As the curtains came down to wind up one of Sri Lanka’s richest sporting festivals, the excitement and the enthusiasm lived on within the Royal Turf Club (RTC) premises, paving its way to a Grand Final last weekend. The highlight of the day was the RTC Governor’s cup which was won by Roswald owned by Deepthika Jayakody, a prominent figure at this year’s Spring horse racing festival. ‘Aubrey and Heat’ kept the crowds swaying to their tunes, while the ‘Beat drummers’ kept the audience alive with their percussion talents. Also appearing as a guest performer was one of Sri Lanka’s leading female vocalists, Nirosha Virajini. 

The Races 

The races at the Grand Finale commenced with the CWC cup which was won by Supreme owned by Deepthika Jayakody. The remaining races were as follows : 

· Sir Henry MCcallum Cup 
· Mayors Cup 
· Usha Stud Farm Trophy 
· RTC Governors’ Cup 
· Sunday Times Challenge Cup 
· The Alpine Cup 

Fashion, food and entertainment kept the crowds alive while the equines did their part, galloping their way to victory amidst the cheer. While enjoying their time at the races, a few spectators and guests had this to share with the Daily Mirror Life. 

One of the VIPs present at the event was Ameeta Mehra, the owner of Usha Stud Farm- one of India’s prominent stud farms. In her comments, she mentioned that it was a pleasure to be present in a land of people who are happy-go-lucky. “I see that there is a lot of potential in the sport and I think the Turf Club has done a great job in revamping the premises. I am also excited to see that the Usha Stud Farm Trophy was also won by the patrons of the club Mr. and Mrs Edwards and I wish them all the very best. In terms of improvements, I guess the RTC can invite more horses and more owners to participate in the races and make it more exciting.” 

“Fabulous event. Very well organised and I wish RTC the very best.” – Jaya 

“I’m from India and we came to Sri Lanka for a vacation. My friends cancelled the plan to go river rafting and came here instead and I think it was worth it.” – Nandini 

“It does have some standard but we wish the RTC the very best to maintain it and organize events of this calibre more often.” – Hema 

“It is quite exciting to be here. I am from London and am a painter by profession. I have been in Sri Lanka for ten years and it is nice to see such events taking place here.” – Katie 

“This is the first time that I came to witness this event and I think the organizers have done a fabulous job.” – Nadeesha 

“It’s nice to see a sport of this calibre gaining momentum in a small country like Sri Lanka.” – Steven 

"I didn’t expect it to be a gala event like this. Job well done.” – Reenu 

“Everything was perfectly done and I wish RTC all the very best.” – Joyce 

“This is the first time that I came to watch the races and I had a great time.” – Saumya 

“It was a great experience and I hope to come again.” – Raveen 

The next session of races will commence in August with many more exciting events lined up for all racing lovers. 

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe 
Photographs by Waruna Wanniarachchi