July 24, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 08, 1428

LAHORE, July 23: Jockey Shahid Rehman has set up a record for riding more winners during a season by taking his 2006-07 season's tally to exactly one hundred to wear the mantle of a superstar among the riders at the Lahore Racecourse.

Achieving the feat by winning on the filly, Simbi, owned by Junaid Rashid Rana on June 24 last, he also won the jockey's championship for the sixth time during his career spanning over 15-years as a professional rider. His career's total todate numerically stands at 969 wins, which is also a record by a rider in Lahore.

His victories were mostly registered at his home city center Lahore besides Karachi and Rawalpindi Racecourses.

Talking to Dawn, Shahid Rehman said setting a record was fine. However, his campaign was still going on and he was aspiring for setting up more records.

He said he started his career as apprentice rider at the age of 20 in 1991-92. The first victory he registered was on Kasana Choice in 1992, which was his third mount as a professional jockey.

During the past 15-years Shahid has almost won all the classics. Among them on top is the Pakistan Derby four times on Fair Magic in 1999, King Fisher 2002, Naseeb 2004 and moment Of Love 2005. In 2007, Shahid was very unlucky when his mount, Tipu Sultan did not even figure on the board.

He has won jockey's championship at Lahore half-a-dozen times. The last time, he won the championship he had led

74 mounts to winners’ box and to top a century was his wish.

Four years ago, Shahid had a short stint in England where he got a chance to ride among English and other European jockeys. He rode one winner and three seconds and six thirds to return home a more experienced and polished rider.

He is lucky to become the first choice jockey of the leading stables of the joint owners, the Lahore Race Club (LRC) chairman Tariq Aziz / Khawaja M. Arif and Syed Parvaiz Hussain Shah/ Munir Ahmad Dar and he can hope for more successful season ahead.

Trainer Sohail Aziz has been extremely lucky to win the trainers’ championship for the season 2006-07. In all, he sent out 53 winners.

Midway through the season, Sohail Aziz was chasing Haji Ghulam Sarwar and Abdul Rashid and the Haji being associated with the leading stable of Mr Tariq Aziz/ Khawaja M. Arif was the favourite to win the championship for his fortunes were immediately on the upward curve.

But the aging Haji failed to live up to expectations while Sohail Aziz continued his campaign by saddling one or two winners on each race day never losing hope.

He finally raced to the top with still two months to go and maintained the position till the last Haji Ghulam Sarwar and Abdul Rashid were second and third with 39 and 35 winners, respectively.

Sohail Aziz had told his stable owners in April last that he would win the trainers championship this time and he proved it.