General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji, former Chief of Army Staff belongs to the house of Nawanagar being the nephew of the late Maharaj Ranjitsinhji, the world­ renowned cricketer and first cousin of the present Jam Saheb Sri Digvijaysinghji the Rajpramukh of Saurashtra.

     General Rajendrasinhji was born in Sarodar 1899.He excelled at games and later represented Cricket and Football at college levels and also Riding and Polo. To achieve king commission he trained at the well-known Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst which was located at Surrey, England.

     When General Rajendrasinhji was G.O.C. in-C Southern Command he started a chain of institutes throughout his Command where officers and men were given every facility for games, sports and other recreation. One such institute exists in Pune named after him as " R.S.I." and this institute is unique and perhaps one of the best of it's kind.

     The General was laid to rest in January 1964 and his love for sports provides an enduring legacy for the current generation of officers, through the various Rajendra Sinhji Institutes, named in his honour.

     In memory of General Maharaj Shri Rajendrasinhji, the Royal Western India Turf Club Limited instituted the race" The General Rajendrasinhji Trophy" which was first run in 1967 as the " Rajendrasinhji Cup". It subsequently achieved Graded Status in 1986 and this year is it's 21st running as a graded race.

     During the inaugural running, it was a race for three year olds in Class V and was won by "Fire Bird" owned by Mrs. B. H. Bhiwandiwalla and Mr. & Mrs. B. B. Dubash with Maqbool astride and trained by Uttam Singh. The winner's purse was Rs.12, 897.50. Subsequently, in the following year i.e. 1968 the name changed to " The General Rajendrasinhji Cup" which was a terms race for three olds, which was won by a horse named" Beandaz" owned by M/s. M. D. Mehta and Mrs. Laxmi P. Lala trained by S. M. Shah and ridden by Jockey Jagdish. This year the race offers Rs 6,25000/~ in prize money.

     The General Rajendrasinhji Trophy, is considered the most important lead-up race for The Pune Derby and has been won by several champion horses in the past, some of whom have also gone to win The India Derby.