May 30, 2007	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 13, 1428

LAHORE, May 29: Four-year-old bay colt Zoaq, who has two consecutive wins to his credit, will be on the trot to make it three in-a-row when the feature event of the day/night Lahore Gymkhana Midweek races be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

This is the fifth and the last race of the day to be contested over 1000 metres.

There are seven runners if no last-minute withdrawals. Tan Man Dhan and Starlet O’ Hara also have a good chance of winning.

Tan Man Dhan after claiming second position for a couple of times has won a good race and is now placed on top of the handicap with nine stones two pounds.

Bay filly Scarlet O’ Hara has come down in the weight scales where she can click. But she is appearing on the track after a long absence of over two months. That gives an edge to Zoaq to win the top honours.

The supporting and fourth event, Khanewal Plate Class-five Division-two, to be contested over 1000 metres, looks an open affair except two runners — Safe And Sound and Princess Afaq.

None of the other nine acceptors have any chance of winning.

Murad The Great, Shah Pari and Dogar Gift Cannon Queen are the pick of eleven runners drawn for the third race, Lodhran Plate Class-V Division-I, to be contested over 800 metres. The three should fight for the spoils.

Murad The Great seems to be better than the other rivals due to his last success.

Two stable-mates, Royal Palace and Dashing Paradise and filly Tosca look good among the fifteen drawn for the second race to be contested over 800 metres.

Being fast, Tosca looks slightly better than the other two.

The first race has ten contestants, mostly those having no certification of their pedigree record. Shortage of entries particularly in the gymkhana races have forced the Lahore Race Club (LRC) to allow them to compete. The race will be held at 5.30pm.

Meanwhile, Dawn has learnt that LRC stewards have rejected a proposal of turf accountants, who requested them to hold races once a week instead of twice.In their written request, the accountants had pleaded that since entries for midweek races were very thin and races had become unattractive, the races should be held once a week on Sundays with increased number of events.

LRC steward Khawaja M. Arif told Dawn that they had discussed the proposal and also sought LRC chairman Tariq Aziz’s opinion on the issue.

He said the race club was short of finances and holding races once a week would aggravate the situation.

Following are the fields and our selection.

LODHRAN PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-II-B 800M:

Rose 9-0, Mere Lal 8-10, Stumpy 8-8, Singapore 8-6, Nomad 8-6, Miss Mano 8-6, Golden Queen 8-4, King Cobra 8-2, Blacky 8-2, Ginger 7-12.

Win: Mere Lal.

Place: Miss Mano and Golden Queen.

LODHRAN PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-II-A 800M:

Royal Palace 9-3, Dashing Paradise 8-12, Tosca 8-11, Royal Victory 8-10, Sun Ray 8-10, Malang Aya 8-8, High Hope 8-8, Total Price 8-7, Company 8-5, Happy Mayla 8-4, Cheeku Khan 8-4, Queen Of Gold 8-0, Weldon 8-0, Wah Cisco Wah 7-12, Gold Round 7-12.

Win: Tosca.

Place: Dashing Paradise and Royal Palace.

LODHRAN PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-I 800M:

Sabbat Qadam 9-0, Houstan 8-10, Bird Fly 8-10, Shah Pari 8-5, Murad The Great 8-4, Cheeta Aya 8-2, Chinkara 8-2, Lucky Coin 7-12, Cannon Queen 7-10, Dogar Gift 7-8, Lucky Star 7-8.

Win: Murad The Great.

Place: Dogar Gift and Shah Pari.

KHANEWAL PLATE CLASS-V DIV-II 1000M:

Chandi 9-0, Big Power 8-10, Major Rana 8-10, Apex 8-10, Sapna 8-6, Safe And Sound 8-6, Sher Khan 8-2, Sun Shine 8-2, Princess Afaq 8-2.

Win & Place: Watch The Ring.

KHANEWAL PLATE CLASS-V DIV-I & II 1000M:

Tan Man Dhan 9-2, Cobbler 8-10, Zoaq 8-8, Hamza Prince 8-7, Philosopher 7-12, Scarlet O’ Hara 7-10, Ahsan The Great 7-10.

Win: Zoaq.

Place: Tan Man Dhan and Scarlet O' Hara.