Today’s RTC Magic Million Cup expected to be a thriller after last Monday’s upset
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Trainer S.V. Madialagan (R) talking to his jockey Aneel prior to last Monday's RTC Governor's Cup race
With the sensational outcome where Spirited Touch outsmarted champion mare Alcazaba to clinch the RTC Governor’s Cup 2019 at the Racecourse in Nuwara Eliya on April 15, the third and final installation of Royal Turf Club’s (RTC) holiday season races today is set to generate more excitement than ever.
Today when the RTC hosts its Magic Million Cup Raceday, much excitement is anticipated as the main race, the Class I Thoroughbreds, is tipped to be a thriller of an event. With five races on the cards for the day, the RTC Magic Million Cup Raceday has gathered momentum after the outcomes of the previous two races — the Spring and Summer Raceday and the Governor’s Cup, where two major upsets were recorded in the two main events of the respective races.
Among the top contenders who are tipped to be favourites for today’s race in the main event will be the new hero Spirited Touch, Santos and Alcazaba, who will be eager to regain her lost prestige. Parushram, who withdrew at the eleventh hour, could make the race tougher for the other runners while Meheran, who was a non-runner, is expected to join the fray today.
Five races have been lined up for today, with the RTC Magic Million Cup 2019 being the main race of the day for Class 1 horses over a distance of 1800 metres, with nine runners. The Class 2 race of 1600 metres for the Sporting Times Cup includes seven runners while the Class 3 race of 1400 metres for the Black Pool Hotel Trophy includes five runners. The Class 4 race of 1400 metres for the DailyMirror Cup is a battle among eight runners while the Class 5 race of 1400 metres will have the most number of runners, which is 10.
Last Monday, when Sri Lanka’s New Year celebrations spilled over, and horseracing lovers couldn’t have gone any higher, as the party was at the Royal Turf Club, 6,000 feet above sea level in Nuwara Eliya. The picturesque Racecourse was filled to capacity, as they geared up to host the RTC Governor’s Cup and RTC Queens Cup, two of the most important races in their horseracing calendar.
Zulu Fantasy, romped home in the curtain raiser- the Emanuel Woehrl Memorial Trophy- easily accounting for his 10 rivals. Owned by Mrs. Purni Edwards, the winner was trained by S.D. Mahesh and ridden with aplomb by jockey Irvan Singh from India.
Vigorous, owned by Anantha de Soyza, picked up his second successive win of the season, winning from the top weighted Olive, who was having her 1st start, and will go better with the benefit of the run. The winner was trained by W. Jayantha and ridden by jockey S. Janaka.
The Form Book pointed to Honourious as he had run a good second last time out, to Vigorous. With Vigorous winning again, Honourious really stood out, and he duly obliged. Owned by the Fearless Stables & Stud Farms, the winner was a chance ride for Irvan Singh, as jockey Aneel, who had been declared, could not make it in time.
The RTC Queens Cup, over a mile and a quarter, was reduced to 5 runners, with the withdrawal of Celestial Fire. Star Scholar owned by Mr. & Mrs. Gamini Jayaratne, made every post a winning one, to score an emphatic victory, despite running totally out on Handicap. He showed great improvement, a tribute to his trainer S. Sridhar. Jockey Ramu stood in for R.P. Shinde, who had a fall in the earlier race, and he made no mistake on Star Scholar.
And then came the RTC Governor’s Cup, a race that has history and tradition writ all over it. Records show this was the 148th running and it initially attracted a field of 12, which became 11, with the withdrawal of Parashuram.
Spirited Touch sporting the colours of the Fearless Stables & Stud Farms, romped home, to make it a day that the Fearless Stables would remember for a long time. He gave his connections a fantastic double, but more than that, Spirited Touch had carved himself a name in the record books by winning the RTC Governors Cup 2019. The winner, who had won exceptionally well last time out, produced an even better performance this time, and trainer S.V. Madialagan deserves all the credit, as does Jockey Aneel, who made it just in time to partner the son of Ace to his glorious victory.