In his childhood he was more interested in horses than studies, so he would pay the joyride providers near the Pune Racecourse to get astride a horse. However, riding on turf wasn’t within his reach so he would go around the roads to satisfy his quest of getting the feel of the horse and understand the basics of saddle artistry. All his efforts paid off on Sunday when he landed the biggest prize in Indian racing—the Indian Derby.Prajapati Kamlesh, the 23-year-old and already a veteran of nine years on the circuit, couldn’t hold back his joy. ‘‘I had always dreamt about winning the Indian Derby. It’s the most satisfying day of my life,’’ said Kamlesh who rode rank outsider Velvet Rope to a shocking win at Mahalakshmi Racecourse pipping hot favourite Mystical and fast finishing Holding Court in a sensational manner.‘‘I was told to settle the Velvet Rope in the fifth-sixth position and give the horse time to get comfortable,’’ informed Kamlesh, son of Ramlal Prajapati, who used to work in a jewellery shop in Pune. At the top of the home stretch, Velvet Rope was still in mid-bunch. ‘‘I was tracking Mystical’s movement as I knew he was the horse to beat,’’ added Kamlesh, a class nine dropout of East Street’s Sardar Dastur High School.But to his surprise Mystical appeared to have started fading, with 400 metres to go from the winning post. ‘‘There I sensed that it was time to move past Mystical and challenge front-runner Holding Court,’’ recalled Kamlesh.Velvet Rope responded well to his urging’s and was soon in top gear. Velvet Rope caught Holding Court in the last few strides to leave everyone in a state of shock. ‘‘It even took me by surprise though I had always ridden this horse and knew well that he was capable of doing it,’’ said Kamlesh, who joined jockey school at Mumbai’s Royal Western India Turf Club in 1995.After undergoing two years of training under renowned tutor Jimmy Bharucha, Kamlesh got the riding licence in 1997. Since then he had won two Hyderabad 2000 Guineas and one Indian 2000 Guineas.How was he going to celebrate the biggest win of his life? ‘‘I will party with Velvet Rope owner Shiven Sundernath and Rajan Bajaj,’’ he quipped.
