BUSINESSES in the city centre were under starters’ orders on Friday for the inaugural Chester Retail Cup.
The event took place in Eastgate Street with 12 teams competing on hobby horses.
Cruise Nightclub romped home to win the race, with the Grosvenor Shopping Centre coming in second and Chester Market taking the third place.
A large crowd gathered to hear Channel 4 Racing commentator Graham Goode call home the inaugural winner in what organiser Stephen Wundke hopes will become an annual event.
He said: “The race was designed to create a sense of occasion leading up to Chester Races and I thank Chester Racecourse for helping to stage our first cup.
“We are delighted with the response and are already starting to plan 2010.
“I think the sense of fun and enjoyment was there for all to see and in the future we would like to see a parade of past equine Chester Cup champions in the street.
“I think we will have to expand the Retail Cup next year to include some heats because so many retailers wanted to take part – I can even see a schools event taking place in the lead up to the final, to compete against the likes of Highfield school who supported our parade this year.
“Suffice to say I think any visitors who witnessed this event, and there were many, will have left saying what a fun place Chester was to be.”
The event was designed by Chester City Management and sponsored by Chester Racecourse to forge stronger links between Chester retailers and people visiting the city for Chester Races, with some 50 special retail offers available.
Participating stores have large cardboard figures of past Chester Cup winners to signify they are part of the programme of special deals.
