ROSWALD’S WIN “OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD” AS CHARLATAN FALTERS

Seven-year old Roswald managed to defy all odds against him as he bolted into a stupendous run to win the RTC Governors Cup on the final day of the April Horse Racing Festival held at the newly restored and refurbished Nuwara Eliya race course on Saturday (30).

The newly formed Royal Turf Club (RTC) of Nuwara Eliya, as the organizers of the event, saw the day end as a great success as a huge number of spectators were present to witness the day’s proceedings, amidst a humid weather condition, which came in as a surprise as the April Season in Nuwara Eliya was to be concluded with the event.

The event was graced by the Governor of Central Province, Niluka Ekanayake as the Chief Guest, alongside Minister of Parliament Arumugan Thondaman, and His Worship the Mayor of Nuwara Eliya Mahinda Dodampegamage among others.

Roswald, together with Jockey Dhinesh, was nowhere close to the leading duo of Alcazaba and Augustus at the last bend of the race, which saw him drift to the far end of the track from where a top finish seemed almost impossible. Jockey Dhinesh had other ideas though, as he skillfully rode his horse and held his nerve to finish the race in grand style which resulted in owner Deepthika Jayakody claim yet another

Jockey Dhinesh had other ideas though, as he skillfully rode his horse and held his nerve to finish the race in grand style which resulted in owner Deepthika Jayakody claim yet another main prize at the horse racing festival this season

main prize at the horse racing festival this season.

The victory however was marred to a great extent, as her horse Charlatan fell abruptly midway during the race along with Indian Jockey Irvan Singh. The six-year old had won many top-prizes, with the Kunigal Stud Magic Million race being the most latest out of the lot. She was a top-favourite ahead of the race, as she was expected to repeat the success she displayed at the Governor’s Cup race last year. But it wasn’t meant to be her day, as she faltered in her run just before the last bend of the race sending shock-waves through the audience.

The weather was a tad humid at the start and a slight drizzle was seen, but gradually turned out to be the perfect for racing as the day proceeded. The whole area was full of the ardent spectators, who had come to witness the races on hand.

Supreme, alongside Jockey Irvan, managed to steal a victory from the hands of Icelandic when they won the first race of the day, which was the CWC Cup Class 3 race, which had a prize of Rs. 387,500 plus a trophy on offer. Icelandic led the pack from the start, but faltered in the last 50m of the race, as Supreme got past her by only a necks length. The victory saw Deepthika claim her first win for the day.

The Sir Henry Mccallum Cup saw Isira Dassanayake’s Beautiful Lankan face no challenge as she crossed the finish line with much ease alongside jockey N. S. Parmar. Don Hasa and Crimson Quest of Jayaratne Stables finished in second and third ahead of the tightly packed group which followed.

Next in line was the Mayor’s Cup which was won by Stockwell and Jockey Parmar. Stockwell was reluctant to get into the stalls at the beginning and delayed proceedings, but was the first to bolt out of it as it went all the way to win the race. Stormy Petrel leapfrogged Cosmopolitan at the dying stages of the race to clinch the second spot.

Spearhead ridden by Irvan, managed to win the Usha Stud Farm Trophy Class 1 & 2 handicap race which had a prize of Rs. 482,500 plus a trophy on offer. Spearhead led the pack from the first minute, and the victory saw Rienzie Edwards claim his first win for the day. Arabian Gold finished in second ahead of Sandstorm, who had covered a lot of ground to overtake the others. The RTC Governors Cup, the most anticipated race, was next and was perfectly set as riders Parmar and Irvan had already won two races each prior to the race while Deepthika was looking for a repeat of last year’s races in which the top three spots were claimed by her horses. The race was incidentally the longest for the day, with a length of 2000m.

Augustus, ridden by Jockey Parmar, started off beautifully and led the pack throughout the race. Positions kept changing at the back, but Augustus held on to the top position and looked as if he would go onto the race.

After Charlatan’s unfortunate accident, Alcazaba caught up with the leader and were neck-to-neck as the horses took the last bend close to the near fence. Roswald on the other hand had taken a big turn and his path had deviated towards the far end of the track. It was Jockey Dhinesh’s valiant effort that brought in the victory as he controlled his horse superbly to clinch victory ahead of the pack. Alcazaba got the better of Augustus as she finished in second.

Next was the Sunday Times Challenge Cup, which was won by Queen of the Hill alongside Jockey Lingeshwaran, ahead of Legasi and Airborne II, who finished in second and third respectively.

The seventh and final race of the day, which was the Alpine Cup, was won by Arundathi and Jockey Sanjeevan. Johney and City Shot filled in the second and third spots respectively.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mirror, President of the RTC, Suranjith Premadasa said that the event had turned out to be a great success. “The whole horse racing season was a great success. The turn up of the spectators has been amazing. We were not expecting much people today, but the whole area was full, which is truly a sight to see,” he said. When inquired as to what his future plans were he said, “We are expecting to have more races next year, maybe about 8 race days during the April Season alone. We will be bringing in more horses to increase the quality of racing as well as to bring about the competitiveness of the races.”

Also speaking to the Daily Mirror was Wayne Wood, CEO of the RTC, who said that the races had been on par with races held in international level. “The crowd has been fantastic. Most of the races had close finishes which had resulted in the races only to be more interesting to watch. Thankfully, the weather had been perfect throughout the season. We hope that the August races will be better as expectations are high. Also I should mention the sponsors of the races, for if not for them, we wouldn’t have had such great races,” he commented.

The next races are in August, which would be followed by race days on each month till December.