THE 42nd Running of the famous Gold Cup(Grade 1) received a boost in purse money of $1.5M (inclusive of $500,000 from the sponsor Peak Bottling Company) it was announced at a press conference at Caymanas Park yesterday.

Speaking at the launch, chairman of Peak Bottling Limited, Michael Bernard, gave his company’s commitment to horse racing in sponsoring the race day.

“Peak Bottling Company Limited, through its brands of Catherine’s Peak and Purewater, is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the Gold Cup race day,’ he said.

Bernard also said this race day would mark the official launch date of its new product, Purewater — purified drinking water. “Peak Bottling has decided that partnering with Caymanas Track limited (CTL) is a potentially effective way of introducing its Purewater brand to consumers across the length and breadth of Jamaica, and aligning with the Gold Cup race day is a very special way of demonstrating to consumers that Purewater plans to be a very popular, affordable and high quality brand,” he pointed out.

Chief Executive Officer at CTL, Cedric Stewart, welcomed the sponsorship and acknowledged Bernard and his company for their increasing commitment to horse racing in Jamaica.

“We at Caymanas Park are particularly pleased that the Peak Bottling Company has agreed to associate their premium product Pure Spring with this event,’ he said.

Denzil Miller, racing secretary at Caymanas Track Limited, gave an overview of the event for those in attendance and encouraged racing fans to come out and enjoy what will be an exciting day of racing. ‘The Gold Cup (GR1) is the most important and prestigious handicap race on the racing calendar as it brings together the best sprinters and the best stayers over 1400 metres or seven furlongs, which is a little too long for a sprinter and a little too short for a horse that prefers more real estate (longer distance).’ ‘This race will see the likes of Superstakes winner Typrwriter, Imported Mile winner Uppa Tune and the None-Such Sprint winner Blast Them Away, just to name a few,’ he noted.

There will also be two addional trophy races on the day. The Dye Job Sprint for restricted two-year-olds will be sponsored by Pickney’s Peak and the Purewater-sponsored Andrew H B Aguilar for two-year-old maidens. The day’s pool is set to be in excess of $3million.

Also in attendance were Purewater brand ambassadors Oral Tracey and former national player Ricardo ‘BiBi’ Gardner.