November 11, 2007	Sunday	Shawwal 29, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 10: Three-year-old bay Sharp Burg, who is showing improvement in each running, should win the Saif Group cup to be gone over 1400 metres at the Racecourse on Sunday.

The progeny of But Shikan out-of-Cisco Magic, Sharp Burg is never out of place in three consecutive outings and is knocking at the victory door to break maiden’s duck on Sunday.

The state of emergency seems to have taken its toll on horse racing too. In all, 41 horses have accepted to take part in a small card of five events, barring last-minute withdrawals.

Never in the past such a small number of horses have ever participated in winter meeting races. The cup event was in fact reserved for class four horses, but the race was declared void for paucity of runners. Subsequently the cup fell in the lot of class five animals with distance reduced to 1400 metres from the original 1600 metres declared for class four animals.

Owned by Fawad Ahmed Cheema, Sharp Burg,was beaten by Lovely Dunit closely over 1100 metres on Oct 21. Sharp Burg should make amends and win the cup, which is a bolt from the blue, for the winner whosoever he or she may be.

Miss Play and Reborn could be the closest rivals of Sharp Burg in this fourth race of the day.

Three-year-old filly, Iconic, with two facile victories in her bag, will be on the course to complete a hat trick of wins.

This filly from Power Base out-of-Desert Breeze, Iconic, has already won two races in a row on Oct 15 and Oct 28. She is owned by Syed Pervez Hussain Shah and trained by Sohail Aziz.

Her main rivals will be the colt, Scooby Do, who had recorded his maiden victory on Oct 31 and the bay horse, Unter, looks Good for a place. This will be the fifth and last race of the programme.

There are 10 colts and fillies in the term race for two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies (Maidens) to be gone over 1000 metres. Included among them are some, who have appeared earlier besides as many those opening debut. The colt Vendetta, if fit should make amends and win the race.

Murad King in the opener and Shim Jim in the third race are the form contestants. They should run prominently in their respective events provided fancied by stables. Unfortunately, sometime contenders, who look on chance are not fancied by their connections, who think otherwise, then the results is obvious.

On Sunday, one-third of the Lahore Winter Meetings programme would have gone through. But there is some thing unusual and rather upsetting for the lovers of equine sports. The season lacks usual pomp and show and galore.

More over the attendance of turf fans too has remained static or less as compared to the corresponding period last season. It looks the sports has lost its usual charm and attraction.

The question arises what is in racing which attracts people to it. The biggest attraction for them in horseracing is betting. People are lured like the bee to nectar.

Besides, there is one more aspect of racing that causes its addiction-the thrill of winning, the excitement of owning, training or riding a horse to victory. The glory and ecstasy associated with leading a winner to cheers from the racing public is an added attraction.

Undoubtedly money is involved to a great extent in racing, but there is more than money involved in the world of horses. Even the hardest bureaucrats or businessmen find themselves vexing when their own horses cross the finishing line first. There are special feelings and thrill watching thoroughbreds jostling for supremacy.

A small card of five events, three races to be gone over 900 metres and two over 1400 metres will be decided in the afternoon. The first race will be held at 1:00pm.

The following are the fields and our selections:

SARGODHA PLATE CLASS VI DIV II 900M:

Sher-e-Lahore 9-0, Murad King 9-0, Ice Burg 9-0, First Passion 8-11, Rana Choice 8-6, Al Ain 7-12, Tosca 7-13 and Tallal The Great 7-12.

Win: Murad King.

Place: Tosca and Ice Burg.

KAGHAN PLATE – A TERM RACE FOR TWO-YEAR-OLD THOROUGHBRED COLTS AND FILLIES (MAIDENS) 1000M:

Emperor 8-8, Vendetta 8-8, Cut Throat 8-8, Red Devil 8-8, Diamond Sky 8-5, Dixie 8-5, Bright Flame 8-5, My Delilah 8-5, Dream Act 8-5 and Magic Dream 8-5.

Win: Vedetta.

Place: Dixie and Emperor.

SARGODHA PLATE CLASS VI DIV I 900M:

Cheeta Aya 9-2, Shah Pari 8-10, Arsome Prince 8-10, Charming King 8-10, Shim Jim 8-8 Billoo, The great 8-7, Creek Cat 8-6, Happy Dancer 8-6, Weldon Shogun 8-6, Sun Shine 8-6 and Happy Life 8-2.

Win: Shim Jim.

Place: Shah Pari and Charming King.

SAIF GROUP CUP, CLASS V DIV I 1400M:

Zoaq 9-0, Miss Play 8-10, Run And Win 8-10, Sharp Burg 8-10, Reborn 8-4, Munsaf 8-2, Stride to Moment 8-0 and Dazzy Against All 8-0.

Win: Sharp Burg.

Place: Miss Play and Reborn.

KASSOWAL PLATE CLASS V DIV II 1400M:

Scooby Do 9-0, Janu 9-0, Desert Glow 9-0, Nommy The Hunter 8-10, Iconic 8-7, Rough Tugh 8-6, Armida 8-6 and Untar 8-6.

Win: Iconic.

Place: Untar and Scooby Do.