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| December 25, 2002 | Wednesday | Shawwal 20, 1423 |
Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup will be an open race today
KARACHI, Dec 24: Thousands of racing fans from all over the land will be making a beeline to the Karachi Racecourse, to witness the greatest race on the Pakistan turf calendar, when the Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup gets under way on Christmas Day.
In this race to be contested over a gruelling distance of 12 furlongs, nine of the finest horses will be lining up at the starting gate.
In the field will be, this year’s Derby winner King Fisher, the fashionably bred dark bay colt owned by Sorhab Khan, is making his first appearance on the Karachi track. With his fantastic performance in Lahore, the colt will be the fancy of the Punjab racing fans.
Without a shadow of doubt, King Fisher partnered by Lahore’s champion rider Shahid Rehman, while triumphing in the Pakistan Derby is a marvellous colt, but then again he has never raced on this track before and the seasoned fans will agree with this column, that a horse has to contest in a race over here to prove his mettle.
Anyway, King Fisher will be going all out to match the performance of that great colt Stride By Stride, the 1984 winner of the Pakistan Derby and Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup, a feat he repeated the following year in the Gold Cup, with jockey Tyrone Fletcher partnering the colt on all three occasions.
Then there is Steal The Show, last year’s 2000 Guineas winner, Midnight Legend, the 1999 Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup winner, Shah The Great and Gambling Lady from Syed Taufiq Kamal’s stable, with Lover’s Lady, My Freedom, Spartacist and The Champion Strides making up the field.
A week ago, Steal The Show with a heavy impost of 10 stones on his back finished second behind the winner Gambling Lady, running 28 pounds lighter. Only one and half lengths separated the two, but after the race, Steal The Show was seen limping badly while entering the unsaddling enclosure.
This wonderful colt has only been trotting during his morning exercise which has many fans in doubt if Steal The Show will stay the 12 furlong distance. But then again if Steal The Show is 100 percent fit, the bay colt will win this race hands down.
Shah The Great too has a big reputation, but has yet to prove himself on this course, while Gambling Girl will be going all out to repeat her performance in the Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup Trials.
However, Lover’s Lady, My Freedom, Midnight Legend, Sparticist and The Champion Strides, with nothing to lose, will be going all out to upset the applecart.
The supporting event will be the 2000 Guineas Of Pakistan with eight of the finest three-year-old colts and fillies vying for the top honours going over the mile.
Of the lot, Raqeeb-e-Azam, a bay colt from Tanuf out of Mrs. Nice Guy, with six straight victories under his belt, is our fancy to win race from Red Ransom, a chestnut colt coming down to Karachi from Lahore, with a high reputation. Sweet Touch, last year’s Nursery Cup winner, should edge out Paddock Fancy for the third spot.
In the Nursery Cup to be run over six furlongs by seven highly bred two-year-olds, Ali Faisal Farooq’s bay colt Blues Traveller, after his impressive victory nearly a week ago, should win this race from another Lahore invader Freedom Dancer and the much talked about King Cobra and the chestnut filly Innuendo.
In the J.C.P. Cup to be contested by nine runners also over the sprinting distance of six furlongs, the dark bay three-year-old filly Saligna, should win this race from Shining Steel and Loveland, with X’Tasy and Mickey Mikado II, joining the fray.
Quite to the surprise of all and sundry, the Christmas Cup, race held every year during the Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup event is missing from the racing programme.
When the Chairman of the Karachi Racecourse, Mohammad Yousuf Dada was asked by this correspondent as to how this race was left out, he replied that due to the many other cups that were on the programme, the Christmas Cup had to be left out, but will be contested along with the New Year’s Cup later.
This reply made hardly any sense. How can you hold the Christmas Cup in the new year and not on December 25? Some food for thought indeed.
In the first race of the afternoon, in a big field of 15 runners, Reincarnated with a good lad astride, should pick up the spoils from Snake Eyed and Recent Command, not to mention Sher Zai, if ticking.
The fourth race on the card, should witness Shah Mardan Shah II Pir Pagaro VII’s five-year-old bay mare Fire Of Desire making it two winners in a row, after passing the winning post ahead of The Cleopatra and the lion hearted bay mare Guarantee.
