Neeraj is in full flight!

In life we sometime witness the arrival of a few legends. It was the year 2001 and on the hallowed grounds of Wimbledon Pete Sampras had won 7 Wimbledon titles (most in Open Era) was facing a relatively unknown Roger Federer   had not even reached a semi final of any Grand Slam event. Yet as we now know Federer won that match and has also won 7 Wimbledon and only yesterday won his 18th Overall.

Last year were all gathered for the pre-Invitation Cup GT it was hosted by Mr Tom Krish and was organized and coordinated by Arlington Park. While we were meeting many noteworthy names on HT who we have come to admire, we were really looking forward to the “Stars” that were supposed to arrive later.

Soon we had more than our share of stars, David Allan, S Padmanaban, Suraj Narredu, Yash Narredu and we also had Neeraj Rawal. To be honest most people were awestruck by the eloquence of Paddy and were touched by the honesty with which Suraj spoke and many were taking a real liking to Yash, for the young boy he was and also the mannerisms he displayed. I personally was quite fascinated by Neeraj, while he did not taste the kind of success any of the others were enjoying, he did not seemed too bothered. He sat quietly and man of few words. He seemed a happy go lucky, unassuming and down to earth person. I chatted with him most. And he was very articulate in answering each and every question I posed (some may not have been well thought out)   while everyone was busy taking selfie with the other “Stars” I was actually happy to take selfie with someone who I took a personal fondness to. 

I wished Neeraj all the best. And since then have taken keen interest in his mounts. I have prayed he is able to taste success which he deeply deserves. No sooner! I found Neeraj winning races at will. It started with an excellent Pune Season, which he followed up with a string of classics. I write this post to take credit for his success. Just kidding. I think the meteoric rise of Neeraj is something we should all take note of. He has well and truly arrived after being in the fringes for a while now.  He has won the Bangalore 1000 guineas, Hyderabad Oaks and now the Indian Oaks. His is winning races all around India and he is the next big thing in racing.

I wish Neeraj the wonderful person he is, all the success and wish he stays humble and true to himself no matter how much success he gets.

An earnest request to all the people, please do not be venomous. This post is intended to celebrate the rise of a humble human who I have had the privilege of personally meeting.