Spirited Touch outruns Alcazaba for second time

Western Wind with jockey Imran Khan up, romped to win the Asriel Cup

 Spirited Touch with jockey P.S. Kaviraj up, with owner of MGMR Racing and trainer S.V. Mathialagan

RTC Magic Million Cup Raceday 2022

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 were obviously anticipated, as the battle for supremacy in the 1600 metre 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, that 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, as it fell behind the initial bunch. 

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 1400 metre marker. Alcazaba challenged dearly, but Spirited Touch kept its momentum intact to complete a thrilling win, with Alcazaba coming in at second, closely followed by Royal Crystal. 

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 1400 metres. 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 race day, which included five races.

The combination of experience and tactics pushed Western Wind to an unlikely, yet commanding win in the Asriel Cup, the 1400 metre race for Class V horses rated between 58 and 83. The field of five runners was 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. 

The race day 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 they were on 19 March. 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 so 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, as it finished at second while Cosmic Feeling, ridden by K. Aneel ended at third position. 

Last Tuesday’s outcomes promise an exciting race day as Royal Turf Club (RTC) gears up to hold the prestigious Governor's Cup Raceday on 15 April. The main race is expected to have a field of seven runners with all of them being top rated horses. The RTC Queen’s Cup also promises the thrills and fills with a field of seven top runners. The Governor's Cup race day includes five races, with the RTC Mayor’s Cup, the Sporting Star Cup and the Sporting Times Cup. The upcoming race day is sponsored by Nippon Paints while the concluded RTC Magic Million Cup Raceday was sponsored by Asriel Group and Chariot.    

The Blackpool Hotel Cup (Class V - 1070M)

1: Krabi (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody)

2: Go Green (S. Vijayanthan/Ramcies Peter Fernando)

3: Cosmopolitan (K. Sanjeevan/Anuka Soza)

The Alpine Hotel Cup (Class IV - 1070M

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)

RTC Magic Million Cup (Class I Term Race with penalties - 1600M)

1: Spirited Touch (P.S. Kaviraj/MGMR Racing)

2: Alcazaba (C. Umesh/Deepthika Jayakody)

3: Royal Crystal (L. Dayalan/Edwards Stables)

The Chariot Cup (Class IV - 1400M)

1: Legendary Princess (L. Dayalan/Edwards Stables)

2: Stormont (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody)

3: Crack of Dawn (C. Umesh/Suranji Jayakody)

The Asriel Cup (Class V - 1400M)

1: Western Wind (Imran Khan/Mr and Mrs Gamini Jayaratne)

2: Santos (K. Aneel/Deepthika Jayakody)

3: Vigorous (T. Pavithran/Ajantha de Soyza)