Hyderabad: Prasad, the trainer who trained 1000 winners in horse racing, identified

Hyderabad: For KSV Prasad Raju, life without horses would be very different. Every day, when he wakes up, he loves being with horses, otherwise, by his own admission, things don’t go the way he wants. And, 57-year-old Prasad Raju has joined the ‘select group’ of trainers who have achieved the feat of training 1000 winners in horse racing. Speaking to Telangana Today, Prasad Raju says, “I fell in love with horses when I used to go to Hyderabad Race Club with my father KRK Raju and after getting the trainer’s licence in 1995, I never looked back.” âIn a career spanning three decades, I have had the good fortune of producing winners in six Classics, including the prestigious 2017 Pune Derby (Lady in Lace), which was also my first Derby winner.
Other big wins include the Indian 1000 Guineas, Juvenile Million, Fillies Championship and 1000 Guineas in Mumbai, Hyderabad and the Karnataka Mile Championship Cup in Bengaluru,â he recalled with a fair sense of pride. âYes, I am thankful to jockey Suraj Naredu who played a big role in my achievement as he won 280 races for me,â he added. One of Prasad Rajuâs forte seems to be consistency, as he was also adjudged âChampion Trainerâ in the winter season only for four consecutive seasons from 2007 to 2010. For the record, the list of trainers with big achievements is topped by L De Silva (around 1800 winners), followed by LVR Deshmukh, De Netto and Prasad Raju.
The B.Com graduate from Badruka College said racing has definitely become very expensive, especially with the maintenance costs rising every month. “To be honest, unless the Central government cuts the current GST drastically, the future of racing looks very bleak,” said Prasad Raju. “It seems racing is declining for many reasons, and there are very few genuine buyers now,” he added. “As it is said in any sport, the biggest challenge is to learn every day. Of course, I have seen the best of racing till the pre-Covid era.” Have you set any more targets? “No, nothing like that. I just thought of completing 1000 winners, and I am happy that I achieved it. And I say again, thank you to Naredu and all the owners for their wonderful support,” said Prasad Raju. “We hope if the GST cut is reconsidered, racing will regain its old glory,” he concluded.