‘Sports Tourism Race Day 2024’

• First Race for the year by Royal Turf Club Nuwara Eliya

By Sanath Weerasuriya

Royal Turf Club Nuwara Eliya held its first race for the year 2024 on Saturday, the 24th February under the title ‘RTC Sports Tourism Race Day’. This event was a part of an elaborated programme to uphold the tradition of horse racing in Nuwara Eliya in partnership with the Sri Lanka Tourism to promote Sports Tourism in Sri Lanka, while promoting tourism in the area. Since the inception of horse racing in Sri Lanka, Royal Turf Club, Nuwara Eliya has been a flag bearer of the sport.

On the first day of the seasonal race, a card of four races were lined up with ‘RTC Sports Tourism Trophy’ being the main event. The main race of the day was the ‘RTC Sports Tourism Day Race’ followed by the three other races, where the ‘Stables and Hill Rise Trophy’, ‘The Sunday Times Trophy’ and ‘The Yes 101 Trophy’ were awarded to the winners of the respective races. 

The first race of the day was ‘Yes 101 Challenge Trophy’. This race tailored for horses rated 00 to 20 and as usual Krabi owned by Mrs. Dagmar Woehrl led the field despite the interference, ran on to finish a good second. ‘Street Cat’ with a first time rider from India P. Vikram on board opening his account, rode to good finishing race. ‘Stormont’ with the local jockey Ravi Kumar made a late challenge claimed third place ahead of ‘Zulu Fantasy’ by a narrow margin.

The second race for the ‘Hill Rise and Villa and Stables Trophy’ was reduced to 4 horse field with Muirfield and Godsword being withdrawn. The race was won by Queens Hall in a start to finish affair with jockey P. Vikram thus completing a good double for the day for the owners Hasanga and Paba Jayaratne.

‘The Sunday Times Super Challenge Trophy’ was won by ‘Crack of Dawn’ owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. ‘Crack of Dawn’ trained by champion trainer of 2023 season S.D. Mahesh secured victory in the 1400 metres race tailored for 40 to 60 with jockey Kaviraj. Jockey Kaviraj guided ‘Crack of Dawn’ to take a lead in spite of suffering interference at the start, took the lead establishing a considerable distance in the straight, ultimately claiming victory without facing any serious.

Four horses was lined up with ‘RTC Sports Tourism Trophy’ being the main event of 60 and above, a handicap race and it was pleasant to the see the chief guest being introduced to the professionals in the paddock. ‘Here And Now’, which has shown vast improvement in its behaviour, local Jockey Ravi Kumar, who is closely associated with ‘Here and Now ‘stole a march over its adversary and won like a champion. ‘Royal Crystal’ faced a strong challenge from ‘Western Wind’ who was trailing the field till the heads turn home made a late challenge settled for third place.
Treasurer of RTC Nuwara Eliya, Nisitha Rupasinghe said ‘The RTC Sports Tourism Day was conceptualised in order to increase tourism in Nuwara Eliya along with upholding the tradition of horse racing. The RTC since 2016 has maintained the Nuwara Eliya racecourse and looked after all matters relating to it, as we like to think the race course in Nuwara Eliya is a site of national heritage’.

‘Race goers enjoyed a hospitable atmosphere. For those who have never been to the races in Nuwara Eliya, it was an ideal opportunity to see what horse racing is all about. This year we hosted a large number of tourists, which greatly benefited the hospitality industry in Nuwara Eliya. We also invited stakeholders in the industry to join with forces with the RTC to make this event a success as it is for the benefit of the sport, the people of Nuwara Eliya and also promotes a positive image of the country. Our market research indicates that many tourists from the South Asian region are keen to come as the cooler climes coupled with the beautiful scenery of Nuwara Eliya and the excitement of the races are an attractive proposition” Nisitha concluded.
Chief Guest- Chalaka Gajabahu, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, former Mayor of Nuwara Eliya Mahinda Dodampegamage and R. Manjunath, Chief Stipendiary Steward/ Senior Handicapper graced the occasion.