Suraj Narredu is arguably India's greatest jockey in history. (Instagram)
\n\nThirty years after watching his uncle race in Japan on VCR tapes, Suraj Narredu scripted history this year, becoming the first Indian jockey to win under the Japan Racing Association. At 41, he says the work isn't done.
\n\nBefore he rode Sapporo, he attempted it on a PlayStation. His son and nephew had a PS5 horse racing game with replicas of Japan's racecourses.
\n\nAhead of his debut at the World All-Star Jockeys in August, he played it with them to learn how small and tight the track was.
\n\n"These are the small things that help us," he says.
\n\nOn August 22, on only his second ride in Japan, he guided sixth-choice Fier Chanter to victory over 2,600 metres. No Indian jockey had won a JRA race before.
\n\nAs he crossed the line, he was a young boy in Bengaluru again. His uncle Malesh had ridden in Japan about 30 years earlier and brought home VCR tapes of his races. Suraj would watch them almost every day, without understanding the Japanese commentary. His uncle never won there.
\n\n"From how I used to watch as a child to coming and racing and…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/sports
