Spirited Touch outruns Alcazaba for second time
Spirited Touch with jockey P.S. Kaviraj won the RTC Magic Million Cup
For a second time in a span of two years, Spirited Touch, now owned by MGMR Racing, and ridden by Indian jockey P.S. Kaviraj, outsmarted Alcazaba, the chestnut mare owned by Deepthika Jayakody, to snatch the RTC Magic Million Cup held last Tuesday at the Race Course in Nuwara Eliya.
A close finish and an exciting race was obviously anticipated, as the battle for supremacy in the 1600metre Terms race for Class I horses with penalties, was expected to become a close tussle between Alcazaba, Spirited Touch, the winner of Spring and Summer Cup Another Ace and newcomer Mauritania. Royal Crystal, Meheran and Snowdon had class of their own to be among the field of seven runners, which made the main race of the day more exciting.
Yet, it was Snowdon, with local jockey P. Dinesh up, trained by Raju Virupakshaiah and owned by Edwards Stables, gained the initial lead and led up until the final two furlongs before the real battle unleashed. Muritania, with jockey K. Aneel up, was expected to provide an unexpected finale, yet it failed to impress in its maiden run at the Nuwara Eliya racecourse.
This opened to a more exciting finish, as Spirited Touch, trained by former jockey turned trainer S.V. Mathialagan, took the lead from the rest after the 1400metre marker. Alcazaba challenged dearly, but Spirited Touch kept its momentum intact to complete a thrilling win, with Alcazaba coming in at second, followed by Royal Crystal.
K. Aneel takes Krabi to the winning post in the Blackpool Hotel Trophy Class V race
Trainer Raju Virupakshaiah completed a hat-trick of wins and a complete sweep of the Chariot Cup, the Class IV race with a distance of 1400metres. The race was a complete domination by Legendary Princess, with local jockey L. Dayalan up and owned by Edwards Stables, who made a commanding start and maintained the pace and lead up until the winning post. Stormont, ridden by K. Aneel and owned by Deepthika Jayakody had a close finish at second while Crack of Dawn, ridden by C. Umesh and owned by Suranji Jayakody, completed trainer Virupakshaiah’s clean sweep of the race, as well as the hat-trick of the raceday, which included five races.
The combination of experience and tactics pushed Western Wind to an unlikely, yet commanding win in the Asriel Cup, the 1400metre race for Class V horses rated between 58 and 83. The field of five runners had a different beginning, as Pearl Necklace, with K. Vivek up, made a breakthrough to gain the lead. But it failed to keep up the momentum going, as the rest Mystic Flame, Vigorous, Santos and Western Wind started to gradually change positions. Eventually it was the horse owned by Gamini Jayaratne and Chamari Jayaratne and trained by Sridher Selvaratnam who took the winning post, with experienced jockey Imran Khan, pushing Western Wind to a thrilling finish. Following second close was Santos, ridden by K. Aneel and Vigorous, ridden by T. Pavithran, finished at third.
Local jockey L. Dayalan takes Legendary Princess to a commanding win in the Chariot Cup
The raceday flagged off with a second straight win for Krabi within two weeks this season, as jockey K. Aneel, trainer Virupakshaiah and owner Deepthika Jayakody were elated with the start, as was on March 19. Go Green, ridden by S, Vijayanthan and owned by Ramcies Peter Fernando, completed at second while Cosmopolitan returned to action to compete at third position upon its return to the track after many years.
Despite a slightly delayed start, caused by an agitated Godsword, no one could match the devastating run made by the debutant, who impressed with a start-to-end victory to claim the Alpine Hotel Trophy. The Class IV race of 1070metres for horses rated between 26 and 51 was completely owned by Godsword, jockey C. Umesh, owner Suranji Jayakody and trainer Virupakshaiah, who could boast of their win for many moons to come. Torpedo, ridden by P.S. Kaviraj, failed to live up to its expectations as its previous outing, and finished second while Cosmic Feeling, ridden by K. Aneel ended at third.
Last Tuesday’s outcomes promises an exciting race day as Royal Turf Club (RTC) gears up to hold the prestigious Governor’s Cup Raceday on April 15. The upcoming raceday is sponsored by Nippon Paints while the concluded RTC Magic Million Cup Raceday was sponsored by Asriel Group and Chariot.
1: Krabi (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody) 2: Go Green (S. Vijayanthan/Ramcies Peter Fernando) 3: Cosmopolitan (K. Sanjeevan/Anuka Soza)
1: Godsword (C. Umesh/Suranji Jayakody) 2: Torpedo (P.S. Kaviraj/Padma Kumara Ranasinghe and Priyantha Kumara Ranasinghe) 3: Cosmic Feeling (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody)
1: Spirited Touch (P.S. Kaviraj/MGMR Racing) 2: Alcazaba (C. Umesh/Deepthika Jayakody) 3: Royal Crystal (L. Dayalan/Edwards Stables)
1: Legendary Princess (L. Dayalan/Edwards Stables) 2: Stormont (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody) 3: Crack of Dawn (C. Umesh/Suranji Jayakody)
1: Western Wind (Imran Khan/Mr and Mrs Gamini Jayaratne) 2: Santos (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody) 3: Vigorous (T. Pavithran/Ajantha de Soyza) | |