Great story.....

[stonegossard]

Ashok Ranpise is my new hero.....


Jockey suspended, race annulled after hot favourite slows down before finish

Shailendra Awasthi

Mumbai, February 11: Allegations of race-fixing saw the day’s first event at the Mahalaxmi Race Course being declared null and void—the first such instance in five decades—as angry punters crowded the paddock.

Royal Western India Turf Club suspended jockey Raju Singh, who was riding the favourite Mazan, who eventually finished third, and ordered a refund to the punters who had backed horse.

Giving details about the RWITC’s swift action, Vivek Jain, chairman of the Stewards, said: “The horse wasn’t allowed to run on its merit. It was done in full public view and Mazan’s trainer SS Shah also complained about Raju Singh’s riding. With the punters also voicing concerns, we decided to suspend the jockey pending inquiry and declared the race null and void’’.

Jain said that the jockey hasn’t revealed any names. “He starts crying whenever we question him. We have done enough to pacify the agitated public and we have decided to file a case at the Tardeo police station,’’ he said.

“The jockey told the trainer that he was threatened before the race. But no names have been revealed,” said Jain.

Four-year-old gelding Mazan was the hot favourite to win the Khaalis Plate but subsequently the opening odds drifted from 40 paise per rupee to two rupees for every rupee. Eyebrows were raised because of this sudden fluctuation of odds and the public outburst spilled over when Mazan seemed to have been stopped in the tracks by the jockey as the finish line approached.

The end of the race saw an ugly incident at the winning post when well-known horse owner Ashok Ranpise assaulted Raju Singh. Defending his action, Ranpise said: “I was very upset. I’m a responsible racing fan and the way everything went, it was reflecting bad on racing, so I could not control myself.’’

Jockey Raju kept the horse in the sixth-seventh position for most part of this 1,000-metre race and at the home stretch the final burst was missing. Trainer SS Shah too wasn’t impressed by his jockey’s handling of the horse. “I had told him to take a good jump and settle the horse in the second position and then do his best in the home-stretch but he did not carry out my instruction,’’ admitted the veteran trainer.