KARACHI: Better late than never. The widow of senior rider and former Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup champion M Nasir finally got insurance claim of his spouse who died while after falling from his mount Thunder King while competing on Dec 22 last year.

This was Nasir’s first ride following a one-year suspension that proved fatal.

Representative of the private insurance firm Haider Abbas presented a cheque of Rs 0.8m to the widow who was accompanied by her five children at the Karachi Race Club (KRC) the other day. The KRC secretary Syed Ali Akbar Shah Rashdi was also present on the occasion.

In addition, the KRC had raised Rs 1,75,000, Rs 10,000 apiece from 14 turf accountants besides some colleague riders.

The KRC helped the widow in opening her account and deposit the money.

The lengthy procedure followed by Covid-19 pandemic and new trend of work from home was termed as the main cause of delay.

Nasir’s widow has become the first recipient to get accidental insurance claim by the firm at the existing Racecourse.

It is pertinent to mention that the KRC got its regular riders insured in 2014 after Dawn repeatedly raised the issue following casualties of Abdul Aziz II,Hakim Ali and M. Naeem.

Meanwhile, Gymkhana race meeting resumes on Sunday after over five months break due to Covid-19.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2020