May 31, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1428

LAHORE, May 30: Fancied bay colt Zoaq landed the feature event of the day/night Lahore Gymkhana Midweek races which was held over the distance of 1000 metres at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

Backed at 60 to 100 favourite, Zoaq beat Tan Man Dhan by five lengths.

Cobbler finished third, a distance further behind, while Scarlet O’ Hara completed the frame among seven runners.

Zoaq, who was trained by Abdul Rasheed, took a flying start and maintained his authority unchallenged throughout the race.

This was Zoaq’s third consecutive win.

A race earlier i.e. the fourth race, three-year-old bay colt Apex beat Safe And Sound by four lengths to justify the confidence reposed in him.

A completely dark horse, Cheeku Khan, caused the biggest upset of the ongoing racing season by winning the second race.

The totally neglected Cheeku beat Royal Palace by a narrow margin of a neck.

Another long shot Gold Round finished close third while the favourite, Sun Ray, completed the frame among a dozen starters.

In the first race, heavily-backed Miss Mano defeated King Cobra by one-and-a-quarter lengths.

Murad The Great lived up to his status of being the favourite by winning the third event. He beat Shah Pari by a neck. Mere Lal finished third by a big margin of distance.

Three favourites — Murad The Great, Apex and Zoaq — obliged the punters in a card of five events.

The next event of races will be held on Sunday.

Results:

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

Miss Mano (Haroon Ali) 8-6 Khalil Vicky 1, King Cobra 8-2 Sajjad Hussain 2, Mere Lal 8-10 Majid Ali 3, Golden Queen 8-4 M. Wasim 4.

Won by 1 1/4 L, Distance, 5 L. Time 55 1/5 sec.

Winner trained by Chaudhry Khurram Hussain.

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

Cheeko Khan (Aamer Azad) 8-4 M. Wasim 1, Royal Palace 9-3 M. Wasim Khan 2, Gold Round 7-12 Muneer Ahmad 3, Sun Ray 8-11 Shakeel Mahmood 4.

Won by Neck, 1 ½ L, 4 L. Time 53 sec.

Winner trained by the owner.

LODHRAN PLATE CLASS-VII DIV-I 800M:

Murad The Great (Shahbaz Ali Butt) 8-4 M. Atif 1, Shah Pari 8-5 Tariq Habib 2, Bird Fly 8-10 Nasir Bhatti3, Dogar Gift 7-8 M. Jehangir 4.

Won by Neck, 4 L, 2 ½ L. Time 52 3/5 sec.

Winner trained by Mohammad Afzal.

KHANEWAL PLATE CLASS-V DIV-II 1000M:

Apex (Rashid Rasool) 8-10 Hidayat Hussain 1, Safe And Sound 8-6 M. Wasim Khan 2, Major Rana 8-10 Sajjad Hussain 3, Princess Afaq 8-2 A. Alam 4.

Won by 4 L, 2 ½ L, 6 L. Time one min five sec.

Winner trained by Babar Bhatti.

KHANEWAL PLATE CLASS-V DIV-I & II I000M:

Zoaq (Chaudhry Tahir Mahmood) 8-8 M. Wasim Khan 1, Tan Man Dhan 9-2 Tariq Habib 2, Cobbler 8-10 M. Sharif 3, Scarlet O' Hara 7-10 A. Alam 4.

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

Winner trained by Abdul Rasheed.