Little children and top quality racing to stir our hearts on Sunday - By Vivek Jain
Posted on - 10 Feb 2017
Little children and top quality racing to stir our hearts on Sunday
-By Vivek Jain
The dust and din of the mammoth Indian Derby Weekend has hardly settled, and we are back on course to host a fantastic day of racing for the RWITC on Sunday.
Billed as Champions Day last year, but a nomenclature we skipped this time, we have two top grade 2 races, both lead ups for the Invitation Cup weekend, a charity Million, a media partnership race and topped off by a tribute memorial race. All packaged into one afternoon of exhilarating sport with prizes galore.
The day kicks off actually soon after sunrise, with our new CSR initiative with the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for children. The Little Hearts Marathon, for kids from 4-18 years will be held on our jogging track, with Mrs Devendra Fadnavis flagging off the first race at 8.30am. There will be four races for different age groups, all for a good cause and for fun, and a sea of over 5,000 kids may be take part. Events like this raise awareness of cardiac problems in young children and has participation from MCGM schools as well. And to bring in a racing affiliation we will run The Little Hearts Million in the afternoon with support from the Hospital and the Wadia family. Events like this showcase the increasingly visible CSR face of the Club, stamping us as the Club with a heart and that RWITC cares! As we have invited the children, their teachers and hospital staff to the races, we expect a surge of children to have an afternoon at the turf !
The graded races are The Dr S C Jain Sprinters' Championship and The Deltin Eclipse Stakes of India. The former, a Grade 2 race, is named after one of the Club's longest serving Chairmen, and considered a pointer to the Sprinters' Cup. Several winners of the Jain Sprinters' went on to win the Invitation Cup weekend Sprinters' Cup. The JaIn family routinely presents an exquisite trophy to the winner, usually a work of art. A contest of skill linked to this race can win a lucky attendee a free stay at the luxurious Ananda in the Himalayas.
The Eclipse Stakes has long been considered one of the country's topmost terms races, though sadly the prize money has not kept pace for a race of this stature. Deltin, run by Jaydev Mody, has stepped in as a new sponsor, after Mr Byram Jeejebhoy withdrew after years of supporting the race. The Eclipse helps short list invitees for the Stayers' and Invitation Cups and is a hardy annual, which being just a week after the Derby does not attract the top four year olds. Deltin will give away casino entry prizes to jockeys/ trainers of every race.
The RWITC's media partnership with Mid Day has lasted several seasons. We get extended coverage in their pages besides discounted advertising rates. In return we stage the Mid Day Trophy. This year leading actor Kangana Ranaut will be the celebrity in attendance, following in the footsteps of such big names as John Abraham, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, to name just a few chief guests of Mid Day. They will host a high tea which is always very well attended.
Last but not least will be the Dr Jagjit Singh Memorial Trophy, in memory of the Ghazal maestro, also a keen racing aficionado. I remember meeting him at my morning walks at Mahalaxmi, always humble and affectionate despite his iconic status and a ghazal performer par excellence. Madhur Bajaj and Prem Tiwari have always supported this race with contributions and we expect his wife Chitra Singh to grace the occasion with her grandson.
