May 09, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 3, 1429

LAHORE, May 8: Fancied filly Iconic virtually did all the running to put up a smashing performance enabling her to land the feature event during the day/night Lahore Gymkhana meeting, the first this summer, held at the floodlit Racecourse on Wednesday evening.

Iconic, contesting in the over 1,000 metres sprinting distance race, gave her jockey, Salahuddin, an armchair ride when she beat Love Minister by four lengths. Owned by Syed Pervez Hussain, the filly is trained by Sohail Aziz.

Meanwhile the co-favourite Hamza Prince finished third, another six lengths behind.

Only seven ran in the fourth race of the day, the Chakwal Plate, class VI, division I, after the last-minute withdrawal of Harry Can Run, Honest Minister and Love story.

Earlier in the first event and supporting race, the rank outsider dark bay horse Jewna led all the way home to beat his disinterested chaser Armida by half-a-length’s margin.

The filly Creek Cat, who somehow always ends up disappointing her owner Chaudhry Mohammad Afzal, kept her reputation intact to finish another half-a-length behind at third.

The Lahore Race Club (LRC) stewards reacted spontaneously at Armida’s handling and demanded an explanation from Khalil Vicky, Armida’s rider, about why he had not allowed his mount to run on merit, and at not being satisfied with his explanation, they suspended his riding license for one year.

The punishment was hailed by race goers as a right step taken in the direction of curbing racing malpractices.

Bay gelding Dam Dama Dam was the most outstanding performer in the second race. Ridden by jockey M. Zeeshan, Dam Dama Dam in a fine front-running display beat Great Rhythm by a big margin of a over 10 lengths.

Only three well-backed horses — Dam Dama Dam, Iconic and Porche — came to the fore in a card of seven events. The other four winners were all long shots.

Even though three-year-old colt Porche was late in coming out of the starting stalls, his rider Sajjad Hussain did not lose heart.

He kept pushing the colt forward making him record his maiden victory that also earned him thunderous applause from the race fans.

The third race ended in a thrilling finish between three horses, who passed the winning post locked together in a bunch. Long shot Sona won the race by a neck from Sher-e-Lahore and Yard Arm, both declared second in a dead-heat.

As the Super Jack Pot (SJP) remained unsolved, the amount will be put forth in the SJP races kitty on Sunday.

Results:

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

Jewna (Rashid Rasool) 8-5, A. Alam 1; Armida 8-6, Khalil Vicky 2; Creek Cat 7-10, M. Jahangir 3; Rang De Basanti 9-2, Anjum 4.

Won by 1/2 L, 1/2 L, 4 L. Time one minute 7-15 seconds. Winner trained by Babar Bhatti.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III 1,000M:

Dam Dama Dam (Chaudhry Riazuddin) 8-10, M. Zeeshan 1; Great Rhythm 7-10, Pervez Bhatti 2; Hikmat 8-6, Atif Javed 3; Shah Rani 8-2, Bilal Ahmed 4.

Won by Distance, 1 1/4 L, 2 1/2 L. Time one minute 7 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Aamir Azad.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV IV 1,000M:

Sona (Iftikhar-uz-Zaman) 8-4, Shah Nawaz 1; Sher-e-Lahore 8-12, Shakeel Ahmed 2; Yard Arm 8-8, Zameer 3; Chocolate Boy 8-2, M. Wasim 4.

Won by Neck, Dead-heat, 4 L. Time one minute 7 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Shahzad Ali.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV I 1,000M:

Iconic (Syed Pervez Hussain) 9-0, Salahuddin 1; Love Minister 8-8, Ali Raza 2; Hamza Prince 8-10, M. Zeeshan 3; Regent 8-6, Shahbaz Ali 4.

Won by 4 L, 6 L, Distance. Time one minute 2 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sohail Aziz.

LANDHI PLATE CLASS VII DIV I 900M:

Mah-e-Noor (Haji Mohammad Chiragh) 8-6, M. Hussain 1; Shandar 8-0, Shakeel Mahmood 2; Best Owner 8-6, Sajjad Hussain 3; Khan Baba 8-6, Bilal Ahmed 4.

Won by 3 L, 1/2 L, 3 L. Time 58 seconds. Winner trained by Wahid Gul.

LANDHI PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 900M:

Mere Lal (Nazeer Ahmed Butt) 8-2, M. Jamil 1; Mera Chan 8-8, Shahnawaz 2; Pretty 7-10, Munir Ahmed 3; Rokrra 8-8, Atif Javed 4.

Won by 1 1/2 L, 3/4 L, 2 L. Time 58 seconds. Wnner trained by M. Kamal.

LANDHI PLATE CLASS VII

DIV III 900M:

Porsche (Mohammad Ibrahim Butt) 8-10, Sajjad Hussain 1; Sana 8-10, M. Akram 2; Bagh-o-Bahar 9-0, Munir Hussain 3; Waqas Prince 9-0, M. Sharif 4.

Won by 1 1/4 L, 1/2 L, 1 1/2 L. Time 59 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Hanif.