All roads will lead to the Pune race course on October 13 when the most awaited event of the monsoon season —the Pune Derby (Grade 1) — will be run.
As the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) has no sponsor this year for the Derby, the club has a shortfall of ₹15 lakh which it needs to contribute to guarantee the total Derby stakes of ₹40 lakh. As this year’s sweepstakes collection is only ₹25 lakh, the newly-elected committee, comprising of Zavaray Poonawalla, Zinia Lawyer, Geoffrey Nagpal, Surendra Sanas and Milan Luthria, has decided to contribute in equal proportion an amount of ₹15 lakh.
Briefing the press on Saturday, RWITC chairman Zavaray Poonawalla said: “This will be the 36th edition of the Pune Derby and the inaugural race in 1984 was won by the filly Prudential Champ, schooled by the centurion veteran trainer Uttam Singh.”
Brazilian cuisine
“We have tied up with the a popular Brazilian food company Boteco to dish out Brazilian Cuisine under a German theme in line with the customary Oktoberfest celebrations. There will be a retro band in attendance churning out the best music until evening.”
Speaking about the Mumbai racing season, scheduled to start in November, Poonawalla stated “We are going to take a decision on that issue on October 14 because it is difficult to shift the horses to Mumbai in November as the stables are not yet ready due to the inclement weather. The race track here is in good condition and we can conduct races for another month. So, the first three race meetings of Mumbai racing season will be held here on November 17, 24 & 27.”
