Jockey Suraj Narredu finally kept his date with destiny. On Monday at the Malakpet racetrack in Hyderabad, with only two short of the magic figure of 2,000 career wins, he steered, in a span of only 30 minutes, two horses--Ruletheworld & Guiding Force--to back-to-back victories. The Hyderabad crowd erupted in joy, accorded a standing ovation and thunderous applause when Suraj passed the winning post astride Guiding Force trained by KSV Prasad Raju.

The Bangalore-based peripatetic rider, who in the last four days rode at Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad to notch up the final three wins he needed, is a self-proclaimed "family"-man, and true to his word, made sure his family tagged along from Bangalore to Mumbai (Sunday) and on to Hyderabad (Monday) to witness the most exciting moment for the jockey's career.