August 18, 2008	Monday	Sha'aban 15, 1429

LAHORE, Aug 17: Long shot bay mare Sapna sprang a big surprise when she defeated the odds-on favourite filly Philogyny to bag the feature event during the rescheduled midweek day/night Lahore Gymkhana races at the Racecourse on Saturday evening.

Thursday races had been postponed and rescheduled for Saturday following heavy rains and the waterlogged condition of the racecourse. But the city received showers two hours before the start of the programme on Saturday too, leaving the track wet. However, the programme went ahead on schedule even through attendance was thin.

The mare from One Against All out-of-Pearl City, Sapna took a fine start and led all the way home to beat Philogyny by two clear lengths. Bird Fly came third, five lengths further behind with Black King fourth among the seven runners. Shortly before the start of the race the Lahore Race Club (LRC) stewards changed Sapna’s rider, replacing the riding boy Hidayat Hussain with M. Atif.

The winner clocked a fast timing of one minute 4 2/5 seconds over the 1,000 metres distance on a wet sandy course.

The race was watched by the Punters in utter disappointment in pin drop silence while the bookmakers were seen shouting happily. This was the sixth and last race on the day’s card.

A race earlier, another long shot bay mare Dogar Gift registered a start-to-finish success for owner Zaheer Aslam. She beat Suleman Love and Best owner, finishing second and third, respectively.

Riding boy Sajjad Hussain popularly known as Sajju stole the limelight, riding home two winners -- Come On in the second race and Dogar Gift in the fifth. Trainer Tauqir Ahmed sent out a brace of winners. He first saddled Pawan Princess in the third race and then sent out Dogar Gift in the fifth race.

Three-year-old bay colt Pappu Khan proved too good for his dozen opponents in the fourth race, scoring an easy victory in his own style. Interestingly, the owner had two runners in the same race and both were equally backed in the betting ring. Pappu Khan won the race while Pappu Prince ran off the frame.

Three-year-old filly Pawan Princess showed a vast improvement when he made it a two-in-a-row in the fourth race. Ridden by the riding boy Munir Ahmed, Pawan Princess strode clear of the pack to win by a big margin of five lengths. She beat long chaser Bagh-o-Bahar, who nosed out Khan Baba at the finishing post to finish third.

Two favourite horses and as many joint favourites won in a card of six-events.

Results:

SAHIWAL PLATE

CLASS VII DIV IV 1,000M:

King’s UK (Mohammad Jawwad Haider) 8-8, M. Sharif 1; Lal Pari 7-10, Naseer Ahmed 2; Cash Box 8-12, M. Atif 3; Trigger Happy 7-8, Munir Ahmed 4.

Won by 6 1/2 L, 2 3/4 L. Neck. Time one minute 8 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Nadeem Raza Khan.

SAHIWAL PLATE

CLASS VII DIV III 1,000M:

Come On (Khalid Nazir Chughtai) 7-4, Sajjad Hussain 1; Client 8-10, Fayyaz Chaudhry 2; Bobby 7-12, Naseer Ahmed 3; Shandar 9-0, Shahnawaz 4.

Won by 1 1/4 L, 5 L, 1 1/2 L. Time one minute 8 seconds. Winner trained by Qaiser.

SAHIWAL PLATE

CLASS VII DIV II 1,1000M:

Pawan Princess (Naeemuddin Warraich) 9-0, Munir Ahmed 1; Bagh-o-Bahar 9-0, Naseer Ahmed 2; Khan Baba 8-2, Bilal Ahmed 3; Delux 9-0, M. Atif 4.

Won by 5 L, Neck, 3 1/4 L. Time one minute 7 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Tauqir Ahmed.

SAHIWAL PLATE

CLASS VII DIV I 1,000M:

Pappu Khan (Atif Mahmood Butt) 8-10, Munir Hussain 1; Pretty 8-2, Munir Ahmed 2; Muskan 8-0, Naseer Ahmed 3l Porsche 8-10, Sikander Khan 4.

Won by 3 L, 2 1/2 L, 2 L. Time one minute 6 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Afzal.

CHUNIAN PLATE

CLASS VI DIV III & IV 1,000M:

Dogar Gift (Zaheer Aslam) 7-0, Sajjad Hussain 1; Suleman Love 8-12, Naseer Ahmed 2; Best Owner 8-4, M. Nawaz Bilal 3; Murad The Great 8-10, Munir Hussain 4.

Won by 4 1/2 L, 1 1/2 L, 1/2 l. Time one minute 6 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Tauqir Ahmed.

CHUNIAN PLATE

CLASS VI DIV I & II 1,000M:

Sapna (Babar Bhatti) 9-0, M. Atif 1; Philogyny 8-8, Javed Iqbal 2; Bird Fly 8-4, Mazhar Ali 3; Black King 7-10, Shakeel Mahmood 4.

Won by 2 L, 5 L, 5 L. Time one minute 4 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by the owner.