The Royal Turf Club gallops into new year with races on 11 February

RTC President Suranjith Premadasa and Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara at the stables in Nuwara Eliya

With 2017 into its third week, the Royal Turf Club (RTC) in Nuwara Eliya is well set to put into practice all those New Year resolutions that it had set for itself.

The welfare of the horses has always been the highest priority for RTC. It is with this in mind that the wish list put up by the Resident Veterinarian Dr. Balaji was immediately granted. A portable X-ray machine and scanner are the latest additions to the veterinary hospital. Both are state-of-the-art and will be of tremendous help in diagnosing ailments and injuries. It will provide Dr. Balaji with just the sort of technical support a good doctor needs to take his practice to an even higher level. To put it in a nutshell the horses can expect the very best when it comes to medical care which is very important for keeping horses in the best of health. 

Horse and rider go hand-in-hand and each complements the other. The RTC has always realised the importance of creating local riding talent and promoting the cause of Sri Lankan jockeys. You need the right instructors and along with that you need equipment. The RTC could not have a better man to impart the right knowledge to aspiring young champions than the Indian riding ace Sinclair Marshall. 

A top jockey in his own right, Marshall lives and breathes horses and still rides out every morning. The wealth of knowledge and experience that he has accumulated over the years is incomparable. He has got the patience and inclination to teach and to assist him the RTC has brought in a riding simulator and since the arrival of the simulator the jockeys have been exercising on the simulator to improve their posture, balance and fitness in the art of riding as well as learning to finish off their performance in a polished and professional manner. 

The simulator will allow budding riders to learn and hone their skills on a machine which simulates the action of a thoroughbred racehorse at full gallop. Apprentice jockey training schools the world over have the simulator as a mainstay and now the RTC joins the ranks of these elite few. 

The manufacturer of the simulator, Richard Perham, coach at the British Racing School New Market UK, said: “Whether it is used to teach young riders the art of riding to a finish or for champions to warm up before race riding, the simulator is a must.”

The winter chill has seen Nuwara Eliya covered with a layer of frost every morning. It may have kept the locals indoors but it has not deterred the horses from being exercised on the track every day as they set about getting ready for the New Year’s racing season which kicks off on 11 February and then goes all the way until the end of April.

The next race days are 11 February Independent Race Day, followed by 2, 16 and 29 April.

Horse enthusiasts can make their way to Nuwara Eliya and be prepared for a glorious season of racing.