Another Ace claims RTC Governor’s Cup, Royal Crystal wins Queen’s Cup

RTC Governor’s Cup 2023 powered by Nippon Paint

Another Ace with jockey K. Sai Kiran up, survived the challenge from a competitive field to snatch the RTC Governor’s Cup powered by Nippon Paint, while Royal Crystal, ridden by jockey Nikhil Parmar claimed the Queen’s Cup, as Sri Lanka’s blue riband horseracing event concluded in a grand manner at the Racecourse in Nuwara Eliya this weekend.Continuing its winning form from the last race day, Another Ace, with the winning connection of jockey K. Sai Kiran, trainer S.V. Mathialagan and owner Hasanga Jayaratne won the prestigious RTC Governor’s Cup powered by Nippon Paint.

The start was exciting and enthralling, as all runners were locked on a spread field in the terms race for horses rated above 60 run on a distance of 1600 metres. But as the race progressed, the battle became a four-way affair between Mauritania, Legendary Princess, Western Wind and Another Ace, who eventually triumphed with a close finish.

Stablemate Western Wind, ridden by K. Vivek, trained by S.V. Mathialagan and owned by Hasanga Jayaratne and Paba Jayaratne, finished close at second. Legendary Princess, ridden by Nikhil Parmar, trained by S.D. Mahesh and owned by Dagmar Woehrl, completed close behind at third, pushing back Mauritania, ridden by P. Ajeeth Kumar, trained by S.D. Mahesh and owned by Edwards Stables to fourth.In the opening event of the day, Oyal Crystal proved that it is destined to become the next champion at the Nuwara Eliya Racecourse, with a start-to-finish run to claim the RTC Queen’s Cup, powered by Nippon Paint in the Terms Race for horses rated above 60, with a distance of 2000 metres.

Experienced Indian jockey Nikhil Parmar proved his might by making a fine start to take an early lead, which was held right throughout the entire 2000 metre run. Royal Crystal, owned by the Edwards Stables, was trained by S.D. Mahesh.

Trainer S.D. Mahesh had a top-three finish with Here and Now, with local jockey L. Ravi Kumar up, coming in at second and Cosmic Feeling, ridden by P. Ajeeth Kumar and owned by S.L.N. Infrastructures finishing at third.

Admiral Nelson, ridden by Indian jockey K. Vivek and trained by S.V. Mathialagan, won the Sporting Times Challenge Trophy, in the handicap race for horses rated 20 to 45 with a distance of 1400 metres.

Glittering, ridden by local jockey L. Ravi Kumar and trained by S.D. Mahesh took an early lead right from the takeoff, but halfway through the two runners of Jayaratne Stables – Street Cat and Admiral Nelson – advanced pace to challenge the leader.

By the final 400 metres, the competition became fierce with Krabi making a late charge, but Admiral Nelson crossed the winning post giving Hasanga Jayaratne and Paba Jayaratne their first win of the day. Street Cat, ridden by K. Sai Kiran, trained by Prasanna Niroshan and owned by Gamini Jayaratne and J.R.S. Irugalbandara, finished close at second while Krabi, ridden by N.S. Parmar, trained by S.D. Mahesh and owned by Edwards Stables, finished third.

In the second event, local jockey L. Ravi Kumar, trained by S.D. Mahesh and owned by Dagmar Woehrl, made a brilliant late surge to outrun the rest and win the Sporting Star Challenge Trophy, the handicap race of 1070 metres for horses rated 41 to 61.

Vigorous, with jockey G. Pugan up and trained by Jayantha Wijesinghe, led the initial stages but during the final straight the battle was clearly between Queen’s Hall, Crack of Dawn and Godsword. However local star L. Ravi Kumar used his experience to guide Crack of Dawn ahead of the rest and record a stunning win, to claim his fifth win in 11 runs.

Queen’s Hall, ridden by K. Sai Kiran, trained by S.V. Mathialagan and owned by Hasanga Jayaratne and Paba Jayaratne finished almost two lengths behind at second, while Godsword, ridden by P. Ajeeth Kumar, trained by S.D. Mahesh, and owned by Edwards Stables finished at third.In the final event of the day, Fancy Face, with jockey M. Isahan up, claimed the Nippon Super Challenge Cup, the terms race with penalties for 3/4 breed horses run on a distance of 1000 metres. Trained by Prasanna Niroshan and owned by Naveen Madawa and Sanjaya Kumarasinghe, Fancy Face outran the rest to record a win by almost three lengths ahead of Malee and Crown Fried.