May 18, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 12, 1429

LAHORE, May 17: The kind of fitness and form the colt Grue has at the moment, there is no reason why he should not win the feature event during the day/night Lahore Summer Meeting at the floodlit Racecourse on Sunday.

The four-year-old Grue, giving a memorable performance, won the class four, over 1,100 metres, race last Sunday with a relatively fast time of one minute and eight seconds and there is a big chance of him making it a two-in-a-row.

Grue has the ability to beat the sort of field he will be meeting this Sunday, though under a variation of weight-scales. He had been suffering previously from a sore shin but his performance in last Sunday’s race proved that he has fully recovered from it.

Among his opponents, starting from the top, is bay horse Charismatic, who finished fourth, eight lengths behind him, and has a 14 pounds advantage over him in handicap. He has not reached peak form yet and may or may not be tuned up to reproduce his best run within these seven days.

Another is the filly Miss Liza, who is running nearly after one month, a form, which is more suspect and needs more verification of her fighting fitness. Grue and Charismatic have won three races each during this season.

Four-year-old colt Apex, has to his credit four wins and is accordingly assigned 12 pounds more while being put on top of the weight scales. However, his owner believes the colt to be “harshly penalised” after his fourth win and has also appealed against it. A decision on his appeal is expected at a meeting of the Lahore race club (LRC) stewards on Sunday morning. LRC chairman Tariq Aziz is expected to attend.

To sum up, if ridden by a good and honest jockey, Grue should have an edge over his rivals to win the top honours.

An enticing card of six events has been drawn for the day/night meeting with events loaded with horses in a balanced way.

Like in the feature race, there are three strong contenders for the supporting and fifth event to go over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres, a class five division two handicap race. There are a dozen runners out of which only three seem genuine contenders. Majestic Desert, Magic Stride and Munsaf are on chance.

It is going to be a tough fight with Grue cruising to victory in all fairness.

Four-year-old filly Eve, who had to be content with the third position, behind Magic Stride and Majestic Desert, thanks to her aging jockey Salahuddin the last time, is competing again. Salahuddin, the oldest jockey riding in Lahore races, has of late provoked remarks from people like the former international hockey-player now turned a horse-owner Khizar Bajwa that it is about time he quit the saddle because age seems to have worn him out. Salahuddin has ridden five winners during the full season and was placed second and third eight and two times, respectively.

The filly is facing Aunab, Chinkara and Mythical Flight, who are all speedy and may provide plenty of excuses to Eve’s rider to lose again in the fourth race.

Dream Act, Ahsan The Great and Rough Tough look good in the third race and would be fighting for the spoils in the same order.

Victory King, Rang De Basanti and Pind De Kuri are the prominent runners in the second race. The way the filly Pind De Kuri has been dropped in the handicap in five outings from class five, division II to class six, division two is every owners’ envy. It would be a great pity if she does not win in spite of all these special favours and above all being the property of the LRC. The first race will be held at 5.00pm.

The following is the field and our selections:

MALIR PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II & III 800M:

First Passion 9-0, Darnaz 8-8, Major Rana 8-8, Golden Road 8-6, Free Hit 8-6, Dream Memories 8-5, Regent 8-3, Hikmat 7-10, Boogy Woogy 7-6 and Shahbaz Love 7-6.

Win: Dream Memories.

Place: First Passion and Shahbaz Love.

MALIR PLATE CLASS VI DIV II 800M:

Victory King 9-0, Dam Dama Dam 9-0, Love and Bubble 9-0, Rang De Basanti 8-10, Secret Night 8-10, Pind De Kuri 8-8 and Stride To Moment 8-8.

Win: Victory King.

Place: Rang De Basanti and Pind De Kuri.

MALIR PLATE CLASS VI DIV I-B 800M:

Secret Memories 9-0, Rough Tough 9-0, Naseeb Apna Apna 8-10, Dream Act 8-10, Justified 8-10, Ahsan The Great 8-10, Amazing Mission 8-10, Magic Queen 8-6 and Brave Heart 8-6.

Win: Dream Act.

Place: Rrough Tough and Ahsan The Great.

MALIR PLATE CLASS VI DIV I-A 800M:

Eve 9-0, Chinkara 9-0, Chocolate Sunday 9-0, Amazonia 9-0, Soviet Song 9-0, Love Minister 8-10, Mythical Flight 8-10, Rustam (ex Daylami) 8-10 and Aunab 8-10.

Win: Aunab.

Place: Chinkara and Eve.

KARACHI PLATE CLASS V

DIV II 1,000M:

Gulf Time 9-2, Richy Dancer 9-0, Magic Stride 9-0, Big Bird 8-12, Munsaf 8-12, Majestice Desert 8-12, Alishba 8-10, Striker 8-8, Dillagi 8-6, Scooby Do 8-4, High Jet 8-2 and Volcano 7-10.

Win: Majestic Desert.

Place: Munsaf and Magic Stride.

GUJRANWALA PLATE CLASS IV

DIV I, II & III 1,000M:

Apex 9-8 (Under Appeal), Grue 8-10, Charismatic 8-4, Karam Pe Karam 8-0, Chill 7-12, Miss Liza 7-12, War Admiral 7-8 and big Power 7-8.

Win: Grue.

Place: charismatic and Miss Liza.