Shab-e-Noor should provide the champion jockey of 2002 M. Nasir and champion trainer Taj Mohammad with another winner in the sixth race, with the New Champion finishing second, close on the winner’s heels.
In the concluding event also to be contested over six furlongs, Sugar Daddy, with an impressive win only a week ago, is our fancy to win this race, closely followed home by Satellite Star and Golden Voice.
All said and done, an interesting afternoon of horse-racing awaits the fans. The first race begins at 1200 noon.
Following is the field and our selections:
SANA PLATE CLASS IX DIV
G-I 6F Blue’s Night 9-1, Superb Star 9-1, National Lining 9-0, Snake Eyed 8-11, Recent Command 8-11, Rashmee 8-10, Delta Song 8-6, Mahsagar 8-5, Ghazan King 8-4, Reincarnated 8-3, Royal Lancer 8-3, Dusthiyani 8-2, Knight Fighter 8-1, Sher Zai 7-13 and Power Plus 7-13.
Win: Reincarnated
Place: Snake Eyed & Recent Command.
NURSERY CUP 6F
Blues Traveller 8-11, Freedom Dancer 8-8, Captain Crash 8-4, King Cobra 8-4, High Standard 8-1, Innuendo 8-1 and Jugni 8-1.
Win: Blues Traveller
Place: Freedom Dancer.
J.C.P. CUP CLASS IX DIV VI 6F
Donatello 9-2, Love Land 8-13, X’tasy 8-11, Baby Face 8-9, Mickey Mikado II 8-8, Sarazen 8-4, Shining Steel 8-3, Saligna 8-2 and Welcome Shahtab 8-1.
Win: Saligna
Place: Shining Steel & Love Land
SANA PLATE CLASS IX DIV V 6F
Guarantee 9-0, Smiling Senorita, Bella 9-0, Lover’s Way 9-0, Lovely Concept 8-13, The Cleopatra 8-11, Fire Of Desire 8-10, Champion Star 8-5, Al Jarrar 8-3 and Lucky Three 8-2.
Win: Fire Of Desire
Place: The Cleopatra & Guarantee
2000 GUINEAS OF PAKISTAN One Mile (8F)
Paddock Fancy 8-7, Raqeeb-e-Azam 8-7, Red Ransom 8-7, The Speed Star 8-7, Navahoo Princess 8-4, Sweet Touch 8-4, Fly To The Sky 8-4 and Hoor-e-Mehran 8-4.
Win: Raqeeb-e-Azam
Place: Red Ransom and Sweet Touch.
SANA PLATE CLASS IX DIV III & IV 6F
Bold Commander 9-4, The King Star 9-4, Charkh Bareen 8-6, Dur-e- Yaman 8-2, Shab-e-Noor 8-2, Wonderful Peace 8-0 and The New Champion 7-10.
Win: Shab-e-Noor
Place: The New Champion.
Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup 12F
King Fisher 8-12, Steal The Show 8-5, Shah The Great 8-5, Lover’s Lady 8-3, My Freedom 8-2, Gambling Girl 7-13, Midnight Legend 7-13, Sparticist 7-12 and The Champion Strides 7-4.
Win: Steal The Show
Place: King Fisher & Shah The Great.
SANA PLATE CLASS IX DIV VII 6F
Rocket Fuel 9-2, Deniro 9-0, Satellite Star 9-0, Sapno Ki Rani 9-0, Mubashar Prince 8-13, Golden Voice 8-13, Neelam Taab 8-12, Sardar 8-11, Ever Shine 8-9, Sajan Black 8-8, Red Secret 8-8, Sugar Daddy 8-6, Aziz Love 8-5, Wonder Thunder 8-2, Regent 8-2, Razdan 8-1, Flying Bird 7-10 and Sweet Victory 7-10.
Win: Sugar Daddy
Place: Satellite Star & Golden Voice.
DAY’S BEST: Blues Traveller
GOOD DOUBLE: Saligna - Shab-e-Noor.
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