February 24, 2003	Monday	Zul Hijjah 22, 1423

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KARACHI, Feb 23: In a afternoon where upsets were the order of the day, owner Sultan and trainer Pervaiz stole the racing limelight with a brace of winners, when the Winter Gymkhana Meeting got under way at the Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

The pair secured their first winner in the second race through 11-year-old Sachin piloted by M. Mazhar and went on to complete their fine double, when the dark bay nine-year-old horse Maha Sagar sprinted home to victory over the five furlongs in a start to finish bid with riding boy Tariq Baran astride in the fifth race of the afternoon, holding off the belated challenge from Naeem Touch.

Not less than five favourites perished in a card of eight events, which left many punters soothing their burning fingers.

It all began in the opening event, when Darbari Malang ridden by Ghous Bux beat Royal Beauty by one and half lengths, with Sher Khan third and the favourite Sunday Silence leading the field into the home stretch, finishing fourth.

Sachin won the next event by seven and half lengths from Major Dandy, with the raging favourite Prince Naeem, planted in his stall when the race began, finishing a very disappointing third.

The dark bay filly Black Magic, with riding boy Aamir Ali once again in the saddle, scored her second straight win for owner/trainer M. Yaqoob Butt, collaring the favourite Clever Cat 100 yards from the winning post in the following event.

There seemed to be no respite for the racing fans in the fourth race. Syed Taufiq Kamal’s six-year-old bay horse Knight Fighter partnered by jockey Inayat, came in with a flying burst to overtake the front runner Great Bakht half a furlong from home. Also passing Great Bakht was top weight Mera Jugnoo with Great Bakht holding on dearly for the third spot from Mark.

Once again a raging favourite, this time One Touch met his doom, which was indeed a shock for most of the racing fans still licking their wounds.

Defence Academy having the services of seasoned M. Yousuf in the saddle, won the sixth race from stable companion Free Lancer, after the owners who had two runners in contention in this event, decided to go with Defence Academy instead of Free Lancer the second placed runner in this race.

Laurel picked up the spoils in the seventh race, but almost lost it in the Stewards Room, after jockey Zahid Faiz on Champion Star, lodged a genuine objection against Laurel’s rider Zahoor Ahmed, for bringing his mount into the path of the fast approaching Champion Star which forced Zahid to check his charge

The Stewards however, after investigating into the matter, decided to overrule the objection, which enabled Laurel to get the better of the doubt.

After an unnecessary delay at the starting gate when some runners broke through their stalls not to mention the chestnut horse Show Time, continuing to display his bad manners at the starting gate, the race finally commenced after a log delay of 45 minutes.

After the two fancied runners Fire Of Desire and Donatello battled for supremacy, Show Time ridden by Tariq Mehmood came in with a rattling burst from the outside to upset the applecart.

The next race meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday Feb 27.

Following are the results:

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-V 5F

Darbari Malang (Mr. Mohammad Farooq) 8-3 Ghous Bux 1, Royal Beauty 9-0 S. Khan 2, Sher Khan 7-8 Sohail Ahmed 3, Sunday Silence 8-12 Azeem 4.

Won by 1 1/2L, 1 1/4L, 1 3/4L. Time 1 min 12 2/5 sec. Winner trained by Karim Agha.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-IV 5F

Sachin (Mr. Rahat Sultan) 9-1 M. Mazhar 1, Major Dandy 8-12 M. Wasim 2, Prince Naeem 8-4 Abdul Rahim 3, Reasonable 8-10 Khalid Nawaz 4.

Won by 7 1/2L, 1 3/4L, 2L. Time 1 min 8 2/5 sec. Winner trained by M. Pervaiz.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-III 5F

Black Magic (Mr. M. Yaqoob Butt) 8-7 Aamir Ali 1, Clever Cat 8-13 Tariq Mehmood 2, Silent Fire 8-3 Zahoor Ahmed 3, Rich Valiant 9-1 Shehzad 4.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-II 5F

Knight Fighter (Syed Taufiq Kamal) 8-12 Inayat 1, Mera Jugnoo 9-5 Sajjid Hussain 2, Great Bakht 8-0 Tariq Baran 3, Mark 8-0 Muzaffar Hussain 4.

Won by 2 1/2L, 3L, 3/4L. Time 1 min 8 1/5 sec. Winner trained by Mohammad Ashraf.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV G-I 5F

Maha Sagar (Mr. Aamir Sultan) 8-8 Tariq Baran 1, Naeem Touch 8-4 Abdul Rahim 2, Just In Fun 8-9 M. Yousuf 3, Charismatic Eyes 8-6 Asghar Ali 4.

Won by 4L, 2 1/2L, 2 1/4L. Time 1 min 7 sec. Winner trained by M. Pervaiz.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV VII 5F

Defence Academy (Mr. Irfan Mehdi) 8-9 M. Yousuf 1, Free Lancer 9-2 Arshad 2, Sarazen 8-8 Sher Mohammad 3, Sher Zai 8-5 Abdul Rahim 4.

Won by 1 1/2L, 1 1/2L, 2L. Time 1 min 6 1/5 sec. Winner trained by Nazir.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV VI 6F

Laurel (Mr. M. Yousuf Ansari) 9-4 Zahoor Ahmed 1, Champion Star 8-1 Zahid Faiz 2, Jugni 8-1 Tariq Mehmood 3, Order Of The Day 8-1 Aamir Ali 4.

Won by Neck, 2 1/2L, 2 3/4L. Time 1 min 20 2/5 sec. Winner trained by Abid Ali Jan.

SIBI PLATE CLASS IX DIV III, IV & V 6F

Show Time (Mr. S.R. Ali) 8-0 Tariq Mehmood 1, Fire Of Desire 9-5 M. Mansoor 2, Donetello 9-0 Muzaffar Hussain 3, Snake Eyed 7-8 Sohail Ahmed 4.

Won by 2L, 5L, Neck. Time 1 min 18 2/5 sec. Winner trained by Amjad.