An interesting and innovative proposition will take off over the two days racing this weekend at the Mahalaxmi race course. An apprentice jockeys’ competition involving two teams – Singapore and India will take one another on, in a four-race match, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. Five young lads will represent the Singapore team and an equal number of apprentices will represent the Indian team.

“I think it is a wonderful idea and all thanks to Mr Adil Gandhy for the tremendous efforts he has put in. Such well-meaning contributions are always welcome. The RWITC is delighted to play host to the Consul General of Singapore and the delegation. I am optimistic that the Singapore Turf Club too will replicate this initiative by a similar series in Singapore as well,” said Mr Vivek Jain. 

“This is a first of its kind and we are excited about this new proposition, says Mr Adil Gandhy, who is overseeing the event. “The idea is to give an opportunity to young talented apprentice boys from both countries to showcase their riding skills. This will be a huge forward step for the lads and will also give them good exposure early in their careers. The Indian boys will also travel to Singapore to ride in an exchange between the two turf cubs in the future. The competitive spirit and the will to excel is sure to do a lot of good to the young apprentice jockeys and I hope this event will open up prospects for venturing into other racing centers overseas as well,” said Mr Gandhy.

The Singapore team:

Dellorto Pregasm (P Dellorto), See Han Poh (T See), Muhamad Alif Bin Shaik Ambiah (S Alif),Tan Wei Li (WL Tan) and Firdaus Bin Mohammed (M Firdaus). The team mentor is Damian Kinninmont, who is in charge of training apprentice jockeys stationed at Singapore.

The Indian Team:

Ishwar Pardeshi, Akkshay, Vikash Tamang, Saddam Hussain and P Sai Kumar. Sharad Kapur (Sherry) will be in charge of the Indian team. Sherry has been a riding instructor at the Apprentice Jockeys School for over five years now. 

Four races, two each on Saturday and Sunday have been specially framed for this contest. Three of the races will have ten horses and one will have eight runners. The points will be logged as follows:

Winner – 15 points

II Place – 10 points

III place - 07 points

IV Place -05 points

V Place – 03 points

VI Place – 01 point

The team that aggregates the highest number of points will be the winning team.

In the event of a dead-heat the points for the relevant positions will be shared by the jockeys involved in the dead-heat.

The match promises to be an exciting one. It is being seen as a international contest and the winning jockey’s national anthem will be played immediate after the ‘All Clear’ of each of these four races. The winners will also get on upon a specially created winners’ podium just as is done for the first three placing at the Olympics. Each of the top three will also receive a medal. The winning team will be awarded a Silver Whip and the winning country will take home the Champions Trophy.

“This is an honour and I thank both the Turf Clubs for making this happen. I am very excited about the prospect of representing my country and there is no better feeling. I will go all out and do my best and bring honour to my country,” said Ishwar Pardeshi.

“Our boys have it in them to make a fight of it. They are familiar with the home conditions, the race track and the horses as well, so they do have that edge over their counterparts. I am truly pleased with this kind of competition being brought into racing. If this sets a trend, then the kind of exposure and education these young boys will gain will have a tremendous impact on their careers. The lads should make the most of this opportunity that they have got and give off their best. I wish both the teams the best of luck,” said Sherry Kapur.

The races selected for the ‘Clash of the Apprentices’ are:

Saturday, 13th April 2013 - The Thumbelina Trophy (4th race) & The Mr Greedy Trophy (5th race).

Sunday, 14th April 2013 – The Jaguar Trophy Div I (5th race) & The Indo-Singapore Apprentice Champions Trophy (7th race).

In a contest of skill, which is as simple as picking the winning team (unlike for nominating the winning horses), racing patrons at Mumbai stand to win a Tata Nano car in a lucky draw from the correct entries. Entry forms will be issued against a tote bet of Rs 500 for Saturday’s races and against a tote bet of Rs 1000 on Sunday. 

I met the Indian boys and they sure look an excited lot. None of them have had this kind of attention and the feel of patriotism is showing on them as they represent the country. Saddam Hussain, Vikash Tamang and Sai Kumar arrived early in the afternoon on Friday. The Singapore team arrived late in the evening. The members of the Singapore team will walk the track to get a close feel of it. The pulse is racing for the first ever series clash between Team Singapore and Team India and kudos the RWITC and their organizing team for yet again dishing out something new and exciting for the racing fraternity!