.JPG)
Four decades after Pesi Shroff rode for the first time in the Gymkhana races, he relived those moments when he gave his19-year-old daughter Anya a leg up at Mahalaxmi racecourse yesterday. Anya didn’t let anyone down while making a winning debut as an amateur rider astride a horse named Hope. What made the occasion memorable was the fact that not only did hundreds of race-goers stay back after a tiring day’s racing, all the heavyweight owners such as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Haresh Mehta, KN Dhunjibhoy, Vijay Shirke, to name a few, were also present to cheer the teen. Anya scraped through in a photo-finish and as the verdict was too close to call, it led to some dramatic moments after she returned to the weighing-room. But it didn’t take the stewards, who just glanced at the photo-finish print, too long to give the verdict in the debutant’s favour. We can tell you there was much jubilation after the results were announced.
