Fab Feb reaches its peak with the Poonawalla Million on Sunday - By Vivek Jain
Posted on - 24 Feb 2012
Fab Feb reaches its peak with the Poonawalla Million on Sunday
By Vivek Jain
The RWITC Marketing think tank promoted February racing at Mahalaxmi as “What a Feb!” with four fabulous Sundays of the best racing in the country. Kicking off with the record breaking McDowell Signature Premier Indian Derby on the first Sunday, the month climaxes with the 23rdrunning of the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi Million, the only Grade 1 race of the season, for thoroughbreds outside the classic age.
Born in 1990, and patterned on the lines of the famous Millions in the UK, such as the Cartier Million, the race has gone from strength to strength, with a record breaking purse of Rs 1.38 crore this year, a far cry from the now modest 10 lacs on offer in its inaugural running. Infact the crossing of the 1 crore mark in 2010, saw a change in nomenclature from the time testedPoonawalla Breeeders’ Million (PBM) to the Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi Million (PBMM) Infact, in racing circles, the race is still popularly known as the PBM, having run in that avatar for over 20 years!
The PBMM is by far the richest prize in Indian racing for first season juveniles, and is the veritable Juvenile Derby of Indian racing, even though without this nomenclature. It is the only race in the country promoted and initiated by the National Horse Breeding Society of India (NHBSI), as individual breeders need to enter yearlings as far ahead as nearly 18 months before the running. Yet, the major contributors remain the owners, who pay a string of forfeits that has swelled the prize money to way beyond the 1 crore mark. And with a fresh infusion of prize money by the sponsors from next year, it is a matter of time before this virtual classic sniffs at a near 2 crore in stakes in the not too distant future.
The race day is renowned for its fashion and style, glamour and haute couture, and for the trademark car that is given away in the contest of skill. The PBM was famous for its marketing and promotion and at a time bridged the gap in attendance with Derby Day dramatically, till the latter race has once again stolen a clear march and is now the undisputed championship race day from every count. Yet, the credit for spawning the several initiatives taken by the club in the popularising of racing must go to this day and the Poonawalla family.
The PBMM day will also be marked by a huge visiting Australian delegation, headed by the Premier of Victoria, as a build up to one of the most gigantic sporting events in the world- The Melbourne Cup. Austrade, the trade and investment body, and the Victoria Racing Club, which hosts the Melbourne Cup, have especially flown in the actual Melbourne Cup to be presented later this year- a stunning 18k gold trophy, valued at over 9 million rupees which can be viewed on PBMM day. And the piece-de-resistance will be the presence of Chris Lemaire, the world famous French jockey who won this race a few months ago, at an exclusive dinner in the city as a precursor to the Melbourne Spring Carnival Cup being run on Sunday. Sadly, Chris cant stay on till race day.
Unfortunately, the race is not going live under the powerful R1 banner which made a splendid debut at Mahalaxmi this season. We are however confident that PBMM day, with the Melbourne Spring Cup in tow, will draw yet another mammoth crowd, in a season that has been overflowing with top thoroughbred racing, rising numbers and an unending stream of events, that has stamped the RWITC in an exclusive niche of its own.
