MUMBAI: The heavy rains on the eve of the Pune Derby weekend in Pune on Friday had put a question mark on the possibility of a much-hyped Derby weekend happening but thanks to the Monsson track, curated under the watchful eye of its chairman Suren Sanas, the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) did manage to host a magnificent Derby weekend which culminated in a splendid victory of King's Ransom on Sunday evening.
Public choice King's Ransom lived up to the expectations and overtook the leader Dangerous just a few metres before the winning post and held on to its slender lead to pocket the winner's purse of Rs 30 Lakhs.
Trained by ace trainer Pesi Shroff and assisted in the saddle by veteran rider Pradeep Chouhan, King's Ransom provided its prime owner Vijay Shirke with the first derby success in Pune in five decades. Earlier, four of Shirke-owned horses, Germanicus, Cardinal, Jaguar, and Circle Of Bliss had finished second in this mega race.
"It was a good weekend for the racing enthusiasts in Pune and thanks to the monsoon-friendly track, we managed to put up a good show for the satisfaction of everyone including our first-time sponsors Betway," said Shiven Surendranath, committee member and head of marketing, RWITC.
Betway has committed to contribute more than Rs 6 crores to the RWITC, over three years, which includes sponsorship of the Pune Derby and the Indian 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas which will be held later this year during the Mumbai season in December.
"The sponsorship of Pune Derby 2022 is Betway's first association with RWITC and both companies are highly excited about the long-term mutual value that can be created. Sport Ex Consultancy played a pivotal role in bringing together the two entities and understands the support which the horse racing circuit in India needs and how Betway can be a perfect catalyst for the same," said Raghav Nagpal representing the sponsors.
Courtesy: Times of India
