KARACHI: With Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara Memorial Cup already under his belt, favourite three-year-old bay colt Risk Free justified his top billing by lifting The Quaid-i-Azam Trial Cup in the Gymkhana race meeting at the Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

Risk Free enthralled the spectators with his endurance skills by leading the pack of four horses in the 10 furlongs race to post an authoritative eight lengths victory over challenger Hotman.

The triumph also enabled the eventual champion to complete a hat-trick winning three races on trot. The winning horse clocked two minutes 6 4/5 seconds for the distance.

Owned by Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara and saddled by trainer Mohyuddin, Risk Free was given a perfect ride by seasoned jockey-cum-trainer Ghulam Shabbir II.

Colt As You Wish, ridden by Lahore’s jockey-cum-trainer Shahid Rehman, was placed third seven len­gths behind while bay horse Jahalwan Blue completed the frame finishing three-and-a-half lengths further away.

Another fancied three-year-old bay colt Icon owned by Mohammad Sumair also lived up to his credentials by galloping to an splendid 10 furlongs victory over co-favourite filly Loyal Lady to land The Colts And Fillies Trials Cup run over seven furlongs. The horse was ridden home by rider Sohail Ahmed.

Earlier, Icon’s stable-mate colt Kick claimed The Fantastic Face Stakes by getting the better of Stylish by a length-and-a-quarter with Sohail astride.

Either favourite or co-favourite horses returned victorious in an eight-race card.

At the outset, Soldier King picked up spoils in the opener so did Bang Bang in the second race.

The King’s Best and Happy Lady obliged punters in the third and fourth races while Arkadian followed suit in the eighth and concluding race.

Rider Sohail won accolades storming a treble including two cup races followed by Shabbir who piloted home a brace of winners.

Owners Pir Pagara and Mohammad Sumair won double apiece while Shahid Mannan and Mohyuddin shone as trainers partnering two winning horses each.

Results:

THE TRIAL DAY PLATE SCALE ORDER VII AND VIII 4 ½ F:

Soldier King (M. Shakeel) 8-9, Waheed Baran 1; Star Gold 8-13, Sohail Ahmed 2; Sonia Again 8-13, Riaz Ahmed 3; Hot Boy 7-8 (cr8-2), Mohammad Essa 4.

Won by 3½ L, 13 L, 3¼ L. Time: One minute 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mujahid Ali.

THE TRIAL DAY PLATE SCALE ORDER IV, V AND VI 5 F:

Bang Bang (Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara) 8-2, Sohail Ahmed 1; Meri Sahiba 8-9, Wasim 2; Shahzad Love 8-13, Riaz Ahmed 3; Khazana 8-1 (cr7-8), Faizan Ali 4.

Won by 8 L, ½ L, 8 L. Time: One minute 5 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohyuddin.

THE TRIAL DAY PLATE SCALE ORDER III AND IV 5 F:

The King’s Best (Syed Ismail Shah) 8-9, Ghulam Shabbir II 1; Karobar 8-8, Zaki Zakir 2; Hello Cuttie 8-12, Pervez Ali 3; Tejori 8-6, Zubair Ahmed 4.

Won by 7 L, 9 L, 9½ L. Time: One minute 5 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Rafiq K.

THE TRIAL DAY PLATE SCALE ORDER II 5 F:

Happy Lady (Haji Khuda Bux Rajar) 8-2, Mohammad Essa 1; Pathan 9-0, Riaz Ahmed 2; The Destroyer 8-2, Zaki Zakir 3; Amazing One 8-6, Allah Rakha 4.

Won by 6 L, 4½ L, 2½ L. Time: One minute 4 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ali Gul.

THE FANTASTIC FACE STAKES — A TERM RACE FOR TWO-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND FILLIES – 5 ½ F:

Kick (Mohammad Sumair) 8-7, Sohail Ahmed 1; Stylish 8-4, Faizan Ali 2; Lacoste 8-4, Waheed Baran 3; Honey Queen 8-4, Mohammad Essa 4.

Won by 1¼ L, 4 L, ½ L. Time: One minute 12 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Shahid Mannan.

THE QUAID-I-AZAM TRIAL CUP — A HANDICAP RACE FOR THREE-YEAR-OLD AND ABOVE PAKISTANI HORSES — 10 F:

Risk Free (Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara) 7-5 (cr8-3), Ghulam Shabbir II 1; Hotman 8-2, Sohail Ahmed 2; As You Wish 8-9 (cr8-11), Shahid Rehman 3; Jahalwan Blue 9-5, Mohammad Essa 4.

Won by 8 L, 7 L, 3½ L. Time: Two minutes 6 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohyuddin.

THE COLTS AND FILLIES TRIAL CUP – A HANDICAP RACE FOR THREE-YEAR-OLD PAKISTANI COLTS AND FILLIES — 7 F:

Icon (Mohammad Sumair) 8-7, Sohail Ahmed 1; Loyal Lady 8-11, Pervez Ali 2; Sensational 8-11, Waheed Baran 3; Urban Lady 8-2, Riaz Ahmed 4.

Won by 10 L, 10½ L, Dist. Time: One minute 32 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Shahid Mannan.

THE TRIAL DAY PLATE SCALE ORDER I ROUND BEND 5½ F:

Arkadian (Tariq Aziz) 8-5, Wasim 1; Gold Horse 10-0, Zubair Ahmed 2; Jahalwan Love 8-9, Waheed Baran 3; National Queen 7-12, Pervez Ali 4.

Won by 2½ L, 3 L, 3 L. Time: One minute 12 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sher Mohammad.

Published in Dawn December 8th , 2014

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