Jim Crowley, who will be flying in to ride Pesi Shroff`s runners in the big races, will make his Indian racing debut on Sunday, January 17, 2016. Jockey Crowley is based in Surrey, England.

Mr K N Dhunjibhoy confirms that Crowley will be riding Gestapo in the Ruia Cup on Sunday. ``Crowley will be returning to India to ride in the Indian Oaks next week,`` he added.

Racing action in England is confined to All Weather tracks in the winter. Jockey Crowley, in anticipation of his Mumbai visit, has been plying his trade on the All Weather to keep himself race-ready. He has four rides Friday afternoon at Lingfield. The last ride is at 3 P M in a 2400-metre race. The name of Crowley`s mount is Arch Villain.

From Lingfield, jockey Crowley heads to Heathrow airport to board a plane to Mumbai. He arrives in Mumbai Saturday afternoon. “I will be riding in Mumbai on Sunday. I come back to England after Sunday`s races. Hopefully, I will make another trip to ride on Oaks day the following Sunday,” Crowley says in an email he sent on Thursday.


At 37, Jim Crowley has established himself as one of the leading lights in the British riding fraternity.

“I have been riding before I could walk. My parents were into horses and racing. I rode ponies from a young age,” Crowley says.

What about numbers? “I have ridden over 1,500 winners worldwide. I have been in Hong Kong, America, Canada, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Italy, France, Germany and Ireland. There is a race meeting on a frozen lake in St Moritz in Switzerland. I have ridden there too,” jockey Crowley tells me.

Jockey Crowley can soon add India to his already long list. One comforting thought for Crowley. He will not encounter a frozen lake in India.

Are there any big race wins? “I won the Group I King`s Stand (1000 metres) at Royal Ascot in 2011 with Prohibit. I rode Madame Chiang to victory in the Fillies and Mares Championship (2400 metres) in 2014 on Champions` Day at Ascot.”

I may add that Lord Shanakill provided a Group I score for Crowley on French soil. The race was the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly in 2009. Jim is an accomplished ‘jumps` rider as well. However, he stopped riding in ‘jumps` races several years ago.

In 2015, Jim Crowley rode 115 winners, a number that puts him in the elite category. His horses earned 1,660,239 pounds. His tally gave him a 13.79 strike rate.

Lucinda, trainer Guy Harwood`s daughter, is married to Jim Crowley. There are three children. Lucinda`s sister, Amanda Perrett, is a well-known trainer.

Guy Harwood trained the incomparable Dancing Brave for Khalid Abdullah. With Greville Starkey, Dancing Brace was a split second late and could not catch Shahrastani in the 1986 Epsom Derby. Pat Eddery replaced Starkey as Dancing Brave`s jockey in the Arc De Triomphe in October. The pair delivered with a devastating stretch charge.

“I am very much looking forward to riding in India,” jockey Crowley concludes.