Alcazaba continued its winnings spree as the Class 1 thoroughbred galloped splendidly to claim the inaugural RTC Selvaratnam Challenge Trophy at the Racecourse in Nuwara Eliya on Sunday (2).
The 1600metre Class 1 race got off to a start as the fourth in the lineup of seven races of Sunday’s raceday and eventually it had to be the final as the organisers, the Royal Turf Club (RTC), had to reluctantly call off the remaining three races after torrential rain prevented any further proceedings.
Alcazaba, owned by Deepthika Jayakody, extended its winning habit after steadily progressing from the start and snatching the win that could have been claimed by Charlemagne, owned by James Mathews.
Charlemagne took the lead of the race from the start and maintained its ownership of the race until the final 400metres, before Alcazaba accelerated from the outside stretch.
Even the slight drizzle, which transformed into a heavy downpour by the end of the race, was not an obstacle for the winning horse, who was proudly steered past the winning tape by Indian jockey Aneel Kolthur.
Thus the winner claimed the massive cash award of Rs. One Million in addition to the Selvaratnam Challenge Trophy, which was given away by the chief guest Gayantha Karunathilaka and the guest of honour Chavez Selvaratnam, the grandson of renowned trainer Renga Selvaratnam, under whose name the trophy was named.
Charlemagne, ridden by A. Vishwanath eventually had to settle in at second place and claimed Rs. 250,000 as prize money.
The third place was won by Meheran, ridden by Imran Khan and owned by Gamini and Chamari Jayaratne.
Apart from the top favourite Alcazaba and the two mysterious runners Charlemagne and Meheran, who finished as the top three, Jayakody's Roswald and Silver Streak, Hasanga Jayaratne's Atlantus and Chul Bul Pandy owned by Anura Delgoda made up the seven runner of the main race.
Prior to the main race, the level of excitement was set apace in the Daily Mirror Cup, a 1070metre Class 4 race, which was claimed by Crimson Quest ridden by S. Suganthan.
Crimson Quest was nowhere near until the final couple of hundred metres as it cantered past overall leader Torpedo ridden by A. Vishwanath and Vigorous, ridden by Ravi Kumar, who had to settle in at second and third respectively.
M. Ishan steered Queen of the Hill to outsmart Airborne II, ridden by S. Dayalan in a two-way battle to claim the 1000metre 3/4 bred race for the RTC Nuwara Eliya Festive Cup.
Kingston Town, ridden by Imran Khan had a close call before it overcame the rest to win the Media Ministry Cup, the 1600metre Class 2 race.
Only four races were held out of the seven races lined up for the day as heavy rain curtailed the remaining three races from being held.
As a result the Class 3 Blackpool Hotel Cup, Class 5 HNB Grameen Finance Cup and the 1/2 Bred RTC Pony Welfare Raffle Cup were abandoned.
The April Horseracing Season of RTC will continue with two more races -- the Magic Million Cup on April 16th and the RTC Governor's Cup on April 29th following yesterday's race.
In addition to these three races, RTC introduced two new features to its setup -- a Pony Welfare Raffle Draw and the much anticipated Equine Ambulance.
The Equine Ambulance was kept standby from yesterday to attend to horses that may come across injuries during races.
To assist the process RTC has the services of Dr. Jayachandra Balaji, a renowned veterinarian from India.
In addition to the continuous projects to uplift the health and living standards of the horses, the RTC also came out with a plan to see to the welfare of the ponies, which was initiated on Sunday.
Results
3/4 Bred RTC Nuwara Eliya Festive Cup
1: Queen of the Hill (M. Ishan)
R.M.C.K. Rajapaksa
2: Airborne II (S. Dayalan)
Gamini and Chamari Jayaratne
3: Carbreeze (K. Sanjeewan)
Deepthika Jayakody
Class 4 Daily Mirror Cup
1: Crimson Quest (S. Suganthan)
Gamini and Chamari Jayaratne
2: Torpedo (A. Vishwanath)
Anura Delgoda
3: Vigorous (Ravi Kumar)
Anura Delgoda
Class 2 Media Ministry Trophy
1: Kingston Town (Imran Khan)
Hasanga Jayaratne
2: Celestial Fire (A. Vishwanath)
Anura Delgoda
3: Spearhead (Aneel)
Rienzie and Poorni Edward
Class I Selvaratnam Challenge Cup
1: Alcazaba (Aneel Kolthur)
Deepthika Jayakody
2: Charlemagne (A. Vishwanath)
James Mathews
3: Meheran (Imran Khan)
Gamini and Chamari Jayaratne
Races not held: Class 3 Blackpool Hotel Cup, Class 5 HNB Grameen Finance Cup, 1/2 Bred RTC Pony Welfare Raffle Cup.
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