KARACHI: Displaying a combination of endurance and speed, fancied Derby-winning bay colt Sahil coasted to exciting 10 lengths victory over bay horse Royal Ransom to lift the Quaid-e-Azam Trial Cup in the Gymkhana race meeting here at the Karachi Racecourse on Saturday.

Sahil, who finished off the frame in his maiden run at the course on Nov 20, was at his best and won hands-down to add another feather to his cap. He clocked one minute, 42 2/5 seconds for the one-mile race.

By virtue of registering this magnificent victory, Sahil has become a leading contender for the Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup which is three weeks away from now.

Bay colt Shorawak, this year’s Derby runner-up, had to be content with third place falling nine lengths behind while Mind of Promise completed the frame another nine lengths away among six starters.

Sahil, who belongs to the stables of Khawaja M. Atif, was sent by trainer Zia-ur-Rehman and efficiently piloted home by ace rider Aftab Chaudhry.

The Colts and Fillies Trial Cup ended in a blaze of glory for favourite dark bay colt Warrior’s Call who registered a facile five lengths win over Fantastico in the seventh race to make it two on trot.

Filly Queens Pride made an impressive debut by winning the Fantastic Face Stakes when she lowered the colours of favourite Thunder Crown by three lengths.

The sixth race saw a mishap as riding boy M. Ramzan received head injuries after falling from his mount Thunder King at two furlongs and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Thunder King who fractured his legs, succumbed to injuries and died instantly.

It is pertinent to mention that Thunder King, who had won seven races in-a-row starting Sept 6 and culminating in the Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup meeting last year, was incumbent Horse of the Year.

Earlier in Dec 2019, rider Mohammad Nasir had lost his life when he too fell from Thunder King.

Results:

THE TRIAL PLATE SCALE ORDER VIII 4 F:

Sassy Gold (Mr. Nazeer Ahmed) 8-4(cr8-1) Adnan Khan 1, Race 7-11 Shahzad Gul 2, Meri Chahat 8-12 Zaki Zakir 3, Storm Fire 7-13 Riaz Ahmed 4.

Won by 1½ L, Head, Neck. Time: 0.54 seconds.

Winner trained by Ijaz Ahmed.

THE TRIAL PLATE SCALE ORDER VII 4 F:

Gladiator One (Mr. Rana Javed Sarwar) 8-8 Kamran II 1, Soldier Girl 8-12 Waheed Baran 2, Burraq 9-0 Safdar Hussain 3, Princess of Hope 9-0(cr8-7) M. Asim 4.

Won by 2 L, 2 L, ½ L. Time: 0.53 2/5 seconds.

Winner trained by M. Owais Abro.

THE TRIAL PLATE SCALE ORDER V & VI 4½ F:

Thunder Smile (Mr. Ather Abbas) 8-6 Tahir Abbas 1, Debonair 8-7(cr8-0) M. Asim 2, Faster Than You 8-1(cr8-3) Nazil Hussain 3, New Class 9-3 Waheed Baran 4.

Won by 3 L, 3½ L, Neck. Time: 0.58 1/5 seconds.

Winner trained by M. Rashid.

THE TRIAL PLATE SCALE ORDER III & IV 5 F:

Shahbaz (Syed Ismail Shah) 8-4 M. Manzoor 1, Geo Jalal 8-13(cr8-6) M. Asim 2, Sugar Rush 8-6 Riaz Ahmed 3, Wild Fire 9-0 M. Sajjad 4.

Won by 10 L, 6 L, ½ L. Time: One minute 2 1/5 seconds.

Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

THE FANTASTIC FACE STAKES — A TERM RACE FOR TWO-YEAR OLD THOROUGHBRED & HALFBRED COLTS & FILLIES — 5 F:

Queens Pride (M/s Syed Ismail Shah & Mr. Hammad Farooq Fikri) 8-4 Aftab Chaudhry 1, Thunder Crown 8-7 Tahir Abbas 2, Flame of Love 8-4(cr8-6) Sohail Ahmed 3, Blaze 8-4 M. Manzoor 4.

Won by 3 L, 3½ L, Dist. Time: One minute 2 3/5 seconds.

Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

THE TRIAL PLATE SCALE ORDER I, II & III ROUND BEND 5½ F:

Princess Maria (Haji Abdul Majeed) 7-7 Asad Aksir 1, Big Faith 9-2 Waheed Baran 2, Regardless 7-2 Zaki Zakir 3, Spirit 9-6 Safdar Hussain 4.

Won by 7½ L, 3½ L, 5 L. Time: One minute 9 2/5 seconds.

Winner trained by owner.

THE COLTS & FILLIES TRIAL CUP — A TERM RACE FOR THREE-YEAR OLD THOROUGHBRED & HALFBRED COLTS & FILLIES — 7 F:

Warrior’s Call (M/s Syed Ismail Shah & Mr. Hammad Farooq Fikri) 9-0 M. Manzoor 1, Fantastico 9-0 Sohail Ahmed 2, Queen of Spades 8-11 Bilal Ahmed 3, Flatterer 9-0 Adnan Khan 4.

Won by 5 L, 10 L, 5 L. Time: One minute 30 2/5 seconds.

Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

THE QUAID-E-AZAM TRIAL CUP — A HANDICAP RACE FOR THREE & FOUR-YEAR OLD AND ABOVE THOROUGHBRED & HALFBRED HORSES —1 M:

Sahil (Mr. Khawaja M. Atif) 9-8 Aftab Chaudhry 1, Royal Ransom 9-4 A. Raza 2, Shorawak 7-10 Adnan Khan 3, Mind of Promise 8-6 Safdar Hussain 4.

Won by 10 L, 9 L, 9 L. Time: One minute 42 2/5 seconds.

Winner trained by Zia-ur-Rehman.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2021

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