LAHORE: A five-race card featuring the Eid Cup as its main attraction awaits race-goers when the day/night Lahore Summer Meeting resumes after a ten-day break here at the Racecourse on Sunday.

The races will be held in ideal underfoot conditions at the velvet green soft turf following a rainy spell in Lahore this week.

The Eid Cup, a Class VII Division I handicap race to be contested over 1,000 metres, has eight runners. The beauty of this race is that at least half-a-dozen runners are on chance, so the rider’s skill and the fitness of his mount will be the crucial factors.

The race, which will be fourth of the day, should end in a close finish.

The main supporting event, the Sawan Plate Class VII Division I and II combined handicap race to be gone over 100 metres has seven runners. On classification, colt Lucky Sohna looks a cut above the class in spite of his placing on the top of handicap figures at 9 stones 2 pounds on his back. But the question remains whether it has the approval of stable runners.

Filly Queen’s Gambit and Gul-e-Mesam could be his close rivals.

The second supporting event, the Sawan Plate Class VII Division III and IV to be gone over 1,000 metres, has six runners. In this race, the owner of three-year-old gelding Sehar has filed an appeal against its handicapping on top weight with nine stones. The gelding looks to be slightly punished in the handicap figures after his placing second in the previous outing.

In a tight handicap race even a couple of pounds disadvantage can alter a horse’s performance. The administrators will decide the matter before the race. Anyway, this should be a good contest.

Hard Target in the opener looks better placed in the handicap to get advantage over his rivals.

The first race starts at 6:00pm.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2022