May 28, 2008	Wednesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1429

LAHORE, May 27: With entries swollen by a major thrust from unknown pedigree horses, a record number of acceptors have been declared for the six-event card for the day/night midweek Lahore Gymkhana races to be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

There seems a big stampede to compete in the Gymkhana races thanks to the induction of unknown pedigree horses, who made some events over subscribed and a decision had to be taken by a lottery to cut down the number of horses as only 18 can run in a field with as many mechanically-operated starting gates available.

The fields are tightly handicapped leaving at least five or more chance horses in each race making winner picking a difficult task for the race-goers.

The feature event, the Chunian Plate, class VI division II, has a dozen runners. Of them on chance are: Victory King, Stride To Moment, Al Ain and Dam Dama Dam.

But it will depend on who is on the try out and who rides who. This is because the stake-money is considered less by owners, and majority of them want a bonus to claim by upsetting the favourite horse. This will be the second race on the day’s card.

The third and the supporting event, Chunian Plate class VI division III is to be contested by 10 horses. Of them three are form horses, equally on chance, namely Sona, Black King and Shahbaz Love. They should fight it out, with better support from the saddle having an edge.

Three horses are very prominent by the current form and running in races, in the opener, the Chunian Plate class VI division IV event. They are: Mah-e-Noor, Pumey De Jan and yard Arm. Considering their form and performances over their runs during the past fortnight, Yard Arm has an advantage over the distance.

The fourth race, a class VII division I handicap race, has a big field of 18-acceptors barring last-minute withdrawals. Of them at least six look on chance. The best are: Best Owner, Mera Lal and Bagh-o-Bahar. They should fight it out.

Khan Bab though not showing top performance seems still the best among the 18 strong field for the fifth race, a class VII division II handicap race. Cash Price, Shandar and Silent Assassin may fight for places.

The sixth and last race consists of 18 runners. Sohna Murad, Waqas Prince and Ranjha are the pick on form and performance. They are expected to fight for the spoils in this race, a class VII division III handicap race over 900 metres.

Meanwhile, the Lahore Race Club (LRC) steward, Khawaja M. Arif is back home from London after undergoing heart surgery. Talking to Dawn, Khawaja said he was feeling fit after surgery and was now attending to his daily cores.

A card of six-events, three to be contested over 1,000 metres and three over 900 metres, will be down for the decision. The first race will be held at 5:00pm.

Following is the field and our selections:

CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV IV 1,000M:

Great Rhythm 9-0, Mah-e-Noor 8-8, Bird Fly 8-2, Yard Arm 8-2, Boogy Woogy 8-0, Red Baron 8-0, Pumey De Jan 7-12, Lado Rani 7-8, Grey Dancer 7-8.

Win: Yard Arm.

Place: Pumey De Jan and Mah-e-Noor.

CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

Victory King 9-0, Stride To Moment 8-8, Dam Her Dam 8-6, Love And Bubble 8-6,

Never Fail 8-6, Al Ain 8-6, Aaja Bulbul 8-4, Naseeb Apna Apna 8-4, Great Khan 8-4, Dam Dama Dam 8-2, Regulation 7-12, Faryal 7-12.

Win: Stride To Moment.

Place: Dam Dama Dam and Al Ain.

CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

High Quality 9-0, Rana Choice 9-0, Noor Pari 8-10, Mera Nawab 8-6, Golden Road 8-6, Sona 8-2, Black King 8-0, Shahbaz Love 8-0, Gew News (ex-Golden Pari) 8-0, Romaneilla 7-10.

Win: Sona.

Place: Shahbaz Love and Black King.

GUJRAT PLATE CLASS VII DIV I 900M:

Kainat 9-0, Shan-e-Bahar 9-0, Ahmed Choice 9-0, Azad Panchi 9-0, Pretty Karina 9-0, Royal Personality 9-0, Non Stop 9-0, Al Dar 9-0 Roshni 9-0, Best Owner 8-11, Best Choice 8-10, Nahin Ruke Ga 8-10, Raju 8-10, Client 8-10, Miss Mano 8-8, Mere Lal 8-6, Bubbly 8-6, Bagh-o-Bahar 7-12.

Win: Best Owner.

Place: Bagh-o-Bahar and Mere Lal.

GUJRAT PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 900M:

Shandar 9-0, Leader’s Wing 9-0, King’s UK 9-0, Boom Boom 9-0, Pakistani 9-0, My Hope 9-0, Khan Baba 9-0, Gojra Choice 8-10, Senorita 8-10, One Pari 8-10, Golden Tree 8-10, Roshan Chiragh 8-6, Malangni Aie 8-6, Hurry Up 8-6, Scented Dust 8-6, Cash Price (ex-Rokrra) 8-5, Kiss Of Love 8-5, Silent Assassin 8-4.

Win: Khan Baba.

Place: Cash Price and Silent Assassin.

GUJRAT PLATE CLASS VII

DIV III 900M:

Muskan 9-0, Manmoji 9-0, Morni 9-0, Cash Deposit 9-0, Pure Power 9-0, Basant Mayla 9-0, Ranjha 8-10, Rajwali 8-10, Waqas Prince 8-2, Sohna Murad 8-0, Sana Choice 8-0, Naseer Love 8-0, Gypsy 7-8, Sohni Bulbul 7-8, Billoo Love 7-8, Alpha Juliet 7-4, Taqdeer-e-Bhakkar 7-4, Kashif Da Gulshan 7-4.

Win: Sohna Murad.

Place: Billoo Love and Ranjha.