February 27, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 19, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 26: A card of seven competitive events await race goers at the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races to be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

In all, 90 runners are to take part in the events barring last-minute withdrawals. All races will be contested over the sprinting distance of 1,100 metres with the first race scheduled to start at 1.00pm.

The runners have been tightly handicapped and some new besides a couple of demoted horses are included in each race, making the task of picking winners difficult for the punters. So the backers, when laying their bets, would have to be extra cautious.

Of the 10 acceptors in the first and feature event, the Kaghan Plate Class VI division one, three horses, namely, Golden Road, Umer Prince and Mr Gujrat are on chance.

The chestnut Golden Road, who was beaten to third place behind Little Smile and Well Done on Feb 20, should make amends this time by winning the race. Bay colt Mr Gujrat and Sohna Shahbaz will be taking part after a long absence.

Ahsan The Great, Gold Round, Big Choice and Dam Dama Dam should pick up the spoils in the supporting and second event, the Kaghan Plate Class VI division two, comprising 14 runners. The race should end in a close finish depending more on the rider than the horse.

In the third race, the four-year-old chestnut Al Ain, who ran a good second last Wednesday, should put on a better show. In fact he should flatten all of his 11 rivals. His challengers could be Dimple, Victory King and Yard Arm.

The fourth race is more of a battle between two females Arzoo and Tosca. On timing and handicap, both are equally placed for the race to end up in a tight finish. Great Rhythm and Regulation should fight for a less remunerative position in the third division of the Kaghan Plate class VI handicap race.

The fifth, sixth and seventh races, consist of horses from the first, second and third divisions of class VII division one, two and three. As usual they are composed mainly of unknown pedigree horses, very few of which are known to perform consistently. A majority are inconsistent makeshift runners used only to make these races look bigger and more attractive — sometimes they run well sometimes they don’t.

Following is the field and our selections:

KAGHAN PLATE CLASS VI DIV I 1,100M:

Mr Gujrat 9-0, Dream Memories 9-0, Sohna Shahbaz 9-0, Raksh-e-Raqeeban 8-10, High Jet 8-10, Golden Road 8-10, Umer Prince 8-6, Armida 8-2, Remember You 8-2, Divine Jury 8-0.

Win: Golden Road. Place: Umer Prince and Mr Gujrat.

KAGHAN PLATE CLASS VI DIV II 1,100M:

Ahsan The Great 9-2, Jageerdarni 9-0, Safari 9-0, Dream Prince 9-0, Dream Act 8-11, Golden Round 8-10, Cleopatra 8-8, Pumey De Jan 8-8, Star Dust 8-8, Sher-e-Lahore 8-6, Big Power 8-4, Big Choice 8-4, Weldon Shogun 8-2, Dam Dama Dam 8-0.

Win: Ahsan The Great. Place: Big Choice and Gold Round.

KAGHAN PLATE CLASS VI DIV IV 1,100M:

Total price 9-0, Victory King 9-0, Best Owner 8-8, Black King 8-4, Al Ain 8-2, Nawa-e-Sehar 8-0, Chocolate Boy 8-0, Mere Lal 7-12, Dogar Gift 7-10, Yard Arm 7-8, Dimple 7-8, Gold Dust 7-8.

Win: Al Ain. Place: Dimple and Yard Arm.

KAGHAN PLATE CLASS VI DIV III 1,100M:

Arzoo 9-0, Tosca 9-0, Sun Shine 8-10, Great Rhythm 8-10, So Romantic 8-10, Red Fairy 8-6, Regulation 8-0, Pick Of The Day 8-0, Mama Mia 8-0, Bandgi 7-6, Pearl City 7-6.

Win: Arzoo. Place: Great Rhythm and Tosca.

SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VII DIV I 1,100M:

God Gift 9-0, Red Byron 9-0, Better Time 9-0, Golden Falcon 9-0, Blank Cheque 9-0, Sana Love 9-0, Geo Bhakkar 9-0, Mah-e-Noor 9-0, Leader’s Wing 9-0, Try My Best 9-0, Sherni 9-0, Silent Assassin 9-0, Bagh-o-Bahar 8-10.

Win: Geo Bhakkar. Place: red Byron and Leader’s Wing.

SUKKUR PLAE CLASS VII DIV II 1,100M:

Smiling Assassin 9-0, Scented Dust 9-0, Rajwali 9-0, Tasweer-e-Bhakkar 8-10, Pretty 8-8, Rokra 8-8, Taqdeer-e-Bhakkar 8-6, Alpha Juliet 8-2, Aman 8-2, Anarkali 8-2, Bioactive 8-0, Miss Mano 8-0, Sia Prinda 7-12, Sana 7-10.

Win: Miss Mano. Place: Sana and Pretty.

SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VII DIV III 1,100M:

Summaya 9-0, Muskan 9-0, Naseer Love 8-8, Shna Noor 8-6, Golden Pari 8-4, Manshah Love 8-2, Shahbaz Love 8-2, Pure Power 8-2, Tarrar Choice 8-2, Sohni Bulbul 7-12, Hit Song 7-12, Billal Love 7-12, Kiss Of Love 7-12, Ahsan Love 7-10, Golden Queen 7-10.

Win and Place: Watch the ring.