Stylecracker Night Market Trophy - not to be missed outing for family - By Shiven Surendranath | DNA
Posted on - 16 Feb 2017
Stylecracker Night Market Trophy — not to be missed outing for family -
Shiven Surendranath
DNA
The Stylecracker Night market that kicks off this weekend promises to bring an upward curl to the lips of all those whose idea of a night out is more than knocking back a beer at the local pub.
For the majority of the swish set that descends in hordes upon The Royal Western India Turf Club on Derby Day, the horse racing season begins in the afternoon and ends the same evening, five and a half hours later. But believing Derby Day is all there is to racing is like believing that the Mona Lisa is all there is to the Museé de Louvre. While both draw the crowds, for the true connoisseur there is a lot more than a single attraction.
The StyleCracker Night market that kicks off this weekend promises to bring an upward curl to the lips of all those whose idea of a night out is more than knocking back a beer at the local pub. This is a not to be missed outing for the family with shopping, live music, pop up restaurants and a beer garden. If last years event shows what to expect this year, the vibe will be chilled out and the dress code more designer boho than designer Sobo.
Those who have been giving events at the Royal Western India Turf Club a skip because of its strict mobile phone policy have some is good news, wisdom has finally dawned upon its committee and they have realised that a mobile phone is not just a communication device but it has in fact evolved into a body part of the gen-next and they have accordingly reduced mobile phone & entry charges to the members enclosure to just Rs 500.
Whatever be the other attractions, the main attraction at a racecourse will always be the horses. The A. Campbell Trophy and the Thumbelina Million on Saturday evening promise to be competitive races. A "trophy race" in class five has ensured no less than 40 entries for the StyleCracker Night Market Trophy, which as the name suggests will be a cracker and may even be divided into two divisions.
Sunday afternoon will see every race run to be a trophy race. Two of these races, The Y M Chaudhry Memorial Trophy and The Dr Govind R Gurbaxani Memorial Trophy, are being sponsored by racing families in memory of gentlemen who have left an indelible mark on Indian racing. For those who mistakenly believe that horse racing is all about gambling and making a quick buck such races are a reminder that it isn't always true that " It is money makes the mare to trot". One would like to imagine that the satirist John Walcott may made this remark after a particularly bad day of punting and that he should not be taken blindly for his word.
For those looking for a horse to watch over the weekend have readymade candidate in Mathaiyus who is slated to run The Manappuram Finance Ltd Trophy on Sunday.
This horse has been the talking point of the race course the last two times he has been entered to run. He ran The General Obaidullah Khan Trophy, as a prep race for the Derby, carrying no less than 5.5 kg more weight on his back than was mandatory but still won. However the trainer of the horse that came 2nd in that race, Palatial, accused his jockey of riding an indifferent race.
Mathaiyus was next entered in the Indian Derby but was controversially withdrawn as he seemed to hurt himself while being loaded into the starting gates. However, when he was checked by his trainer he seemed to be fine which lead to a series of accusations and counter accusations which have still not died down.
Will Mathaiyus win on Sunday? Or might he still lose? The answer is the stuff that has made authors like Dick Francis millionaires. While you may not make millions backing Mathaiyus as he will run at cramped odds, your time coming to the races will be spent a million times better than spending your afternoon watching yet another movie with yet another ending that you would have guessed well before the interval.
