April 03, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1428

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LAHORE, April 2: Long shot Miss Thailand took full advantage of the handicap and easily captured the Queen Elizabeth Cup, contested over 2000 metres, during the Lahore Winter Meeting at the Racecourse on Sunday.

Miss Thailand, the four-year-old filly from English sire Grand Lodge out-of-Miss Amanpuri, was given an honest ride to win by three-and-a-half lengths against Go With The Wind, who nosed out Grecianette to third position by a whisker.

Go With The Wind and Grecianette were joint favourites and tipped by many to win the prestigious cup which was re-instituted this year. But both the mares succumbed under the heavy impost of weight in handicap.

Miss Thailand ran ahead of the field throughout the race distance and at no stage she was challenged by any of her four rivals. Interestingly Miss Thailand had finished third behind Grecianette and Go With The Wind on March 18 under Faisal Tahir. The owner/trainer changed the rider and that made a lot of difference on Sunday.

Miss Thailand was trained by Haji Fazal Hadi and it was the fourth race of the day.

A race earlier, bay mare Wendy Trace, ridden perfectly by jockey Salahuddin, swept to victory in the Bahria Town Cup, run over 1600 metres. She beat favourite filly Noor by over a length. Armida and Gorce The Great completed the frame.

Seven times champion trainer, Haji Fazal Hadi-trained horses gave a glimpse of their trainer's ability as three of them – Royal Fish, Miss Thailand and Spiritual Song — shared the day’s honour.

Jockey Shahid Rehman brought home Royal Fish and Spiritual Song. He replaced M. Wasim at the last moment to ride Royal Fish.

Only two firm favourites — Wendy Trace and Spiritual Song — obliged punters in the card of six events.

Results:

TALAGANG PLATE CLASS-V

DIV-I 1400M:

Royal Fish (Makhdoom Syed Ali Raza) 9-0 Shahid Rehman 1, Blue Fire 8-6 Saqib 2, Rough Tough 7-12 A. Rahim 3, Mama Mia 8-10 M. Wasim Khan 4.

Won by 2 ½ L, 1 1/4 L, ½ L. Time one min 30 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Haji Fazal Hadi.

TALAGANG PLATE CLASS-V

DIV-II 1400M:

Jung Frau (Raja Khushbakht-ur-Rehman) 9-0 M. Zeeshan 1, Iconic 8-8 Shahid Rehman 2, Re Born 8-10 M. Atif 3, Redouble 8-7 M. Wasim Khan 4.

Won by 9 L, 7 L, ½ L. Time one min 29 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Haji Ghulam Sarwar.

BAHRIA TOWN CUP CLASS-IV

DIV-II & III 1600M:

Wendy Trace (Arif Gulzar) 9-0 Salahuddin1, Noor 9-4 M. Zeeshan 2, Armida 8-7 M. Wasim Khan 3, Gorcee The Great 8-10 A. Alam 4.

Won by 1 1/4 L, Distance, Distance. Time one min 43 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Rashid Latif.

QUEEN ELIZABETH CUP

CLASS-I, II & III 2000M:

Miss Thailand (Malik Hamid Ali Noon) 9-2 A. Imran 1, Go With The Wind 10-2 Salahuddin 2, Grecianette 10-8 Shahid Rehman 3, Gold Krik 8-7 M. Zeeshan 4.

Won by 3 1/2 L, Head, Distance. Time two min 4 1/5 sec.

Winner trained by Haji Fazal Hadi.

GOJRA PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-I 1100M:

Spiritual Song (M. V. Malik) 9-1 Shahid Rehman 1, Extravagant 9-0 A. Imran 2, Prince Salman 9-2 A. Wahab 3, Tosca 9-0 M. Zeeshan 4.

Won by 3 1/4 L, Neck, Head. Time one min 9 1/5 sec.

Winner trained by Haji Fazal Hadi.

GOJRA PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-II 1100M:

Malang Aya (Irshad Ahmad) 9-0 M. Wasim Khan 1, Leader's King 9-0 Assad Abbas 2, Wendy 8-2 M. Zulfiqar 3, Dashing Paradise 8-9 M. Sharif 4.

Won by 1 L, 1 L, 4 3/4 L. Time one min 12 sec.

Winner trained by Latif Butt.