Horse Racing: the MiD DAY Trophy slated for November 29

Mahalaxmi racecourse set to witness revetting turf battles from this Sunday. Big ticket event, the mid day trophy is slated for November 29

Horse Racing: the MiD DAY Trophy slated for November 29

Mahalaxmi racecourse set to witness revetting turf battles from this Sunday. Big ticket event, the mid day trophy is slated for November 29

Get ready to witness some of the greatest turf battles this Mahalaxmi season which gets underway on Sunday. Mumbai railbirds will get their full quota of racing after a year's gap (last year saw a truncated version thanks to the equine influenza outbreak) and Vivek Jain, chief of marketing at the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) Ltd has ensured the race lover is treated to a heady cocktail of competitive racing on the racetrack and glitz, glamour and high life on the adjacent lawns.

Despite losing the first two race days due to untimely rains, Mahalaxmi maintains its status as the richest racing centre in the land by offering Rs 16.84 crore in prize money alone. The five-month long racing program will feature, as highlight, the McDowell Signature Indian Derby, Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million and HIRCO Indian Turf Invitation Cup weekend all concentrated in a 30-day time slot between the first Sundays of February and March 2010. The last named premier event is coming to Mahalaxmi after a gap of six years!
Sunday, November 29 will see the running of the MiD DAY Trophy at the Mahalaxmi racecourse. The race will be for two-year-old horses and will be contested over the trip of 1,200m. Some of the most promising youngsters will be making their debut in the MiD DAY Trophy, which carries a purse of Rs 350,000 besides a trophy valued at Rs 25,000. The trophy has been instituted by RWITC to honour MiD DAY's continued association as media partner.

The Mahalaxmi racetrack will virtually turn into a battleground if one goes by champion trainer Cooji Katrak's quote.

When asked to disclose his game plan for the Mahalaxmi Classics, the Parsee trainer, who will be bidding for his third straight championship title now, told MiD DAY: "I will play my cards close to chest.

"Although this is a sport, the big races like the Derby must be fought like a war. The difference between sport and war is that in war you have enemies - not rivals."

Taking on Cooji Katrak will be Pesi Shroff. The ace jockey-turned-trainer has a number of blue-blooded horses in his yard, and with little help from the goddess of luck, is bound to bounce back.

Then there are other veterans like Bezan Chenoy, Imtiaz Sait and S Padmanabhan, who may be holding some aces up their sleeves, and hoping to make a mark in the Classics.

On the jockeys' front, foreigners may dominate the finish of important races as the form of all the three Indian aces C Rajendra, Malesh Narredu and B Prakashu00a0is clearly on the decline; while YS Srinath, presently the best Indian jockey, may not get enough opportunities to make the numbers because of his high riding weight.