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Suraj Narredu soars at Ascot in Shergar Cup

By: Rolf Johnson   August 11 , 2025
   

Shabash!! Just like Frankie Dettori used to steal the show at Ascot, Suraj Narredu followed, leapt even, in the footsteps of his hero in the 24th Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup last Saturday at the Royal Course. And following his victory, only the third by an Indian rider in the UK after Pandu Khade and Neeraj Rawal, Suraj thrilled the huge crowd with a flying dismount from Fireblade, his winner of the two-mile Shergar Cup Stayers event.

He`d arrived in the winner`s circle which has welcomed all the greats – Frankel, Lester Piggott, Her Majesty the late Queen Elizabeth - enveloped in the Indian flag which should find a place in an Indian racing museum. The crowd, including fifteen members of his family, went wild as he copied Dettori`s signature leap.

Not only did Suraj achieve unique acclaim for his victory but he was adjudged to have performed the ride of the meeting by the former Derby winning jockey John Reid. And to top it all Suraj captained his side, team Asia, on its Shergar Cup debut, to victory in the world`s foremost Team Jockeys challenge.

We had our own personal conversation but Suraj proved an ambassador for all-India. He said: “My family has been the biggest support. To come here to Ascot and do the Frankie Dettori dismount, it`s unbelievable. I couldn`t sleep at all last night.

“Absolutely fabulous, I can`t explain my happiness. I have been waiting for this day, it`s a big day for us Indians and for the entire Indian racing fraternity. It is my dream come true to have a winner at Ascot. My uncle [Malesh] – he is the one who came here and rode in 2009 – and I`m sure I made his dream come true. For all the family, my kids, my wife, my parents, it`s amazing that they`re here to cheer me on so a big thanks to them and all my well-wishers. There is nothing better than this.”

On the race itself, he added: “They were going too slow, a crawl! I was lucky to find a spot to get out and make ground; I had to make the other guys stay and that`s what we did. The last three furlongs seemed to go by in a blur, it was brilliant.

‘‘The flying dismount was definitely a tribute to my hero, Frankie. On Thursday (the reception) I came to have a picture in the winner`s enclosure without a horse. Now I have done it with a horse.

‘‘Thanks to all the prayers and blessings of India, we have done it.``

Malesh, said: ‘‘He has worked hard on his fitness coming into the Shergar Cup. He wanted to be at his best. I could see him working really hard at home and it has paid off. I have already had calls from back home with the Indian flag being in the winner`s enclosure. It is a great moment for all of us. I am very proud.

“I gave him the instructions and he followed them absolutely to the letter. There was no pace early on, he used his initiative and kicked off the bend, wonderful ride.”

Suraj`s invitation for next year is, as they say, ‘in the post`.

The Shergar Cup isn`t to everyone`s tastes; we`re a conservative lot in Britain. But its sheer unique, one-off nature means Ascot fills up with a Royal meeting sized crowd which has everything, atmosphere, immaculate fashion - everything but the top hats and tails.

Iconic 1981 Derby winner Shergar, one of the great Derby winners, was abducted from his owner the Aga Khan`s Ballymany stud in Ireland. His fate remains a mystery but his name lives on in Dubai Duty Free`s choice of Shergar`s name to add to their enduring sponsorship with six races worth between £80,000 and £100,000.

Riders are chosen from all points of the globe. India has been underrepresented - but not this time! Others brought their fans – the Japanese jockeys in Suraj`s Asia team were backed by a Press horde. But the Indian community plus Suraj`s charming extended family made their presence felt.

The early betting suggested Suraj`s mounts were not among the fancied ones but my reading of the Form Book suggested Fireblade had an outstanding chance and he was backed down to 13/2. The trainer Dylan Cunha was in top form and Fireblade, a son of Frankel and brother to the top class Cracksman had already shown a penchant for Ascot.

Off a slow pace Suraj struck for home and kept his mount up to the job, waving his whip in salutation passing the winning post. His other four mounts on the day were all running on under his driving and none of the other four were beaten as much as five lengths. They will appreciate Suraj`s considerate rides next time they return to the races.

I asked Suraj about the unfamiliarity of racing over such a long distance – two miles – because India (I`m reliably informed) has just the Suresh Mahindra Cup (formerly Northumberland Plate) over the three thousand metres.

“I`ve never ridden in it,” he said. “But several marathons abroad.”

There was a difference of opinion about the going – naturally since the jockeys came from the four corners of the earth. To one it was as “hard as hell” to Suraj used to the baked courses of India it was “good, good to firm”. This scorching summer in Britain has left turf brown and parched. But Ascot was watered and displayed its usual verdant emerald colour. A perfect setting for a memorable day the heavy irony of which came in the Shergar Cup Sprint – another Indian triumph as the winner was the prolific Prince of India owned by Vaibhav Shah, trained by an Italian, Newmarket-based Marco Botti and ridden by Suraj`s Japanese team mate Ryusei Sakai.

The ‘fizz` has returned to this event – and true to form champagne drenched the triumphant debutant Asia team on the Ascot podium. They popped the cork and they`d had broken the mould. An exultant Nick Smith, Ascot`s director of racing and public affairs, said: "We`re pleased to have secured top talent from across the world to compete at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, with at least eight different countries set to be represented already. This new evolution of the format keeps the event fresh. Everything has worked and made this one of the happiest Shergar Cup days ever."

The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is a serious competition. National and personal pride is at stake for the twelve international jockeys who have followings wherever they travel. Swedish champion Per Anders Graberg, successful for his Europe team, was returning from a life-threatening fall. The equally remarkable Katie Davis, stalwart of the Rest of the World team, multiple Stakes winning jockey in the USA, had the distinction back home of beating her father and brother in a race! As ‘exotic` a feat as Suraj` Narredu`s first victory for an Indian jockey.

Last word (almost) to Suraj about his ‘day of destiny`: “We crawled a lot of the way,” he reiterated, more used to the helter skelter, no prisoners taken, races of his native land. “My horse did all that I asked when I wanted him to go and from then I never thought we would get beat.”

Suraj had intimated at the Ascot Press reception that he felt the best was yet to come in his career. He couldn`t have forecast it would come so quickly.

 
 
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