The much awaited Bangalore Summer Season is set to take off on Saturday, 14th of May, 2011. With most of the pending issues getting resolved in an amicable manner, racing action shall commence as per schedule. The new norms suggested by the BTC authorities have been put on hold, and it has been decided to maintain a status-quo during the next few months. The Stewards have decided to increase the stake money by 10%, and in addition to that, have announced a bunch of incentives. Racing shall generally be conducted on Saturdays and Sundays, and the 26-day season will conclude on the 5th of August. In the absence of racing action anywhere else in the country, the attention of the entire racing fraternity in the next couple of months shall be focused on Bangalore and Mysore. The premier event of the season, The Kingfisher Derby 2011, is slated to be run on Sunday, July 10, 2011.

A large number of outstation trainers have already arrived at this centre, and their wards have been noticed on the training track. Pesi Shroff has brought a small, but formidable, string of eight horses. These include the talented trio of Amadeus, Xisca and Attila. Imtiaz Sait, CD Katrak, Vinayak, Shyam Habbu, Altamash Ahmad, Nosher Cama and Dr Anil Kumar are the others from Western India who have come with smaller strings. Leo Desilva, Vittal Deshmukh, Shehzad Abbas and Laxman Singh shall spearhead the Hyderabad challenge during summer. It is learnt that the owners of Windsor Manor, who was undoubtedly the best performed three-year-old at that centre, have decided against bringing her to Bangalore. The competition is bound to be intense, and winner picking is likely to be a tough proposition. There is an abundance of Graded Races during this period, and the Classics are sure to attract the best talent. The local three-year-olds that have shown early potential are Tiberius, Speed Six, Preordained, Bourne Supreme, Midtown Magic, Nearness Of You, Touching The Town and Zultanite.

Four foreign riders have been granted licences to ride in summer. Ladjadj Stephane comes back to Bangalore after a short break. It is learnt that he will be riding for Neil Darashah. The young professional had been quick to adapt himself to the local conditions, and had ridden brilliantly on his debut on Indian soil. Mark Gallagher shall continue his association with trainer Ganapathy, while Valdir Desouza rejoins the Amit Caddy stable. A point of interest has been the arrival of Noel Thomas Callow. He has been retained to ride for Dr Vijay Mallya in the immediate future. The Australian professional has ridden with distinction in Singapore, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Callow has won over 1,200 races in a career spanning a decade, and this includes a large number of Classics all around the world.

Racegoers are going to miss the presence of Suraj Narredu during the Bangalore Summer Season. The Champion Jockey at this centre for the last many seasons has decided to ride abroad. He is leaving this week to take up an immediate assignment in the United States Of America. Suraj shall be riding at Arlington Park in Chicago before proceeding to other race courses in the New York area. Speaking to Indiarace, Suraj said, "I have ridden capably in India and have won many Championship crowns. I am extremely grateful to all the trainers and owners who have given me an opportunity to hone my skills. After winning the International jockey's title at Mauritius last year, I have had a desire to ride internationally. I realize that it won’t be easy to start winning races immediately, but then, unless I test myself in an international environment, I will never know my true level of competence. I am only 26 years old and have age on my side. I had an invitation to ride freelance in the USA and have decided to accept it. To begin with, I will be working through an agent. Once things begin to fall in place, I may even consider riding in Singapore, Hongkong and Dubai during the winter months."

Suraj has won all his Jockey's Championship trophies in a runaway manner. The gap between him and the next placed jockey has been fairly large. He has always ridden freelance and has scored for almost every single trainer who has been licensed at Bangalore. His ability to choose a mount, after studying a race at the acceptance stage, has been quite special. His record with firm favourites has been fairly healthy. There are many amongst the punting community, who used to blindly follow him in Bangalore, and these are the people who are going to feel his absence. We wish him Good Luck in his future endeavours.