Riding the wave: Foreign jockeys outshine local talent

Mumbai racing has had a history of top-class riders making appearances on big racing days,like the Indian Derby,but never before have so many foreign jockeys entered the race course so early in the season. The top five-six jockeys that we have in India have already been contracted by top owners,so they are not available to us. Therefore,we had to employ foreigners, says Prem Tharani,the director of the Wadhawan Livestock Private Limited. This year,we have invested heavily in horse racing and own more than 100 horses. So we needed the services of top jockeys. We are here to win everything, says Tharani.

They may have been dominating Mumbai racing but they arent the best overseas riders. Not many in India can afford the top international riders, points out veteran trainer Narendra Lagad,who has also employed English rider Adrian Nicholls this year. They may not be the top notch but are better than most riders in our country simply because they ride on different tracks around the world at a competitive level, says the man who has been training horses for almost three decades.

The Indian experience has always sharpened the skills of many riders from Britain and Ireland and they have gone on to become big names later, says Rory Cleary,a rider from Ireland on his first trip to India. India will be a great learning place for me, says the 22-year-old.

Local discontent

But the success of foreigners has led to discontent among Indian jockeys. We have issued notice to the owners saying we are going to ensure that Indian riders get 50 per cent of the races to ride. Since the issue is between the owners and jockeys,we await their response, says Vivek Jain,managing committee member of the Royal Western India Turf Club.

Some are also of the view that shutting down of the jockey school in Mumbai more than a decade ago has affected the quality of riding. Now jockeys are trained by trainers who just call them to work for about couple of hours during the daily morning workouts, says Adil Gandhy,former administrator of the jockey school,which was run by the Amateur Riders Club. It was a boarding school where youngsters were put into a two-year jockey course. We taught them everything.

Punters,however,are a happy lot. The possibility of a win increases when an international rider is at the helm. This makes our bet more secure, says Raju Ranpise,a regular punter.