Exquisite Delight speeds away with Sunquick Cup
View(s):By M. Shamil Amit reporting
from Nuwara Eliya
The Nuwara Eliya festival horse racing meet conducted by the Sri Lanka Turf Club came to an end at the horse racing track in Nuwara Eliya yesterday with six races sponsored by C.W. Mackie being held for the day.
The main event for the day was the Sunquick Cup run over seven furlongs which was contested by five of the Class I thoroughbred horses. This event saw Exquisite Delight owned by C.R. Rajapaksa and trained by Sridher Selvaratnam with Melvyn Maseyk on board coming out on top.
The event was a closely contested affair. The champion jockey of the Governor’s Cup a few days ago Saddam Iqbal on board Third World too was in contention. However jockey Maseyk with a skillful riding brushed aside the challenge to come out victorious by over three lengths.
Dead heat winning jockeys P.M. Bopanna (Black Cat) and Saddam Iqbal (Shyam Sunder) in a fierce battle.
The proceedings of the day were dominated by two trainers Selvaratnam and S.D. Lalith who shared the honours with Lalith winning four which included the dead heat win in the last event of the day and Selvaratnam three.
Selvaratnam opened his account with a win in the first race followed by Lalith taking the second race. Selvaratnam had a back to back wins with his horses taking the third and fourth events while Lalith too achieved the same feat winning the fifth and sixth events.
Governor’s Cup champion jockey Iqbal and his stable mate P.M. Bopanna were the two successful jockeys with the duo winning two races each while Sumith Kumara and M.D. Shoaib had a win each.
The best event of the day turned out to be the last race where Black Cat ridden by P.M. Bopanna who slipped into the lead and was well clear over the other contenders.
Black Cat who had a clear lead of nearly three furlongs faced stiff challenge from Shyam Sunder ridden by Saddam Iqbal who was trailing right behind came flashing like a rocket giving the judges a tough decision but were unable to split them which ended in a dead heat victory.
Results:
“Sunquick Fruit Cocktail Cup” (5 Furlongs): 1. Re Birth (Owner – Mrs. Renuka Damayanthi – Trainer – Sridher Selvaratnam – Jockey – Sumith Kumara) 2. Johney (Ananda Bandara – Jayantha Wijesinghe – S. Pradeep).
“Sunquick Guava Strawberry Cup” (7 Furlongs): 1. Solar Spirit (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – Saddam Iqbal). 2. Ametrine (Hasanga Jayaratne – Sridher Selvaratnam – M.D. Shoaib).
“Sunquick Orange Cup” (7 Furlongs): 1. Pancho Pete (Mrs. Chamari Jayaratne – Sridher Selvaratnam – M.D. Shoaib). 2. Viking Victor (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – Saddam Iqbal).
Winning owner of the Sunquick Cup C.R. Rajapaksa receiving the trophy from chief guest Tommy Ellawala, Chairman C.W. Mackie PLC who were the sponsors of the horse racing meet. - Pix by Ranjith Perera
“Sunquick Cup” (7 Furlongs): 1. Exquisite Delight (C.R. Rajapaksa – Sridher Selvaratnam – Melvyn Maseyk). 2. Third World (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – Saddam Iqbal). 3. Spark of Gold – Anura Delgoda – Sridher Selvaratnam – K. Ganesh).
“Scan Jumbo Peanut Cup” (7 Furlongs): 1. Stome Ahead (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – P.M. Bopanna). 2. Red Key Point (Hasanga Jayaratne – Sridher Selvaratnam – M. Mohan Raj).
“Ovaltine Cup” (7 Furlongs): 1 (Dead Heat) – Black Cat (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – P.M. Bopanna) and Shyam Sunder (Isuru Dassanayake – S.D. Lalith – Saddam Iqbal). 2. Joanna (Sugath Senadeera – Sridher Selvaratnam – M.D. Shoaib).
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