February 07, 2007	Wednesday	Muharram 18, 1428

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LAHORE, Feb 6: A ticklish card of five events awaits race-goers at the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races to be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

All races will be contested over the sprinting distance of 1000 metres.

In all, 50 acceptors will be vying for the events comprising class five and seven handicap races.

In the feature event, Mirpur Plate class V division I, there are eight contenders to fight for supremacy barring last-minute withdrawals.

At least half of the runners stand a chance to win. So, picking a winner looks a difficult proposition. Those in chance are top weight Charming King, Puma The Great, Babbu The Great and Blue Fire. The gray gelding Blue Fire has a slight edge over others and with a good lad up in the saddle can pick up the spoils. His main challenger could be the chestnut, Babbu The Great, who is equally good sprinter. The distance for Charming King and Puma The Great looks a little shorter because they are not as quick starters as their rivals.

The supporting and the fourth race consist of a big field of 13 starters. Of them two mares and a filly are on chance. They are Jago, Beautiful Baby and Faryal. They are showing potential improvement and hence automatic form choice. Although Faryal's ability is not yet fully exposed, she is well handicapped and knocking at the victory door. How fit she is sent to race, only her performance will tell?

The first, second and third races belonging to class seven comprise mostly horses, who are not in full form and to work out their chances seem to be an expensive occupation. In such events, horses do not look good betting proposition because connections could be tricky when their animals are installed favourite. Some owners and trainers are on the look out of such a situation to make easy money. What happens? Their odds ease, that is odds go upward. And if the stewards catch them and substitute riders on them, their bid is frustrated otherwise they succeed. Recently on two such occasions, timely action taken by stewards saved as both animals ran true to form and won their engagements and their owners/trainers were left with long faces.

Meanwhile the Lahore Race Club (LRC) stewards have modified the rule regarding the withdrawal of horses from an event. Owners and trainers have been advised to shun the practice of withdrawing their horses from the contest when they realize that race may be tough or contesting and their animal may be defeated.

They have warned them that from now onward horses would be allowed to be withdrawn only after a certificate from the LRC veterinary officer certifying horse being unfit to race. The step is aimed at making races competitive and contesting attracting more visitors to the equine sports. Those violating instructions would be punished, a notification issued by the LRC said.

The first race will be held at 1pm.

The following are the fields and our selections.

BHALWAL PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 1000M:

Cherry's Own 9-0, Savera 8-12, Have No Fear 8-10, Rasputine 8-10, Crystal Girl 8-6, Black King 8-6, Dogar Gift 8-2, Matelic 8-2, Love Minister 8-0, Tosca 7-8 and Rana The Great 7-8.

Win: Love Minister.

Place: Tosca and Cherry's Own.

BHALWAL PLATE CLASS VII DIV 1 & II 1000M:

Tallal The Great 9-4, High Hope 9-4, Princess Afaq 9-2, Prema Dona 9-2, Dashing Paradise 9-2, Royal Palace 9-0, Wah Cisco Wah 8-10, Dam Dama Dam 8-10, Lovely Diana 8-8, Prince Salman 8-8 and Total Price 8-8.

Win: High Hope.

Place: Dam Dama Dam and Tallal The Great.

BHALWAL PLATE CLASS VII DIV I 1000M:

Leader's King 9-0, Hitler 9-0, Titan 8-10, Lucky Coin 8-10 ,Munsaf 8-6, Malang Aaya 8-6 and Fearless Boy 8-6.

Win: Malang Aya.

Place: Titan and Leader's.

MIRPUR PLATE CLASS V DIV II 1000M:

Daisy Against All 9-0, King Minister 8-13, Super Master 8-12, Jago 8-8, Lucky Star 8-8, Beautiful Baby 8-6, Pretty Princess 8-6, Bird Fly 8-6, Deyssan Da Raja 8-4, Honest Minister 8-2, Faryal 8-1, Toyota 8-1 and High Quality 8-0.

Win: Jago.

Place: Beautiful Baby and Faryal.

MIRPUR PLATE CLASS V DIV I 1000M:

Charming King 9-0, Sohna Billoo 8-6, Babbu The Great 8-5, Puma The Great 8-4, Shah Pari 8-4, Blue Fire 8-1, Intikhab 8-1 and Ministry 7-13.

Win: Blue Fire.

Place: Puma The Great and Babbu The Great.