Do not miss the premiere of WorldHorseSport TV from the final-race on the White Turf in St. Moritz 19th February 2012 ! Watch the WorldHorseSport IP-TV Stream on WHS.com or on the Apple TV Box !
10,000 spectators attended the second White Turf Sunday races on the frozen lake of St. Moritz and bet 73,444 Swiss Francs. The main race staged by the trotters was won by Mask du Granit with Laurence Kindler in the sulky.
The second White Turf race Sunday was predominated by the trotters. At the BMW Grand Prix of Pontresina, Mask du Granit was able to compensate for last Sunday’s bad luck when Jean-François Johner’s protégé was disqualified because of a faulty pace. This time, though, everything went well for the gelding. Driver Laurence Kindler took the lead from the very beginning with Mask du Granit, pulled away from his rivals on the opposite side and finally won by two lengths in front of Nocéen di Digeon (driver Claudia Koller) who had almost caught up by the end. The third place went to Oscar de la Rouvre (Caroline Huguelet).
At the second trotting race, the GP Allegra Passugger, it looked as though the team Kindler/Johner would land another hit but finally Subtil Peccau had to be content with second place. The victory went to Sonate de Bono, driven by Armin Koller and trained by André Humbert, following a strong final attack.
The Skikjöring race was extremely exciting, as last Sunday’s winner Bergonzi, driven by Fadri Casty, was challenged by Mombasa lead by Adrian Von Gunten at the Grand Prix Credit Suisse of Silvaplana. Finally Mombasa came out on top after a superior race and pushed Bergonzi to the second place of honour.
Weipert (Erich Bottlang) came third. It was the first victory for a German horse, Mombasa being trained by Peter Schiergen in Cologne. In the ranking of the Credit Suisse Skikjöring Trophy, Fadri Casty has taken the lead with 13 points in front of Adrian von Gunten with 10 points and Erich Bottlang with 8 points.
At the canter races the GP Christoffel Bau Trophy was the focus of attention. Le Big from the stable of Philipp Schärer, and acquired by Philipp Sander especially for White Turf, was very convincing with an advantage of four lengths. The jockey was André Best.
The opening GP Swiss International Air Lines ended with a surprise. Exchange is the name of the winner under Tim Bürgin from the stable of André Schennach. In the small field of seven the gelding went for the win 8,70:1. Earlier, the betters counted on Hoist the Sail’s victory at the Grand Prix Uvex with a rating of 5,4:1. Jockey Eduardo Pedroza: ‘I had to take the lead a little too early, but finally everything went well’. Hoist the Sail is trained by Philipp Schärer, who was able to celebrate two victories on one day.
Successful charity operation on the first ‘Kids’ Day’:
White Turf collected donations of CHF 10,000 for the ‘Theodora Children’s Trust’! On the occasion of the first ‘Kids’ Days’ on the second race Sunday, when special attractions for children were offered, White Turf sold delicious traditional ‘Appenzeller Biberli’ to the visitors on the lake, thereby collecting donations for the ‘Theodora Children’s Trust – Giggle doctors for children in hospital’ in Switzerland. Besides numerous volunteers, two hospital clowns – Dr. Ahoi and Dr. Stanislaus – were out and about on the lake and entertained the public, encouraging them to donate. Furthermore, the proceeds from the two-franc betting voucher on all sold standing tickets of the second race Sunday went entirely to
the trust as a donation.
The charity operation was under the patronage of the two main sponsors, Credit Suisse and BMW (Schweiz) AG, and the St. Moritz shop Cashmere House Lamm as well as the White Turf Racing Association. Thanks to their generosity, the proceeds were rounded up to the handsome sum of CHF 10,000 for the Theodora Children’s Trust of Switzerland.
At the presentation of the symbolic cheque by the representatives of the sponsors to Anke Hoffmann, fundraising advisor of the Theodora Children’s Trust, she declared: ‘We are delighted by the generous sum of money resulting from this fantastic charity operation. Our foundation does not request any government subsidy so in order to continue our weekly Giggle doctor’s visits to the hospitals, we depend on the assistance of donors and sponsors’.
Since 1993, the Theodora Children’s Trust has worked to ease the suffering of children in hospitals and specialised institutions by means of pleasure and laughter. The trust, which is a recognized charitable organisation, organises and finances every week the visits of 49 hospital Giggle doctors to 48 hospitals and specialized institutions in Switzerland. Throughout 2011, they made little patients laugh and provided moments of happiness during more than 79,500 visits to children throughout Switzerland. Outside Switzerland the Theodora Children’s Trust is active in France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Turkey, White Russia and China (Hong Kong). Further information at www.theodora.ch.
With exciting horse-racing, gourmet catering, lively music and inspiring art exhibitions, all taking place in winter sunshine on the frozen lake among the stunningly beautiful, snow-capped mountains of St Moritz. This spectacular, major event is not just one with Champagne on ice for the rich and beautiful but an annual event where race-horse owners, trainers and jockeys from all over the world meet up as well as being an unmissable fixture on the calendar for local people. It is thanks to the sponsors as well as the municipality of St Moritz and the local tourist board, who have been supporting White Turf for decades, to make this top-class race-meeting possible.
In addition, members of the organising committee along with their staff and countless volunteers ensure that the 35,000 visitors who attend each of these unique race-meetings on the first three Sundays in February can enjoy a flutter, cheer on the horses they have backed and enjoy top-quality catering in a number of marquees put up specially on the frozen lake. What is more, visitors have the opportunity of winning holidays in luxury hotels on far-off tropical islands.
If you have a passion for racing, or just want to spend an unforgettable day out at a unique event in spectacular winter surroundings, make sure you join us in February in St Moritz.
