Deepthika Jayakody’s Alcazaba claimed the RTC First Diwali Festival Cup in the Shubh Diwali Festival Race Day held at the Nuwara Eliya Turf Club yesterday. The 1600-metre race for Class 1 Handicap horses had five runners and thrills that was anticipated. L. Dayalan, who had run two races earlier in the day without success, waited [...]

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The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

Deepthika’s Alcazaba gallops to Diwali title

By Naushad Amit in Nuwara Eliya
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Jockey L. Dayalan holds aloft the lash as his horse Alcazaba, owned by Deepthika Jayakody takes the win in the RTC First Diwali Festival Cup race

Deepthika Jayakody’s Alcazaba claimed the RTC First Diwali Festival Cup in the Shubh Diwali Festival Race Day held at the Nuwara Eliya Turf Club yesterday. The 1600-metre race for Class 1 Handicap horses had five runners and thrills that was anticipated.

L. Dayalan, who had run two races earlier in the day without success, waited till the right time to strike and guided Alcazaba after a relatively low key but an endurance start. The race was not Dayalan’s until halfway through, but he gradually took Alcazaba to the fore and finish off with a healthy margin of four lengths ahead of Chul Bul Panday and Silver Streak. A

Anura Delgoda, the owner of two successful races earlier with A. Vishwanath, finished second with his horse Chul Bul Panday while Jayakody’s second horse in the race, Silver Streak, ridden by Irvan Singh, completed at third.

Earlier on, in the fourth race of the day for the RTC President Cup for Class 3 Handicap horses, Royal Turf Club (RTC) had its first ever success when Absolute Red, ridden by S. Sugandan, claimed the 1400-metre run. Jayakody began tasting her success before the main race when Supreme, ridden by Irvan Singh, came in at second. At third finished Glittering, the horse owned by Mr. and Mrs. Rienzie Edwards and ridden by S. Sugandan.

By the third race trainer V. Mathialagan was the happiest person at the Nuwara Eliya Racecourse for providing the know-how and shaping up the horses for three straight wins. His first accolade was provided by jockey A. Vishwanath, who rode Snow Queen for a clear win in the Pegasus Cup in the curtain raiser event of the day.

The winner of the race conducted for horses who haven’t won one since May 2015 was a thriller, in which owner Anura Delgoda too claimed his first win of many of the day. Augusta, ridden by M. Mohanraj and trained by Jayantha Wijesinghe, came in at second followed by The Cardinal, another horse trained by Mathialagan and ridden by S. Sugandan.

Mathialagan’s second success was at the Mayor’s Cup, a Class 2 Set Weight race with a length of 1400 metres, by giving Jayaratne Stud Farms its only top win. The horse was ridden by S. Sugandan. Irvan Singh rode Gazaki to second place.

The combination of Mathialagan, Delgoda and Vishwanath had their second triumph in the RTC Gentleman’s Cup, a Class 4 and 5 Handicap race of 1400 metres, when Torpedo came in at first with ease. Don Hasa, ridden by Sugandan and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jayaratne, finished second ahead of Royal Oak, ridden by S. Dasaradhan and owned by Jayaratne Stud Farms.

Carbrese, ridden by K. Sanjeewan, gave Jayakody her second top finish in the RTC Charity Cup race, a competition for three-quarter bred handicap race of 1000 metres. Seasoned campaigner in half bred handicap 1000-metres, Reabath, ridden by K. Sanjeewan, was given a tough battle by City Shot, ridden by S. Dasaradhan for the Festival of Lights Cup. The finish was a dead heat and both horses were declared joint winners by the RTC officials. The next race day of RTC will be November 13.

RTC Shubh Diwali Festival Race Day

  • Race 1: Pegasus Cup (Class 5 Handicap 1070m)

1: Snow Queen (A. Vishwanath/Anura Delgoda)
2: Augusta (M. Mohanraj/J.R. Irugalbandara)
3: The Cardinal (S. Sugandan/Jayaratne Stud Farms)
Presented by Sinclair Marshal

  •  Race 2: Mayor’s Cup (Class 2 Set Weights 1400m)

1: Icelandic (S. Sugandan/Jayaratne Stud Farms)
2: Gazaki (Irvan Singh/Mr. and Mrs. Rienzie Edwards)
Presented by Mayor of Nuwara Eliya, Mahinda Dodampegamage

  •  Race 3: RTC Gentleman’s Cup (Class 4 and 5 Handicap 1400m)

1: Torpedo (A. Vishwanath/Anura Delgoda)
2: Don Hasa (S. Suganthan/Mr. and Mrs. Jayaratne)
3: Royal Oak (S. Dasadaran/Jayaratne Stud Farms)
Presented by RTC Committee Member, Panduka Keerthinanda

  •  Race 4: RTC President Cup (Class 3 Handicap 1400m)

1: Absolute Red (S. Sugandan/RTC)
2: Supreme (Irvan Singh/Deepthika Jayakody)
3: Glittering (K. Sanjeewan/Mr. and Mrs. Rienzie Edwards
Presented by RTC Committee

  • Race 5: RTC First Diwali Festival Cup (Class 1 Handicap 1600m)

1: Alcazaba (L. Dayalan/Deepthika Jayakody)
2: Chul Bul Panday (A. Vishwanath/Anura Delgoda)
3: Silver Streak (Irvan Singh/Deepthika Jayakody)
Presented by Channa Wickremasinghe

  •  Race 6: RTC Charity Race (3/4 Bred Handicap 1000m)

1: Carbrese (K. Sanjeewan/Deepthika Jayakody)
2: Queen of Hills (M. Mohanraj/C.K. Rajapaksha)
3: Millenium Queen (Sumith Kumar/Sudakar)

  •  Race 7: Festival of Lights Cup (1/2 Bred Handicap 1000m)

1: Reabath (K. Sanjeewan/Vasanthi Stables)
1: City Shot (S. Daradhan/S. Loganathan)
2: Arundathi (Sumith Kumar/S. Periyasamy)

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