The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A splash of colours at the races

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Monday, Jul 14, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

A splash of colours at the races

Special Correspondent

Chic women show off with dresses

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

It was glamour all the way at the Bangalore Turf Club on Sunday.

BANGALORE: Bangalore Turf Club was awash with a splash of colours and dresses in all kinds of styles were paraded by the chic young women, on Sunday. Off the shoulder tops, spaghetti straps, rising hemlines and plunging necklines were all on display. The men were more staidly attired with dark suits and formal wear in the majority. There was one young gent in a waistcoat and a cowboy hat but he soon dispensed with the Stetson type cap.

A record crowd of 13,650 passed through the turnstiles to witness the 21st running of the Kingfisher Derby at the racecourse. Add to that another 4,000 people with passes and complimentary vouchers and you can imagine the packed crowd.

While the fashion parade was nothing like what one would see at the Royal Ascot Meeting held in the first week of June in England, the Kingfisher Derby would rank as one of the top five racing events in the country. The pride of place would probably go to the McDowell’s Indian Derby.

A couple of races such as the Poonawalla Million in Mumbai and the Invitation Cup, which is held by rotation at the five racing centres, along with the Bangalore Derby would vie for the second to fourth most important races in the country. But the summer Derby is undoubtedly the high point of the Bangalore racing season now.

The Kingfisher Derby has been sponsored by Vijay Mallya’s United Breweries for the past 21 years. Earlier, called the Kunigal Bangalore Derby (from 1962) the race attracted the cream of horses from all the top racing centres (Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai) competing to be labelled the top horse in the country.

Stake money for the winning horse has risen from Rs. 25,000 paid to Mount Everest in the first such Derby to Rs. 71, 28,000 in this year’s edition.

Dr. Vijay Mallya’s champion filly Set Alight won the Derby in taking style. It ran the other runners off their feet and was in cruise mode at the finishing post.

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