July 23, 2008	Wednesday	Rajab 19, 1429

LAHORE, July 22: A competitive card of six events has been drawn for the midweek day/night Lahore Gymkhana races to be held at the Racecourse on Wednesday evening.

With a sizeable turnout in each race, it would be a challenge for the punters to pick winners out of the 76 acceptors, barring last-minute withdrawals. Unknown pedigrees are in big majority.

Three races will be contested over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres and as many over 900 metres.

Dominated by horses not showing consistency of performance, Wednesday’s card is rather unique. The handicapper seems to have followed the initial concept of equalising the contenders’ chances irrespective of the rules of adding or decreasing some pounds from the weighing scale. He has given a big relief to some, who have not appeared on the board or won a race as yet.

This perhaps is to satisfy the turf accountants, who have been voicing their grievances.

If all chance horses remain on the job, it will be a seesaw tussle among the contestants in most of the events. However, genuine effort from the riders and stable support would matter a lot in a close competition.

The feature event, the Badeen Plate, class six, division one to be gone over 1,000 metres has 10 runners. Four of them are on chance, namely, Love Minister, Naseeb Apna Apna, Rana Choice and Rough Tough. They should be fighting for the top honours.

In the fifth and supporting event, Little Smile, Batista and Murad The Great are the pick of the small field of seven runners, barring last-minute withdrawals. Four-year-old bay colt Batista seems better but he is running after almost remaining off the field for six weeks. If not fit, Little Smile and Murad The Great should fight it out.

Black King, Dream Memories and Free Hit look good in the fourth race. Black King and Dream Memories should fight it out.

The third race is packed with some good sprinters in a field of 16 runners, barring last-minute withdrawals. On handicap, the ones with a chance are: Khan Baba, Porche and Cash Price. Sohna Murad too is showing good form but handicap doesn’t favour the dark bay horse. The distance is more suitable for chestnut horse Khan Baba. The rider too would matter.

Pure Power, Muskan and Waqas Prince look good in the second race, which has a big field of 18 runners, barring last-minute withdrawals. The gelding Pure Power should prevail over the others provided every thing goes his way.

The opener like previous ones is a free for all for the 14 runners. Due to her name, every one would like to see the chestnut mare Pakistani heading towards the victory enclosure.

Fakhar-e-Hazara and Lal Pari should follow. The first race starts at 5.30pm.

Following is the field and our selections:

SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VI DIV IV 900M:

King’s UK 9-0, Royal Personality 9-0, Raju 9-0, Cash Box (ex-Boom Boom) 9-0, Pakistani 9-0, Banjaran 8-10, Cash Deposite 8-10, Fakhar-e-Hazara (ex-Faizan Prince) 8-0, One Pari 8-0, Kundan 7-12, Naimat Aie 7-10, Lal Pari 7-10, Miss Kareena 7-10, Come On 7-8.

Win: Pakistani.

Place: Lal Pari and Fakhar-e-Hazara.

SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VII

DIV II & III 900M:

Saad Prince 9-2, Easy Load 9-2, Changer 8-12, Big Murad 8-12, Dynamite 8-12, Lucky Seven 8-12, Azad Panchi 8-12, Sana My Love 8-12, Aya Murad 8-8, Racing Bridge 8-8, Kotli 8-4, Muskan 8-2, Dosti 8-0, Shan-e-Bahar 8-0, Best Choice 8-0, Pure Power 8-0, Morni 7-8, Waqas Prince 7-6.

Win: Pure Power.

Place: Waqas Prince and Muskan.

SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VII

DIV I & II 900M:

Sohna Murad 9-0, Jawad Prince 9-0, Ronaq Mayla 9-0, Sweet Candy 9-0, Cash Price 9-0, Ahmed The Great 9-0, Royal Partner 9-0, Prince Chandrai 9-0, Pappu Khan 9-0, Sohna Choice 8-10, Miss Tabinda 8-10, Porsche 7-10, Gypsi 7-10, Khan Baba 7-8 Delux 7-6, Bagh-o-Bahar 7-6.

Win: Khan Baba.

Place: Porsche and Cash Price.

BADEEN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III 1,000M:

Cleopatra 9-0, Black King 8-12, Dream Memories 8-12, Basant Mayla 8-8, First Passion 8-8, Miss Neelofar 8-6, Victory Diamond 8-4, Khizer Love 8-4, Naseeb-o-Lal 8-0, Free Hit 7-10, Nut Cracker 7-10.

Win: Dream Memories.

Place: Black King and Free Hit.

BADEEN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

Fakhar-e-Sialkot 9-0, Little Smile 8-10, Batista 8-10, Victory Fighter 8-10, Murad The Great 8-6, Tara Aya 7-12, Jang Ju 7-10.

Win: Little Smile.

Place: Murad The Great and Batista.

BADEEN PLATE CLASS VI DIV I 1,000M:

Cash Line 9-0, Sono Bhai 8-10, Love Minister 8-8, Little Love 8-6, Pretty Princess 8-6, Naseeb Apna Apna 8-6, Sweet Lady 8-4, Rana Choice 8-2, Rough Tough 7-12, Sona 7-10.

Win: Love Minister.

Place: Rana Choice and Naseeb Apna Apna.