The coming Bangalore Season will see new import, Australian Jockey Noel Callow, to ride Dr Vijay Mallya’s string of horses. Callow is a seasoned jockey, his career spanning well over a decade and a half. He is a veteran of over 1,200 winners, having ridden in various countries such as Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, and Hong Kong. He has a long ‘achievement list’ and has won the jockeys championship a number of times in his career which began in the mid-nineties. He started off with the apprentice jockey championship in 1995 and has never looked back since then. He was the first jockey to score a ‘century of wins’ and more in a single season in Singapore.

According to Des O’Keffe of the Victorian Jockeys association, Noel Callow would rate among the top five jockeys in the business today. “He has the temperament to win top-of-the-line group races and can also find an extra couple of lengths from a Class V slug on his day,” says O’Keffe. Noel Callow, in his mid-thirties, is a typically strong Australian jockey weighing around 55 kilos. He has won several Group I races and is known for his great presence of mind and spicy wit to match an appreciable sense of humour. He once sustained a fall and had almost the entire field pass over him as he curled himself in a ball to protect himself. The on-track ambulance staff rushed to his rescue, but was relieved to find him conscious.

To top it, Noel was in good spirits and was even joking about the incident with the medical team as he was being provided first aid on the track. It took a good 15 minutes before he was removed on a stretcher and dispatched to the hospital. This certainly shows nerves of steel and what better mindset can one have if one can laugh upon oneself! Noel Callow is all set to make a mark in India. He will don the colours of the ‘King of Good Times’, Dr Vijay Mallya, for the forthcoming Bangalore Summer Meeting. Noel himself is affectionately conferred the title “King Callow” for his tremendous run of success in Malaysia & Singapore. He has also won the Mauritius International Jockeys’ Challenge, beating top jockeys like Frankie Dettori, Jimmy Fortune, Ryan Moore and W Marwing in 2007. One of Callow’s top qualities other than his riding skills are his wit and humour.

To quote him on the day he scored his first winner, “My trainer asked me how many winners I had ridden before. When I muttered none, he told the owners to halve their bet,” was Callow’s tongue- in-cheek remark! Among the several top races that he has won, Callow cherishes his conquests of the Victoria Derby, the Emirates Singapore Derby, the Caulfield Guineas and the Tonku Gold Cup that gave him immense satisfaction. He once had his foothold slip off the stirrup when his mount took a fly jump, but rode on regardless.

Gripping with a knee on the saddle, Callow rode out to win to the surprise and admiration of the supports and connections alike! Callow comes about as a practical man and knows his horses only too well. He is sure to make a huge impact with his hard ridding skills and his awesome judgement of pace. Having travelled around the globe, adapting to various tracks comes easy for Callow. He has ridden his best in the Asian Racing circuit which will help him acclimatize to Indian conditions quickly. He certainly is a force to reckon with and the Mallya stables look even more reinforced with the arrival of this highly talented and immensely experienced jockey.