The Mauritius town of Curepipe lies in the Moka District of the country and was the location for the Mangalkhan Racecourse in the late days of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. The town is also known as the city of Light, or as the French in the French speaking island call it, La Ville-Lumiere. Today the town has a population of 80,000 residents, but back in the 1890s it was significantly lower. Although Mauritius already had a racecourse in Port Louis run by the Mauritius Turf Club, the residents of Curepipe wanted a racecourse of their own. In December 1904 the Mauritius Jockey Club was founded and set about developing their own racecourse, initially plumping for Didier Hill, towards the end of Leclezio Street. However, this proved to be an unsuitable location because of the difficult access route to the course, so a wealthy horse racing enthusiast, Mr Rajcoomar Gujadhur, offered land on his Mangalkhan estate. |
The Mangalkhan racecourse gradually developed as more of the forested land on the estate was cleared, and by 1935 facilities were further improved with a viewing stand. When the Second World War broke out the racecourse was used as barracks for troops, and this led to the Mauritius Jockey Club staging their races at Champ de Mars where the races had been administered by the Mauritius Turf Club since 1812. When the War ended the Mangalkhan racecourse had a hospital built on it and Champ de Mars became the permanent home of both racing authorities which eventually merged into one body in 1958. |
The Gujadhur family have been very well rewarded for their generosity in providing land for the establishment of Mangalkhan Racecourse, securing many Maiden Cup successes at Champ de Mars as shown below:-
1961 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Derndyke, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by J Gilmore
1969 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Verdot, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by N Pyatt
1972 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Corban, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by N Landers
1973 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Samat, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by L Harvey
1976 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Hellop Polly, owned by Hon Sir R Gujadhur and ridden by R Heffeman
1984 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by ippy Regen, owned by Sir R Gujadhur and ridden by A Walkinshaw
1990 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by South Lake, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by G Waterston
1992 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Rough Rope, owned by Mr Gunness Gujadhur and ridden by M Sutherland
1997 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Studded Chalice, owned by Mr Moosa, Mr B Gujadhur and Mr A Gujadhur, and ridden by T Jackman
2003 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Have Mercy, owned by Mrs M Fok, R Gujadhur, K Thecka and S Ochit, and ridden by S Mahadia
2005 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Have Mercy, owned by Mrs M Fok, R Gujadhur, K Thecka and S Ochit, and ridden by S Mahadia
2009 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Solar Symbol, owned by Mrs Gunness, Mr Vijay Kumar and Mr Tikanand Gujadhur, and ridden by G Hatt
2011 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Senor Versace, owned by Mrs Gunness, Mr Vijay Kumar and Mr Tikanand Gujadhur, and ridden by M Neisius
2015 The Maiden Cup over 2400 metres was won by Vettel, owned by Mr & Mrs Ramapatee, Mr Tikanand Gujadhur, Mr Uday and Dr Prashant Gujadhur, and ridden by K Ghunowa |
