The fun, the excitement, the glamour and the passion were back at the Royal Turf Club race track in picturesque Nuwara Eliya on Saturday 23^rd April - the fourth day of a veritable Festival of Racing.

It may have been a card of just 6 Races, but it was packed with action and there was never a dull moment.

The Ministry Of Tourism Spring Trophy was the piece de resistance of the morning. The Honorable Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara was there and watched the 6 year old mare Alcazaba (Burden Of Proof ex Alhambra) waltz away to an effortless 5 length victory. Allowing stablemate Spearhead (Burden Of Proof ex Imposing) to make the early running, the S.P. Raju trained ward with Irvan Singh in the saddle made their move at the top of the straight and they sailed home by five long and easy lengths.

If Alcazaba rocked the Turf, the ever popular and dapper Sports Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara rocked the crowd by hopping on stage with a Live Band and belting out two songs for the crowd who loved every minute of it. He really had them on their feet and his performance was the highlight of the day.

His Worship The Mayor of Nuwara Eliya, Mahinda Dodampegamage was also present and did the honours by presenting the St. Claire Cup which was won by the three quarter bred Airborne. And then came the race of the afternoon or should I say the race of the season. The Daily Mirror Cup for horses in Class II with Horses in class III eligible. Six of them were declared to start but only five lined up to face the Starter at the 1600 metre marker, as Ice Mint was withdrawn.

There was a fair amount of jostling in the initial stages with Gazaki (Burden Of Proof ex Acer) being the one on the receiving end. They sorted themselves out soon enough and Icelandic (Orotario ex Concept) skipped away at the top of the straight and looked home and dry. And then suddenly in a matter of seconds everything changed. Irvan Singh coaxed an electrifying run out of Gazaki and Kishore Kadam put Indian Epic (Epicentre ex Cosmic Swirl) into top gear as well. The pair devoured ground and swooped down on Icelandic on whom jockey Suganathan had pulled out all stops but the gamble of hitting the front early was catching up on him. Could he hold on? In the end he just about prevailed in a three horse photo finish which had the entire crowd on their feet screaming in excitement. Three horses locked together in a breathtaking finish and just a neck was all that separated them at the Winning Post.

Icelandic and Suganathan had won the race - The Daily Mirror Cup, but the sheer magnificence of the Sport of Racing was the winner on the day.