October 20, 2002	Sunday	Sha'aban 13, 1423

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KARACHI, Oct 19: The Speed Star, a three-year-old half bred bay colt from Strides By Strides - I’ll C.U., is fancied in these columns to pick up the spoils in the main event of the Winter Gymkhana Race Meeting which gets under way at Karachi Racecourse Sunday from 12.00pm.

The property of leading owner M. Ateeq and trained by A. Waheed Siddiqui, the Speed Star won his last two starts under Waheed’s younger brother Abdul Rahim and in the previous outing the bay colt was piloted to victory by another brother Jillani.

The only setback is that The Speed Star is making an appearance on the racing track after a three month lay off. In this six furlong sprint which has eight runners in contention, owner M. Ateeq has two other runners, the thoroughbred bay colt The Champion Strides and another thoroughbred bay colt The New Champion in the race.

But then again, The Speed Star has the class of a champion and is tracking extremely well in the morning workouts.

Which brother Jillani or Abdul Rahim partners The Speed Star on Sunday, the colt should sprint past the winning post leaving the Lahore entry Paddock Fancy and Royal Fantasy in his wake.

All in all, eight events have been drawn up on the racing card, with the first five going over the sprinting distance of five furlongs and the the last two to be contested over six.

Another candidate that should not lose on Sunday afternoon is the bay filly Shab-e-Noor, a splendid winner under jockey M. Nasir two weeks ago over five furlongs.

Trained by the evergreen Taj Mohammad, Shab-e-Noor with the same rider aboard, should find little difficulty in beating the promising chestnut colt Sarazen and the dark bay mare The Cleopatra, although going over a furlong more, with Show Time and I’m The King joining the fray.

Taj Mohammad has another winner in the fifth race in the likes of the four-year-old Satellite Star. Last week the chestnut colt finished third with M. Nasir in the saddle, three lengths behind the winner Mubashir Prince and second placed chestnut horse Reincarnated.

Satellite Star will surely run a better race this time and beat Rocket Fuel, a chestnut colt winning in his last two appearances and Reincarnated at the winning post.

In the opener which has only nine runners going over five furlongs, Century, although burdened to carry 9-4 on his back, should beat another heavyweight Millennium Era and Royal Promise, with The Messenger completing the frame.

With a good lad astride, the chestnut gelding Reasonable is fancied to get the better of Lawrence Of Arabia, Major Dandy and Baby Tabassum in the next event.

The bay mare Sweet Grandy should get the better of Silent Fire and Genuine Risk in the third event which has a big field of 18 runners vying for the top spot.

Sone Pari, a dark bay filly piloted by jockey Mujahid Ali, ran an impressive race last week, finishing second, three lengths behind the winner Rocket Fuel.

The filly is bound to run a better race on Sunday in the fourth event, and should finish ahead of High Speed and Prism Of Life.

The sixth race also has a big field of 18 runners and if all goes well, trainer Taj Mohammad should have his hat trick of wins through the thoroughbred bay filly Shama, challenged all the way by the chestnut horse Regal, with Royal Falcon and Evershine battling it out in the home stretch for the third berth.

All said and done, an interesting afternoon awaits the racing fans come Sunday.

Following is the field and our selections:

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-V 5F

Century 9-4, Millennium Era 9-2, The Messenger 9-0, Miss Neutron 9-0, Royal Promise 8-12, Royal Springs 8-10, Fast ‘N’ Easy 8-6, Gypsy Queen 8-2, Sana Loves Jango 7-10.

Win: Century

Place: Millennium Era & Royal Promise.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-III & G-IV

Pearl 9-4, Rolling Thunder 9-2, Baby Tabassum 9-2, Dunlop 9-2, Black Gift 9-1, Lawrence Of Arabia 9-1, Sunday Silence 9-0, Reasonable 9-0, Prince Naeem 9-0, Royal Honest 8-13, Striker 8-13, Sher Khan 8-13, Atish Fishan 8-11, Major Dandy 8-10, Super Boy 8-5, Chhotoo 8-5, Darbari Malang 8-2 and Royal Beauty 8-1.

Win: Reasonable

Place: Lawrence Of Arabia & Major Dandy.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-II & III 5F

Neeli Nighahain 9-5, Miss Ruby 9-4, Lord Of Lords 9-2, Genuine Risk 9-0, Sarafan 9-0, Look At Me 9-0, Noor-un-Nisa 8-13, Silent Fire 8-12, Venus Arrow 8-11, Millennium Magic 8-11, Last Love 8-10, Rukhsar 8-10, Big Star 8-8, Gharnata 8-7, Sweet Grandy 8-7, Powerful Tarzan 8-6, Shehroz-e-Sehar 8-5 and Jubilant Action 8-4.

Win: Sweet Grandy

Place: Silent Fire & Genuine Risk.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-II 5F

Bach Fly 9-5, Strong Arm 8-10, Sajan Black 8-10, Small Wonder 8-10, Sone Pari 8-9, Great Banquet 8-8, Prism Of Life 8-8, Royal Romance 8-8, Dil Farib 8-7, Much Better 8-7, Mark 8-6, High Speed 8-5, I’m So Happy 8-3, Ford Mustang 8-2, Delta Song 8-0, Defence Academy 8-0, Done Is Done 8-0 and Tipu Fight 7-12.

Win: Sone Pari

Place: High Speed & Prism Of Life.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-I 5F

Tennyson 9-2, Rocket Fuel 9-0, Rajwar 9-0, Cute Lady 8-13, Kiev 8-13, Winning Queue 8-12, Reincarnated 8-11, Neelam Taab 8-11, Dushtiyani 8-10, Jack Pot 8-9, Shah Rose 8-9, Quick Mover 8-7, Just In Fun 8-6, Satellite Star 8-5, Black Magic 8-2, Golden Voice 8-2, Recent Command 8-0 and Your Pleasure 7-12.

Win: Satellite Star

Place: Reincarnated & Rocket Fuel.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV VII 5F

Micky Mikado II 9-0, Royal Falcon 9-0, The Clifton King 9-0, Shama 8-12, Sweet Emotions 8-7, Ever Shine 8-7, Little Sunny 8-7, Love U Lady 8-6, Regal 8-5, Blue’s Night 8-3, Minnie Me 8-3, Greek Baron 8-3, The Prince Zeeshan 8-3, Slim Fit 8-1, Valerie 8-0, Your Opinion 8-0, Maha Sagar 7-13 and Your ‘R’ Highness 7-11.

Win: Shama

Place: Regal & Royal Falcon.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV V & VI 6F

The Cleopatra 9-5, Lucky Three 9-5, Shab-e-Noor 9-3, Baby Face 9-1, Wing Commander 8-13, I’m The King 8-8, Sarazen 8-5, Show Time 8-4, Ray Of Light 8-3, Sherganzer 8-2, Deniro 8-0, Wonderful Peace 8-0, X’Tasy 7-13, Guarantee 7-10, Lucky One 7-9 and Sapno Ki Rani 7-7.

Win: Shab-e-Noor

Place: Sarazan & The Cleopatra.

FAHAD PLATE CLASS IX DIV IV 6F

The Champion Strides 9-0, Paddock Fancy 8-13, The Speed Star 8-11, The New Champion 8-10, Cloud Waltzer 8-9, Royal Fantasy 8-2, Queen Of Hearts 8-0 and Najla 7-12.

Win: The Speed Star

Place: Paddock Fancy & Royal Fantasy

DAY’S BEST: The Speed Star

GOOD DOUBLE: Satellite Star — Shab-e-Noor.