September 10, 2007	Monday	Sha'aban 27, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 9: Four-year-old chestnut filly Abhi Abhi sprang a surprise when she sprinted to glory to lift The Defence Day Cup, while halting the winning streak of favourite filly Fantastic Baby in the Gymkhana race meeting at Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

Abhi Abhi has emerged as a strong contender after it was declared that experienced jockey Ghulam Shabbir II will be on board which eventually made the difference in a closely-fought race.

Shabbir had steered Fantastic Baby to four of the six triumphs in a row which included capturing the Top Most Cup and Aberdonian Stakes Cup.

After quite a few dismal run the filly from the stables of Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara has overcome a bad patch when she finished second to Naseeb in the Independence Day Cup last month. She finally atoned to the loss by claiming her second win of the year.

She outpaced Fantastic Baby by three-quarter-of-a-lengths while colt Truf Shot had to be content with the third slot, losing by distance. The Conqueror’s completed the frame among four runners.

Joint favourite two-year-old bay colt Lion Of Arab made it two on the trot when he claimed The Youngster Cup posting a five-and-a-half length’s victory over Play Boy under rider Fahim K.

Rider Shabbir stood tall among his contemporaries by ending the day with a splendid treble.

He made an impressive start galloping colt King Of Cool to victory in the opener and powered filly Taiz Per home in the eighth race which also enabled owner Pir Pagara and trainer Allah Judrio to complete a double.

Champion rider Nasir came out with a brace of winners when he stormed favourite colts Inside Story and Royal King to victories. The latter has made it five-in-a-row. The two horses were saddled by trainer Mushtaq.

Favourite Royal Loyalty edged Daruwala by three lengths to grab the sixth race while mare Moment To Moment II created a stir by ending pretensions of the favourite Priceless in the next.

The concluding race of the day was cancelled following an objection filed by rider Ghulam Shabbir II of Sahibzadi against Fahim K., rider of the winning horse Rolex, for dangerous bumping and crossing.

Besides cancelling the race, the committee penalised Fahim by imposing a fine of Rs20,000.

Rolex, Sonu Love Mani, Sahibzadi and Red Rufus finished in the same order.

Results:

THE DEFENCE PLATE DIV

III CLASS VII 5F:

King Of Cool (Syed Ismail Shah) 9-0 Ghulam Shabbir II, 1, Closing Argument 9-1 Lateef 2, Be Jamalo 8-9 Mumtaz Ali 3, Arabian Butterfly 8-11(cr8-6) Nazil Hussain 4. Won by 4 3/4L, S. Head, 1 3/4L. Time: One min 6 3/5 sec.

Winner trained by S. Ehtisham.

THE DEFENCE PLATE

DIV I CLASS VII 5F:

Inside Story (Haji Khuda Bux Rajar)8-12 M. Nasir 1, Green Rose 8-0(cr7-7) A. Ahmed 2, Hi Darling 8-12(cr8-9) Mumtaz Ali 3, Smiling Face 9-0 M. Yousuf 4. Won by 4 1/2L, 5L, 2 1/2L. Time: One min 5 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Mushtaq Ali Khan.

THE YOUNGSTER CUP 2007 5F:

Lion Of Arab (Syed Khurram Anwar Ahmed) 8-7 Fahim K 1, Play Boy 8-7 Sohail Ahmed 2, Jadu Jantar 7-11 Ghulam Shabbir II, 3, Moomal 8-4 M. Nasir 4. Won by 5 1/2L, 14L, 5 1/2L. Time: One min 5 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Ghulam Channa.

THE NISHAN-E-HAIDER PLATE CLASS V DIV I AND II 5F:

Royal King (Ali Gul) 8-3 Mushtaq Ali Khan 1, Dragon Heart 9-0 Shahid Manan 2, Voo Doo Doll 8-8 Arshad 3, Cash Flow 8-3 Sohail Ahmed 4. Won by 1/2L, 3/4L, 3L. Time: One min 4 4/5 sec.

Winner trained by Mushtaq Ali Khan.

THE DEFENCE DAY CUP 2007

CLASS IV 6F:

Abhi Abhi (Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara) 8-6 Ghulam Shabbir II, 1, Fantastic Baby 8-13 Fahim K 2, Truf Shot 9-0 M. Nasir 3, The Conqueror’s 8-4 Sohail Ahmed 4. Won by 3/4L, Dist, 6 1/2L. Time: One min 16 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Allah Judrio.

THE DEFENCE PLATE DIV V

CLASS VII 5F:

Royal Loyalty (Syed Ali Gohar Shah) 8-8(cr8-1) Mohsin Mohyuddin 1, Daruwala 8-9(cr8-4) Pervaiz Ali 2, Lucky View 8-4 Sohail Ahmed 3, Charlie 8-10(cr8-3)A. Ahmed 4. Won by 3L, 8L, 7L. Time: One min 8 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Talib Hussain.

THE DEFENCE PLATE DIV IV

CLASS VII 5F:

Moment To Moment II (Qamar Nawab) 8-7 Farmanullah 1, Little Girl 8-6 Lateef 2, Priceless 8-12(cr8-9) Zaki Zakir 3, Marista 8-4(cr8-0) Irfan Shahwani 4. Won by 1/2L, 1/2L, Dist. Time: One min 7 3/5 sec.

Winner trained by G. Hassan.

THE DEFENCE PLATE DIV II

CLASS VII 5F:

Taiz Per (Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara) 8-7 Ghulam Shabbir II, 1, Vice Admiral 8-1 M. Nasir 2, Fasten Your Seat Belt 9-0 Tariq Baran 3, NYX 8-3 Mohammad Essa 4. Won by 8L, 2 1/2L, 3/4L. Time: One min 4 2/5 sec.

Winner trained by Allah Judrio.