November 01, 2007	Thursday	Shawwal 19, 1428

LAHORE, Oct 31: Odds-on favourite colt, Scooby Do, edged out improving filly, Shah Pari, after a grim battle to win the feature event ran over the sprinting distance of 1000m during the Lahore Gymkhana races at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

Scooby Do owned jointly by Mian Maahir Ahmad and Mahmood Khan took a flying start and built up a big lead. Entering the home stretch, Shah Pari accelerated her speed stride by stride and caught the leader with 100 metres still to go. At this stage Atif Javaid urged Scooby Do, who responded superbly to win by a whisker at the finishing line. It was a close finish and the magic eye of the camera gave verdict in favour of Scooby Do by the shortest margin. The race was greatly enjoyed by racing fans. Sohna Billoo and Happy Life completed the frame among seven runners. Had there been a good rider on Shah Pari, the filly would have won the race.

Trained by A. B. Malik this was Scooby Do’s first win in six starts. The winner clocked one minute 4 4/5 seconds over 1000m on dirt track in this fifth and last race of the day.

A race earlier, long shot chestnut colt, Cheeta Aya, sprang a surprise winning the supporting event gone over 1000m. He beat chestnut mare Dillagi by a length with High Quality third, half-a-length further behind. Murad The King completed the frame, half-a-length further back among ten runners left in the field after the last-minute withdrawal of Shikari from the race.

The beauty of the race was that all the four horses were backed in the betting ring and they finished closely within the two lengths.

Another interesting close finish was seen in the third race in which the bay filly Tosca and the gelding Mantar Prince battled keenly for supremacy, Tosca finally emerging victorious by a neck’s margin. The bay filly Mahima came from behind to beat front-running Brave Heart by three-fourth of a length in the second race. Bay filly Pind De Kuri was an outstanding performer in the first race She beat Mah-e-Noor by a big margin of a distance.

Pind De Kuri is owned by the Lahore Race Club (LRC), which in a landmark achievement has started owning racehorses and some of them made their debut in races on Wednesday’s gymkhana meeting.

The riding boy Sajjad Hussain registered a double through Pind De Kuri and Mahima in the 1st and 2nd race subscribed by the unknown pedigree horses. Three favourites-Pind De Kuri, Mahima, and Scooby Do- won in a card of five races, all gone over 1000 metres..

Results.

MIAN MIR PLATE CLASS VII

DIVISION II-B 1000M.

Pind De Kuri ( Lahore Race Club) 8-10 Sajjad Hussain 1, Mah-e-Noor 9-0 Khalid 2, Bilal Love 9-0 M. Nasir 3 and Scented Dust 9-0 Naseer Ahmad 4.

Won by Distance, 1 1/4 L, Neck. Time one min 7 secs. Winner trained by Qaiser.

MIAN MIR PLATE CLASS

VII DIV 1-A 1000M.

Mahima (Sheikh Mohammad Ashraf) 9-0 Sajjad Hussain 1, Brave Heart 8-10 M. Waseem 2, Leader’s Wing 9-0 Tariq Habib 3 andGood Action 9-0 M. Akram 4.

Won by 3/4 L, 1 L, 1 1/2 L. Time one min 8 2/5 secs. Winner trained by Qaiser.

MULTAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III 1000M.

Tosca (Zaheer Aslam) 8-3 Javed Iqbal 1, Mantar Prince 8-10 Tariq Habib 2, Sher Khan 8-10 M. Jehangir Khan 3 and Bird Fly 8-3 Bilal Ahmad 4.

Won by Neck, 4 L, 3/4 L. Time one min 7 1/5 secs. Winner trained by Tauqeer Ahmad.

MULTAN PLATE CLASS

VI DIV II & III 1000M.

Cheeta Aya (Choudhry Mohammad Rafiq) 7-10 M. Jehangir 1, Dillagi 9-4 Aamir Parvaiz 2, High Quality 8-10 M. Hanif 3 and Murad King 8-2 M. Atif 4.

Won by 1 L, 1/2 L, 1/2 L. Time one min 5 3/5 secs. Winner trained by the owner.

MULTAN PLATE CLASS

VI DIV I 1000M.

Scooby Do (Mian Maahir Ahmad & Mahmood Khan) 9-0 Atif Javaid 1, Shah Pari 9-0 Tariq Habib 2, Sohna Billoo 7-13 Sikander 3. and Happy Life 8-10 Iqbal Gill 4.

Won by Short-head, Distance, Distance. Time one min 4 4/5 secs. Winner trained by A. B. Malik.