“We Are Like The Indian O’Briens”: Suraj Narredu Takes To The World At Shergar Cup
From cheerleader to champion, Suraj Narredu’s career will come full circle at Ascot, where the all-time great of Indian racing hopes to lift his international profile.
SIXTEEN YEARS AGO, Suraj Narredu – then a rising star of the Indian jockey ranks – made the trek to Ascot for the Shergar Cup, not as a rider but as a cheerleader for his uncle Malesh, who became the first Indian jockey to participate in the series.
On Saturday, his uncle – now a trainer – intends to return the favour, joining the extended family to cheer on his nephew as he makes his British debut in this year’s Shergar Cup.
“I’ll never forget it when my uncle rode there, actually we pulled out the photos the other day and relived it all,” Narredu told Idol Horse from his Bengaluru base. “I went to the UK despite the fact I was fighting for my championship in Bangalore at the time. I was leading by four and there were two days to go, so it was a risk but luckily I held on to win the championship.
“I always hoped that I would be able to ride in the Shergar Cup one day and so I can’t wait for Saturday, I am very excited.”
Now 40, Narredu has more than 2,400 wins under his belt, including 110 Indian classics – among them four Indian Derby victories. He has been named India’s Champion Jockey on four occasions, while he has been the leading rider at 27 different meetings across the country.
Narredu is from a celebrated lineage of champion horsemen, all descending from Suraj’s grandfather Gangaram, a mason at Mahalaxmi Racecourse in Mumbai. They can be considered Indian racing’s first family with plenty of success and influence across the industry.
“We are like the Indian O’Briens,” Narredu said with a chuckle. “We are Aidan, Joseph, Donnacha all rolled into one. My dad (Satish) was a jockey too, both my dad and my uncle are now trainers too. My younger brother is a trainer, my uncle has two sons, one is a jockey and one is a trainer. And we’ve got quite a few extended family members in racing too.
“My uncle will be there at Ascot on Saturday as long as his visa comes through, he applied a bit late, but my mother, my father, my wife and my kids, my brother, my sister-and-law and my nephew are all flying over for it.
“And then we’ve got extended family and friends in the UK who are all planning on heading to Ascot too on Saturday. It’s going to be a big group there but it means so much.”
Narredu will captain the inaugural Team Asia on Saturday, heading a cohort that features two Japanese jockeys: Saudi Cup-winning rider Ryusei Sakai and emerging talent Mirai Iwata.
“I’ve never met them but I think both of them are world-class jockeys from what I’ve seen,” Narredu said from his Bengaluru base before flying to the UK on Tuesday. “Mirai is over there in the UK at the moment and riding out for William Haggas, I saw he had a ride at Goodwood last week. His dad was a top rider and he will be learning plenty there.
“Ryusei obviously won the Saudi Cup on Forever Young and was just beaten in the Dubai World Cup. He’s a great riding talent as we all have seen and I am excited to meet him.
“It will be a great experience for me. I am sure we will all try to learn from each other and share our experiences and I hope that the Asian team wins the Shergar Cup this year.”
Narredu, who has ridden in Ireland, Australia, France, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Macau, Mauritius and Malaysia in addition to his native India, hopes that the Shergar Cup may open up other overseas opportunities and eventually lead to him fulfilling a lifelong dream of riding in Japan.
“I will sell my house to come to Japan,” he says. “It’s a dream to ride there. It’s an added incentive to win the Shergar Cup, for sure, just to get my name out there among Japanese fans.”
In 2009, the same year his uncle was riding against some of the world’s best jockeys at the Shergar Cup, Narredu won the Rising Stars Championship in Mauritius. Among those he defeated were Mickael Barzalona, Maxime Guyon, Hayley Turner and local Karis Teetan, who again opposes Narredu on Saturday when he captains the Rest of the World team in the Shergar Cup.
“It was a really good group of young riders that year at Champ de Mars,” Narredu said. “It’s been amazing watching all of them get to the top of their respective jurisdictions and I’ve kept in touch with them, but especially with Karis. I saw him in Hong Kong last year and he is a great friend.
“It’s amazing how the world works, that Karis and I are both captaining teams at the Shergar Cup. It makes it even more special.”
Teetan, who has been based in Hong Kong for 12 years, leads a global team that includes his Sha Tin rival, Australian champion Hugh Bowman, and American rider and Netflix “Race for the Crown” star Katie Davis.
Hollie Doyle captains the Great Britain and Ireland team that also features Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Robbie Dolan and leading northern rider Joanna Mason, while Team Europe is led by Sweden’s Per-Anders Graberg and includes Italian Dario Di Tocco and Delphine Santiago from France.
While Narredu will be a new face to British racegoers, they may get to see more of him over the next month as he bases himself out of Newmarket.
“My visa allows me to remain in the UK to ride for 30 days,” he said. “I jumped at the chance to stay on. I figured that I may as well use the opportunity to learn, to experience Newmarket and to gain more knowledge.
“I’m hoping to ride out for a couple of trainers, primarily Marco Botti so far. I’ve got an agent who is helping me out. Whether it leads to rides or not, I’m not sure but even if not, it’s just great to get this experience.
“I did it when I rode in Ireland in 2019, I only had a couple of rides at Dundalk and Tipperary but I got to spend a few days at Joseph O’Brien’s track and learnt a lot there.” ∎
