'Admit jockey to a lunatic asylum'

Top jockey Narredu sues India's oldest racing book for defamation for publishing an article with such comments

Top jockey Malesh Narredu is an angry man these days. First, his horse Set Alight, the clear favourite, lost the Mahalaxmi Derby last month and he had to face allegations of misconduct. Now Cole, one of the oldest racing record books in India, has published an article deriding his abilities on the basis of that fateful race. But Narredu is not taking this lying down. He has sent a legal notice to the publisher asking for an apology.

The allegedly defamatory article appeared in Cole's April 19 edition. It was written by its racing correspondent Bob Sawhney. The headline of the article was in capital letters and read: Unbelievably Sinful & Highly Suspicious Ride Causes Set Alight To Lose Derby. The article went on to state, "Malesh Narredu shockingly rode the filly (Set Alight) like an absolute crazy novice." In the next paragraph, Sawhney calls Narredu a madman, and states, "Then, worst of all, as a nervous wreck, Narredu sent Set Alight zooming into the lead, too unbelievably soon, near the 600m, which as per his crazy version, was done because he did not want to take a chance in getting hampered.