December 19, 2007	Wednesday	Zilhaj 8, 1428

LAHORE, Dec 18: Eight-year-old gelding Tallal The Great who has been improving consistently over the last three races but was unlucky to lose each time, should at last be able to win the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races’ feature event at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

After winning the over 800 metres race with class-wise fast timings, Tallal The Great finished second on three consecutive outings. Still his owner didn’t lose faith, entering the gelding in each race, something for which he deserves all the credit. He really deserves to win this time. The top weight colt, Cheeta Aya and another Striker are prominent among his rivals. Three-year-old colt Striker ended up third on Sunday, behind Dillagi and Tallal The Great. But the way he ran makes him the main challenger for the top honours on Wednesday in the last race of the day, the Malir Plate, class VI division I, to go over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres.

The fifth and supporting event, the Malir Plate, class VI division II handicap race to be contested in the over 1,000 metres event has 10 acceptors. Three of the accepting horses have a real chance to pick up the spoils. They are Murad King, Ahsan The Great and Bird Fly. The distance suits the first one while the handicap goes in favour of the other two.

Rose, Regulation and Chander Mukhi look good in the fourth race. Rose is speedier in spite of being placed at the top of the weight-scales in the 9-0 handicap.

Chestnut colt Al Dar, who registered a facile victory on the trot on October 24 last, should win the third race to make it a two in a row. The only negative point is that he is running after an almost two-month break from the track. Malang Aya, Well Done and Kotli are prominent among his dozen rivals.

Non Stop, Dimple and Leader’s Wing are the pick of the 14-strong field of unknown horses in the second race.

Barring last-minute withdrawals, the first race has 13 runners. Of these the mare Malika, Pattola and Pretty are prominent due to their consistent appearances on the board, with Malika enjoying an edge over the others.

In all, 69 horses are vying for the six events, all to be contested in the over 1,000 metres. The first race will be held at 12.30pm.

Following is the field and our selection:

ROHRI PLATE CLASS-VII

DIV I-B 1000M:

Malika 9-2, Magic Dream 8-10, Accurate 8-10, Trivera 8-10, Hit Song 8-10, Pattola 8-8, Mosaic 8-8, La Rosa Negre 8-8, Sohna Bhakkar 8-6, Bioactive 8-6, Pretty 8-2, Kiss Of Love 8-2 and Kashif Da Gulshan (Formerly Aya Bhakkar) 8-0.

Win: Malika.

Place: Pattola and Pretty.

ROHRI PLATE CLASS-VI DIV I-A 1000M:

Non Stop 9-0, Rashk-e-Raqeeban 9-0, Geo Bhakkar 9-0, Sohna Murad 9-0, Noor-un-Nisa 9-0, Dimple 9-0, Nargis 9-0, Mahima 9-0, Sohna Noor 8-10, Leader’s Wing 8-6, Lal Pari 8-6, Yasir Love 8-6, Billoo Love 8-6 and Mera Bhakkar 8-2

Win: Non Stop.

Place: Leader’s Wing and Dimple.

MALIR PLATE CLASS-VI

DIV-III-B 1000M:

Gold Dust 9-0, Royal Palace 9-0, Al Dar 9-0, Have No Fear 8-12, Miss Mano 8-12, Malang Aya 8-12, Kotli 8-12, Company 8-12, Company 8-12, Great Rhythm 8-10, Red Baron 8-10, So Romantic 8-8, Well Done 8-8 and Issabella 8-6.

Win: Al Dar.

Place: Malang Aya and Well Done.

MALIR PLATE CLASS-VI

DIV-III-A 1000M:

Rose 9-0, Sweet Lady 9-0, Happy Life 9-0, Sona 9-0, Sun Ray 9-0, Regulation 9-0, Sabbat Qadam 8-10, Sana 8-8, Cash Deposit 8-4, and Chander Mukhi 8-3.

Win: Rose.

Place: Regulation and Chander Mukhi.

MALIR PLATE CLASS-VI DIV-II 1000M:

Love Minister 9-4, Arsome Prince 9-0, Murad King 8-12, Happy Bear 8-10, Taken Of Love 8-7, Rang Dey Basanti 8-4, Sun Shine 8-2, Black King 8-1, Ahsan The Great 8-0 and Bird Fly 7-10.

Win: Murad King.

Place: Ahsan The Great and Bird Fly.

MALIR PLATE CLASS-VI DIV-I 1000M:

Cheeta Aya 9-2, Tallal The Great 9-0, Arzoo 9-0, Babbu The Great 9-0, Striker 8-10, Aaja Bulbul 8-8, Armida 8-7, Nut Cracker 8-6 and Little Smile 8-5.

Win: Tallal The Great.

Place: Cheeta Aya and Striker.