There's More to Prove Than to Win The Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup - By Shiven Surendranath
Posted on - 14 Jan 2018
There’s More to Prove Than to Win The Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup
By Shiven Surendranath
While a poorly thought out and crudely implemented GST attempts to reduce the Sport Of Kings to a state of penury, Turf Clubs have a strong history of surviving through trying fiscal times, without destroying their centuries old values based in tradition, etiquette and grace.
Not only does The Royal Western India Turf Club retain the magnificence of architecture and the gentleman’s dress code that brings back memories of the Raj, its management also follows time-honoured traditions of naming races after prominent racing personalities amongst other courtesies. The Ramniwas Ramnarain Ruia Gold Cup is one such race, named in honour of a past Chairman of the club.
With the number of runners in this race being just three, on the face of it, this lead up race to the Indian Derby seems to have lost its sheen since its inception in 1952, but a glance at the name of the first runner provides a more legitimate explanation for the lack of competition.
Castlebridge, holds the all India record for 2000 metres. While doing so he became the only Indian horse ever to break the 2 minute barrier for the distance. If that is not credentials enough to scare away the others, just the fact that he was whipped a few times to win the Indian 2000 Guineas sent the racing community into a frenzy of disbelief.
It is that whipping, administered on the 17th of December 2017, that has woken up the dormant clairvoyant that lives in every discerning railbird.
During the running of the R.R. Ruia tomorrow, these clairvoyants will see, through their respective 3rdeyes, Castlebridge's race to be run on the 4thof February. And each stride that Castlebridge takes will reveal to them his future.
Will Castlebridge be just too brilliant to stay the Derby trip as most suspect he is? Did his loss to Manifold in the Bangalore Derby show that? Has he matured enough since? Will his motor whine louder over the Derby trip than it did in the 2000 Guineas?
The lengthy explanations of his connections haven't cut ice with those who saw him come under the stick. Castlebridge must prove once again in the R.R. Ruia that he is amongst the best India has ever seen.
An hour before Castlebridge completes his formality of winning, his future challengers for the Indian Derby would have run The Chennai Derby. The most prominent of them being Prevalent Force.
Having beaten Tutankhamen and Lady in Lace, Prevalent Force seems as much of a certainty for the Chennai Derby as Castlebridge is for the R.R. Ruia, but he too has to prove he stays. If he does, he should open favourite for the Indian Derby after winning over the required 2400 meters.
Castlebridgeand Prevalent Force will not be the only one’s fighting to be coronated. Manifold and Lady In Lace will stake their claim to the crown too.
If any other horse besides them wins, no clairvoyant will be able to to guess which one it might be, in fact it would require a magician to make that happen.
(Disclaimer : Views are entirely that of the correspondent only and RWITC takes no responsibility for the same)
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