LAHORE: Long shot bay mare Right Approach made all the running to win the Easter Cup in a dramatic finish on her maiden appearance on the course after almost a year during the 34th Lahore Winter Meeting before a large holiday crowd of equine sports on Sunday.

Leading all the way home comfortably, the five-year-old bay mare, , ridden by riding boy Mohammad Wasim, benefitted from the early lead she grabbed right from the start of the 1,100-metres race and maintained it to beat the on-rushing favourite bay colt Sinner by a head at the finishing line.

Nine-year-old mare Malik’s Love defied the heavy impost of nine stone six pounds weight to finish third by another head’s margin in a thrilling finish between the three of them. Bay horse Saeen Jee completed the frame more than three lengths back among nine runners.

Trained by Amjad Ali II, Right Approach clocked one minute 6 2/5 seconds over the handicap race for class VI horses.

Owner Mohammad Aslam Khan received the cup from the Lahore Race Club (LRC) member Mahmood Khan soon after the race.

With the victory of Right Approach, Wasim capped a marvellous weekend by bringing home three winners after having earlier sealing a straight victory on bay mare Sonay Ki Chirya in the first race and followed it up with another success on bay filly Mehrbani — holding off a strong challenge by a head from favourite bay colt Chota Saeen— in the third race.

The LRC stewards, meanwhile, banned the entries of bay colt Hockey Star for six month and fined its trainer Mohammad Afzal Rs50,000 for sending the animal to race in an unfit condition. When examined by the LRC veterinary officer, the colt was found sluggish in the first race

The stewards also fined jockey Tahir Abbas the same amount for his rude behaviour with a colleague during the fifth race while riding bay filly Missing My Love who finished a dismal fourth.

It was a disastrous day for the punters as only two firm favourite horses won in a card of seven races. The favourites to oblige their backers were bay filly Dim­ple in the fourth and bay mare Abdullah Princess in the fifth race, respectively. The other races were won by horses at longer odds.

Results:

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV V — 1,000M:

Sonay Ki Chirya (Mohsin Israr) 9-0, Mohammad Wasim 1; Free My Heart 8-12, Deenar Mirwani 2; Bet of The Day 7-12, Asad Abbas 3; Nairobi 8-6, Abdul Hakim 4.

Won by ¾ L, 1½ L, ¾ L. Time one minute 5 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Abbas.

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV V — 1,000M:

Maradona (Agha Anwar Ali) 8-10, Deenar Mirwani 1; Humayun Choice 8-6, Ghulam Haider 2; JF Thunder 8-6, Allah Rakha 3; Red Boy 8-4, Abdul Hakim 4.

Won by 3½ L, 3¾ L. Neck. Time one minute 3 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Abdullah.

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV & V — 1,000M:

Mehrbani (Safdar Ali Dogar) 9-0, Mohammad Wasim 1; Chota Saeen 9-0, Aftab Chaudhry 2; Golden Apple 9-0, Tahir Abbas 3; Nice One 8-6, Anjum 4.

Won by Head, 1¼ L. 4 L. Time one minute 2 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Mumtaz.

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV III & IV — 1,000M:

Dimple (Mohammad Nadeem Abbas) 8-12, Deenar Mirwani 1; Wahab Choice 7-10, Ghulam Haider 2; Khan Jee 9-0, Anjum 3; Chan Punjabi 8-0, Pervez Bhatti 4.

Won by 1 L, 5 L, ½ L. Time one minute 2 seconds. Winner trained by Rashid Latif.

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV II & III — 1,000M:

Abdullah Prince (Mian Waleed Haroon) 9-0, Aftab Chaudhry 1; Candle 8-4, Mohammad Zulfiqar 2; Qalandra 8-6, Deenar Mirwani 3; Missing My Love 8-6, Tahir Abbas 4.

Won by 2¾ L, 1¼ L, 1½ L. Time one minute 0 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Afzal.

THE EASTER CUP CLASS VI — UNDER LRC RULES OF RACING — 1,100M:

Right Approach (Mohammad Aslam Khan) 8-6, Mohammad Wasim 1; Sinner 8-4, S. Moin 2; Malik’s Love 9-6, Tahir Abbas 3; Saeen Jee 8-8, Aftab Chaudhry 4.

Won by Head, Head, 3¼ L. Time one minute 6 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Amjad Ali II.

THE CHAN PLATE CLASS VII DIV I — 1,100M:

ME Raqsam (Mohammad Wasim Iqbal) 8-0, Mohammad Hanif 1; Costa Rica 8-4, Aftab Chaudhry 2; Miss Mohni Road 8-10, Dinar Mirwani 3; Rashk-e-Qamar 8-0, Ghulam Haider 4.

Won by 2¾ L, 4 L, 2 L. Time one minute 6 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Abbas Shah.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2019