A lot of fun at this horse race!

Under the glistening sun, clad in their best outfits and adorned with stylish hats, Lucknowites flocked to the racecourse to witness the Times Cup, a horse race organized by Times of India and NBT in collaboration with a private school, held at the Race Course in Cantonment.

The event kicked off with a musical performance by students of the school. The audience joined in, singing along and applauding. Following this, Army personnel took the stage to perform martial arts, leaving the audience in awe of their swift moves.

The horse race began with the 800-meter Indianbred Race. The prizes were given away by Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, Army commander, Central Command, and Maj Gen Salil Seth, GOC, MUPSA. Rudra, owned by Capt Roop N Singh and ridden by Jockey Harsh, claimed the top spot.

The second race, Thoroughbred, saw Vijay’s Joy, owned by the Habibullahs and ridden by Jockey Monu, emerge victorious. Dark Tiger, owned by JN Mathur secured the second prize, while Pinnacle Point, owned by the Habibullahs took the third position.

Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani, the chief guest, commented, “The race was a wonderful event, providing a great opportunity for the people of Lucknow to interact with us and the Indian army personnel.”

Jaideep Mathur, the owner of Dark Tiger, expressed, “I haven’t witnessed such an exciting race in quite some time. The second race was truly remarkable, with Vijay’s Joy securing a well-deserved victory and Dark Tiger closely trailing behind. As the owner of Dark Tiger, I had hoped to see my horse in the lead, but nonetheless, the overall experience of participating was simply amazing.”

The event wasn’t solely centered around the horses; there were various interesting prizes given away as well. Vasundhra claimed victory in the Best Hat (female) category, while Col Vineet emerged triumphant among the males. Sonal Dumasia was the lady with the Best Outfit, and Manish secured the title of the Best-Dressed gentleman. The distinction of the Best Young Couple was awarded to Vikram and Dipti, while Col RP Singh and Vineeta Singh were the Best Senior Couple.
-------- Manas Mishra