Well the management committee of the Bangalore Turf Club (BTC) did well to rope in a few sponsors for the Derby week-end races. After a couple of long debates with the head honcho of the Horse Power Sports League (HPSL), Suresh Paladugu, the committee spearheaded by chairman, Manjunath Ramesh finalised the deal with Suresh for the Derby and a couple of individuals sponsored the two `Million' races for juveniles, K Kaliyaperumal sponsored the Foster's Bangalore Winter Million on Derby eve and Swaroop Kumar readily pitched in and supported the C Narayan Reddy Memorial Million on Derby-day. Veteran trainer S Dominic too did his bit, one of the very few trainers in the history of the game to sponsor a race in the memory of his boss and mentor J Tyrrell, who shaped Dominic's career, taking the now portly trainer under his wings as a young jockey in his yard before Dominic took charge of Tych Tyrrell's horses at the age of 24 as a full fledged trainer, two years after the demise of the legendary trainer. 

This three individuals apart, Prashanth Chitme and Bhavna from Chocolate & Me, the first chocolate brand joining in and promoting their brand on the horse racing platform caught the eye. A  woman led chocolatier brand running on the principles of Bean to Bar, from cultivation to Processing all happening in-house. Prashanth, who had put up a few counters,selling their produce, was happy with the response and the recognition and more importantly the mileage Chocolate & Me derived from the blue riband event. 

Dominic was happy to play his part in the Tych Tyrrell Memorial Trophy which was split into two divisions. The upper division of the event was claimed by the Warren Singh schooled Bestidentification, while the lower division was won by Corinthian from the stables of Sulaiman Attaollahi. Dominic after handing over the Trophy to Warren Singh disclosed that under the care of Tyrrell, he learnt a lot about the game and that Tych was a master craftsman. "He was one of the best in the business in South. "He had an eye for the horses and he was a master at the art of training," said the 64-year-old Dominic, who to his credit has led in more than 850 winners. "When committee member Dayanand Mandre asked me if I would be interested to sponsor the J Tyrrell Memorial Trophy on Derby eve, I jumped at it and closed the sponsorship deal and I'm most happy that I played a part  in the event," said Dominic. 

"I must add that I appreciate the committee for providing me the chance to sponsor the event which is close to my heart," said Dominic, while adding that despite losing out on a chance to win the lower division of the event on his horse Defence Counsel, he was happy for the winners.  Well now that the club has roped in a few individuals and a trainer too has come forward, the onus is on the committee to build on the momentum gained and net in a dozen more sponsors, be it small in the promotion of the game at this premier centre.