The glamour and glory of the turf

  When you talk glamour, when you talk fashion and when you try and link it to sport you can only be talking about horseracing. It is a heady mix that is truly unique. 

The Royal Ascot has virtually no equals and in India, the Indian Derby held in Mumbai on the first Sunday of February each year has been labelled the biggest social and sporting event. Here in Sri Lanka the Royal Turf Club is lending similar eminence to local horseracing events. 

Charini Suriyage, one of the most successful designers and a veritable icon in the fashion industry, has a huge fan following. And that following is sure to be seen at the Royal Turf Club in Nuwara Eliya when she waltzes in to have a look at her first thoroughbred purchase - a dark bay showy gelding named Colorato. 

She decided to buy a share in him along with young Deepthika Jakody at the recently concluded RTC Auction Sale held on 20 August at the racecourse. 

What’s more, it won’t be just the two-legged fillies garnering all the attention. Dayalan Robin Ford, who hails from a family of horse lovers, has bought a three-year-old filly named Salsa Dancer. The list of the veritable who’s who gets bigger with Dhanawardene Guruge and his two young sons Shaminda and Indika set to return to the folds of racehorse ownership after a gap of several years. As owners of one of the largest real estate holding companies in the country, they will represent the uppermost echelons of the corporate sector entering the turf at the Royal Turf Club. Their love for animals is known to all and the Guruge Park is a testimonial to that bond. They have picked up two four-year-old fillies in Krabi and Edge of Eternity and it will be a walk down memory lane to see these horses sporting the famous colours of the Guruge family.

Panduka Keerthinanda, a legal luminary and authority on the Sports Law, has also decided to come on board with what could well be the first syndicate-owned thoroughbred in the history of the Sri Lankan turf. 

But then rewriting the history books is something that Keerthinand is more than familiar with, being one of the pioneers in championing the Anti Doping Association, which has changed the very complexion of sport. As an ex-Chairman of the Sugathadasa Stadium Authority, he is sure to be at home on the racecourse at the Royal Turf Club where a five-year-old grey gelding named Charming Grey will give him firsthand experience of owning a top-class horse. 

The Royal Turf Club looks set to establishing horseracing in Sri Lanka. It’s not just going to be the horses on the track that compete for honours, it’s going to be the new breed of owners who will be drawing battle lines as they enter the world of glamour and glory of what is commonly referred to as the Sport of Kings.