriate because of the name but Guiding Force is an awesome name to seal it with too.

"It has been an absolutely amazing journey and it is far from done. As far as I am concerned, I wake up at 5.00 am tomorrow and do my track notes and pick the next horse. Nothing changes."

"It was all the more special because my wife and kids were there," he added.

Taking to riding at 12, Suraj showed promise early, and despite apprehension from his father, ended up with a racing license in 2002.

"I remember 28 riders got their license that year," Suraj reminisced. "Generally, they don’t give out so many. But once I got it, I had an ‘X’ marked on my back. I was the only guy there with that much expectation because my uncle and my dad had already been very successful jockeys. They were all closely looking at me and my performances.

"Even though I only had just started, they began comparing me to them. I didn’t win anything for over three months. By then, my batch-mates had already won a few races. There was some pressure."

That 'elusive win' came at the Mysore Race Club, astride Predominate, and he happened to win the next race too astride Anjaam. "Sadly, my first winner was disqualified due to a banned substance, so Anjaam became my first official winner," said the Christ College graduate.

For someone who claims to not remember much of his wins, and one can't blame him either, Suraj recollects a fair bit and accurately so. His first classic win came on Coral Gables in 2003, and his first winner after getting married to Riya came in 2010 atop Becket.

"I didn't win a race after getting married and Riya was beginning to get a bit worried (laughs). She thought she was bad luck. That win was important because that was the first time she had come to the track and watched me race," he says.

Suraj, not particularly a favourite among other jockeys for his almost-mathematical approach to picking trainers, horses and racing, didn't stop there. Later that year he went on to win the Nizam Gold Cup to complete the 1000 wins. "That was a big moment for me because dad and my uncle had already won a 1000 races each. I was the third one in the family with 1000. That’s rare. I don’t think it’ll ever be achieved," he says.

Still, Suraj thirsted for the Indian Derby. He had come close to winning it each year but a twist of fate each time meant he would have to watch on. Not in 2014. Astride an MAM Ramaswamy-colt, Be Safe, for the first time Suraj scaled a mountain he had built himself.

"That was a special win because my father had also won on a horse (Amazing Bay, 1996) trained by MAM sir. And like my father, I won the race without using the whip. I had seen his race on the VCR and I was reliving it even as I began to close in on the win," he recalled.

The second one wasn't far away as he won the 2019 Indian Derby astride Star Superior. With two Indian Derby's and over 66 wins in Classics, Suraj was a bona fide legend already. But he insisted that he wouldn't even be close to good if it wasn't for his family.

"We have a big joint family. We do speak a lot of racing in the household. But for me it’s easier, I pick my horses, plan my races and my day is done. My brother (Rajesh) and my dad are on it the whole day. They start in the morning and work late into the night," he reveals.

"Riya, though, has the toughest job in the world. Putting up with my tantrums can be very hard. You tend to become very cranky because of the diet. You are on the edge for the most part. On race days you aren’t really talking and she understands that I need to be in my zone. It’s all very hard when you don’t have food in your body," said the father of two children - Aarush (7) and Natasha (4).

Prakash had quit racing in 2012 only because after two decades of eating nothing but crumbs, he was done. Suraj doesn't seem too bothered by this diet of starvation. Not yet.

In fact, there is no hesitation in his voice when he says he's going to be "doing this for a few years at least". The only upgrade Suraj seeks is to race more internationally.

"I have won abroad and I know I can win more but for that I need to move there. I need to move my family there. I am not sure if that's feasible but if it all goes according to plan we should. Hong Kong and Singapore sound great but England has me thinking the most," he ponders away.