March 12, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429

LAHORE, March 11: A card of seven events awaits race goers at the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races to be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

The events are composed mostly of unknown pedigrees, handicapped in class six and seven. And all the races will be gone over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres.

The handicapper seems to have tried his best to frame carefully every horse on the card, splitting runners to maximise competition besides appealing to the owners. But every owner or trainer is not that well-versed in handicap knowledge and the intricacies of the sport.

The handicapper is not independent while handicapping the horses nor is handicapping left open to everyone. It is carried out on the basis of a set formula of plus and minus in weight scales.

It is because the majority of owners do not like open handicapping, particularly those at the helm of affairs at the club. If the chances of all horses taking part in the races were equalised, it will not suit many because that would make the results of the races unpredictable.

Many owners, including some stewards are not satisfied even under the handicapping system in vogue.

Being put in a company of horses it does not really belong to, a horse can even go lame when tangled in the wrong handicap. It’s just putting too much pressure on it, making it run unsound. Many big owners have had to quit the field or to short-list their stables with this kind of a result. Here one is reminded of the famous maxim about horse racing that it is either a sport of kings or fools.

Three-year-old bay filly Pick Of The Day, who registered an easy victory last Wednesday, will be on the trot to make it a two in-a-row. This daughter of Power Base out-of-Bold And Beautiful was a confident winner of the class VI division IV over 900m race and has now been promoted to a division higher with the distance increased by another 100m. She looks like the best one among her eight rivals in spite of all this.

Tosca, Noor-un-Nisa and Al Ain should fight for the frame in this fifth race of the day. There are eight runners in the seventh and feature event, the Khushab Plate class VI Div I, barring last-minute withdrawals. Of them three namely Aaja Bulbul, Devine Jury and Stride To Moment are on chance. The bay filly Aaja Bulbul, who was beaten by High Jet last Wednesday should make amends and win the race and Devine Jury and Stride To Moment could be her challengers.

The quartet of God’s Gift, Dimple, Black King and Geo Bhakkar is the pick of the 11 runners drawn for the first race. Geo Bhakkar stands a good chance on handicap to pick up the spoils in this race.

The filly Mahima, Miss Mano, Mere Lal and Pure Power attract attention in the 30-strong field for the second race. Mahima, though she will be returning to the track after a while, looks well-placed in the handicap to have an advantage over the rest.

Four-year-old colt, Rohrra is showing a consistent improvement in his outings and should have the better of Sana and Bagh-o-Bahar and Miss Mano.

Kiss Of Love, Shahbaz Love and Lal Pari are looking good in the fourth race but Shahbaz Love looks good on handicap.

Arzoo and Dream Act have picked up a good form to be reckoned with while Quite Life has come down in handicap considerably. They should fight to pick up the spoils in the sixth and supporting event, the Khushab Plate class VI division III. The bay filly Dream Act, who is knocking at victory’s door, should also be among the winners on Wednesday.

The first race will be held at 1.00pm.

The following are the fields and our selections.

KHUSHAB PLATE CLASS VI

DIV IV 1,000M:

Red Fairy 9-0, Khan The Great 8-10, Mama Mia 8-10, Victory King 8-8, God’s Gift 8-6, Grey Dancer 8-2, Best owner 7-13, Dmple 7-12, Black King 7-10, Gold Dust 7-10 and Geo Bhakkar 7-10.

Win: Geo Bhakkar. Place: Black King and

God’s Gift.

CHICHAWATNI PLATE CLASS VII

DIV I 1,000M:

Rajwali 9-2, Chocolate Boy 9-0, Shandar 9-0, Khan Baba 9-0, Lucky Bhakkar 9-0, Nazi Gulshan 9-0, Mahima 9-0, Miss Mano 8-10, Mere Lal 8-10, Don’t Touch Me 8-10, Red Baron 8-8, Leader’s Wing 8-8 and Pure power 8-8.

Win: Mahima. Place: Miss Mano and Pure Power.

CHICHAWATNI PLATE CLASS VII

DIV II 1,000M:

Golden Falcon 9-0, Blank Cheque 9-0, Sherni 9-0, Silent 9-0, Silent Assassin 9-0, Bagh-o-Bahar 8-10, Waqas Prince 8-10, Rokrra 8-10, Smiling Assasin 8-6, Pretty 8-0, Sana 7-8 and Bioactive 7-8.

Win: Rokrra. Place: Sana and Bagh-o-Bahar.

CHICHAWATNI PLATE CLASS VII

DIV III 1,000M:

Taqdeer-e-Bhakkar 9-0, Muskan 9-0, Sia Prinda 8-10, Little Love 8-10, Summaya 8-10, Kiss Of Love 8-6, Shahbaz Love 8-2, Lal Pari 7-10, Kashif Da Gulshan 7-10 and Golden Queen 7-10.

Win: Shahbaz Love. Place: Kiss Of Love and Lal Pari.

KHUSHAB PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III 1,000M:

Tosca 9-4 Pick, Of The Day 9-2, Sher-e-Lahore 9-0, Lucky Coin 8-12, Pumey De Jan 8-10, Noor-un-Nisa 8-8, So Romantic 8-6, Great Rhythm 8-2 and Al Ain 8-0.

Win: Pick Of The Day. Place: Tosca and Noor-un-Nisa.

KHUSHAB PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

Arzoo 9-0, Warid 9-0, Quite Life 9-0, Athena 9-0, Freeze 9-0, Rania 9-0, Shah Rani 8-10, Cleopatra 8-10, Dream Act 8-6, Jageerdarni 8-6, Nut Cracker 8-4, First Passion 8-2, Love Affair 8-2, Dream Prince 8-2 and Sun Ray 8-0.

Win: Dream Act. Place: Arzoo and Quite Life.

KHUSHAB PLATE CLASS VI

DIV I 1,000M:

Aaja Bulbul 9-2, Devine Jury 9-0, Cheeta Aya 9-0, Honest Minister 9-0, Stride To Moment 9-0, Brave Heart 8-10, Bashaeash prince 8-10 and Dream Memories 7-12.

Win: Aaja Bulbul. Place: Devine Jury and Stride To Moment.