October 12, 2008	Sunday	Shawwal 12, 1429

LAHORE, Oct 11: Three-year-old bay filly Twinky looks poised to win the first running of the Super Cup, the highlight of the sixth Lahore Winter Meeting at the Racecourse on Sunday.

The event to be contested by eight runners belonging to class five is a handicap race in which the likes of three speedsters — Twinky, four-year-old bay filly Eve and the colt Shock Wave — are to measure their strides for the first time for supremacy.

The showdown between the stars of three stables is likely to provide race-fans with a chance to witness a classic battle. On present form and running, Twinky, the emerging star, owned jointly by Mian Maahir Ahmed and Mahmood Khan, has an edge over the others. Her unbeaten two-race streak is already being talked about by racing fans in Lahore and they expect her to roar home with a hat-trick. Twinky’s opponents too has won two races but at random, showing inconsistency in their performances.

Twinky will be ridden by Shahid Rehman, her regular partner in the saddle, who became the target of fury from the fans amidst allegations of not being on the job to win when riding Zaafran last Sunday.

The three-year-old bay colt Zaafran had opened as the hot favourite but his odds eased upward at which there was a great uproar and some punters were on the rampage. The situation was controlled when the Lahore Race Club (LRC) chairman ordered Shahid to ride the colt on merit. Zaafran finished third but the ugly incident dented Shahid’s reputation of being an infallible jockey.

Racing involves betting and sometimes the infallible too fall prey to the glitter of money.

The Super Cup is being billed as the showpiece and shop window of two leading sires, one of them being the celebrated Bedouin Invader.

The supporting event, the Bhalwal Plate, class IV handicap race to go over 1,100 metres has nine runners. Though placed at the top weight of nine stones eight pounds, Mirza Khurshid Baig and Zaheer Aslam’s stalwart colt Desert Prince attracts attraction. He was beaten by the horse Chan in a clash of sprinting stars on Sept 21. Perhaps he did not like running on a dust track.

He is up against the same company on the grass track this time with the addition of the colt Punjabi, who is difficult to handle for his tendency to go wide on the outer track.

That gives a good chance to Desert Prince to make amends for his last time’s defeat and win the race, which happens to be the sixth and last one on the card.

The remaining events comprise mostly those runners who after winning a race or two reverse their march to the point of handicap from where they had started, thanks to the handicapper, who drops some early and some late, depending upon who their owner is.

A card of six events has been chalked out for Sunday’s races. The first three events will be contested over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres while the other three will go over 1,100 metres. The first race will be held at 2.00pm.

Following is the field and our selections:

PATTOKI PLATE CLASS VI

DIV I 1,100M:

Raksh-e-Raqeeban 9-4, Miss Brave Heart 9-0, Gulf Line 8-10, Dam Dama Dam 8-6, Hip Hip Hurray 8-6, Blitz 8-2, Royal Command 8-2, Blue Fire 8-2, So Romantic 8-0 and Geo Bhakkar 7-10.

Win: Raksh-e-Raqeeban.

Place: Blue Fire and Blitz.

PATTOKI PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III & IV 1,000M:

Kamla 9-0, Black King 8-10, Naseeb Apna Apna 8-3, Pawan Princess 8-3, Cheeku Khan 8-2, Hermatic 8-2 and Golden Falcon 7-12.

Win: Pawan Princess.

Place: Naseeb Apna Apna and Hermatic.

PATTOKI PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,000M:

Little Smile 9-4, Jurrat 9-0, Tripple Star 9-0, Jang Ju 9-0, Extravagant 8-10, Amazing Mission 8-10, Chocolate Sunday 8-6, Victory Rose 8-6, Basanti 8-6, Super Sonic 8-3, Sohna Billoo 7-12, Khuddar 7-12 and Creek Cat 7-6.

Win: Jang Ju.

Place: Little Smile and Creek Cat.

SHALIMAR PLATE CLASS V

DIV II 1,100M:

Tinker Bell 9-0, Big Power 9-0, Zoaq 8-10, Umar Prince 8-8, Harry Can Run 8-8, Brave Heart 8-7, Big Bird 8-7, Dubai Fan 8-4, Iconic 8-4, Royal Gesture 8-3, Moj Mayla 8-2, Dream Memories 7-12 and Philogyny 7-10.

Win: Dubai Fan.

Place: Harry Can Run and Royal Gesture.

SUPER CUP CLASS V DIV I (CLASS IV DIV III INCLUDED) 1,100M:

Reborn 9-4, Victory Hero 9-0, Harry Can View 8-11, Twinky 8-10, Eve 8-8, Miss Play 8-7, Shock Wave 8-6 and The News 7-4.

Win: Twinky.

Place: Eve and Shock Wave.

BHALWAL PLATE CLASS IV

DIV I, II & III 1,100M:

Desert Prince 9-8, Charismatic 8-11, Tipu Sultan 8-8, Lucky Cat 8-4, Pak Edition 8-4, Noor 8-0, Chill 7-11, Miss Liza 7-6 and Punjabi 7-4.

Win: Desert Prince.

Place: Charismatic and Punjabi.