KARACHI: Angry scenes were witnessed here at the Karachi Race Course here on Saturday when the spectators shouted and left the enclosure in disgust as they felt cheated by the results of the fifth and concluding race which was also the feature event in the Gymkhana race meeting, at the Karachi Racecourse.

Colt Fantastic Game upset the applecart by beating favourite mare Tanya by three-quarter-of-a-length to land the top division scale order I, II, III and IV race that was contested over five furlongs.

King’s Hand was placed third, beaten by a length-and-a-half while Popular Pride completed the frame losing by distance among five starters.

The result drew severe criticism from all and sundry and racegoers alleged rider Mohammad Nasir pulled his mount and not allowed to run on merit. After the race the rider was summoned by the stewards and warned.

“It’s a shameful act and the rider is bound to follow the instructions given by the horse owner,” a veteran trainer told Dawn.

Earlier, favourite Black Tiger lifted The June Cup edging Sonia Again by three-quarter-of-a-length with Lahore’s rider Aftab Chaudhry in the saddle.

At the outset, bay horse Vampire created quite a stir by getting the better of debutant Sab Key Pasand by a length-and-a-half as Saltanat who was opened favourite had to be content with third place ahead of Meri Tasveer.

Mare Afreen clinched the second race as she pleased defeating Sweet Sereena by eight lengths while outsider Lovely Baby edged Popular Song by half-a-length as favourite Cherish was place fourth behind My Beauty in another race.

Results:

THE JUNE PLATE SCALE ORDER VIII-B 4½ F:

Vampire (Farhan Essa) 8-4 (cr7-13), Mohammad Qais 1;

Sab Key Pasand 9-0, Ghulam Shabbir II 2; Saltanat 8-10, Mohammad Sajjad 3; Meri Tasveer 8-3, Mohammad Manzoor 4.

Won by 1½ L, Neck, 2 L. Time: One minute 1 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

THE JUNE PLATE SCALE ORDER VIII-A 4½ F:

Afreen (Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara) 9-2, Mohammad Nasir 1; Sweet Sereena 9-4, Mohammad Manzoor 2; Salam Kashmir 8-9, Aftab Chaudhry 3; King’s Khan 7-10, Mohammad Sajjad 4.

Won by 8 L, 6 L, Dist. Time: 0.59 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohyuddin.

THE JUNE CUP SCALE ORDER VII 5 F:

Black Tiger (Shahzad Emanuel) 8-9, Aftab Chaudhry 1; Sonia Again 9-0 (cr8-7), Abdul Hakeem 2; Fast Departure 8-5, Ganguzar 3; Sea Gold 9-0, Zaki Zakir 4.

Won by ¾ L, 2½ L, 4 L. Time: One minute 6 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mujahid Ali.

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

Lovely Baby (Sher Mohammad) 7-10, Ali Ehsan 1; Popular Song 7-13, Mohammad Sajjad 2; My Beauty 9-2 (cr8-11), Mohammad Qais 3; Cherish 8-11, Mohammad Manzoor 4.

Won by ½ L, 4 L, Neck. Time: One minute 5 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by owner.

THE JUNE PLATE SCALE ORDER I, II, III AND IV 5 F:

Fantastic Game (Nand Kumar Goklani) 8-11, Ghulam Shabbir II 1; Tanya 9-0, Mohammad Nasir 2; King’s Hand 8-5, Mohammad Manzoor 3; Popular Pride 8-5, Zaki Zakir 4.

Won by ¾ L, 1½ L, Dist. Time: One minute 5 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2017