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LAHORE, Feb 24: Rank outsider, chestnut mare Dillagi overtook his contenders in the final stages of the race to win the Ghazali Cup, featuring a card of six events, during the Lahore Winter Meeting at the Racecourse on Sunday.
Dillagi became the first mare of unknown pedigree to win a cup race in class five, run over the sprinting distance of 1,200 metres.
She also provided trainer Mohammad Hanif Shera and the riding boy M. Waseem Khan with the season’s biggest success by beating the fancied Houstan by a length’s margin with another long shot Empire Maker coming third among the 17 runners.
The winner survived an objection lodged by jockey Aamir Pervez, the rider of Houstan for pressing and crossing which was overruled by the Lahore Race Cub (LRC) stewards who also imposed a Rs5,000 fine on Aamir for a whip shot on Dillagi before the finishing line.
Meanwhile the odds-on favourite horse Quwat showed his striding strength when he landed the supporting and fifth event gone over 1,200 metres. Ridden smartly by jockey M. Hanif, Quwat almost ran ahead of the field and managed a big lead for himself in the process. The bay filly Poly Cat came from far behind to finish second.
But the most impressive winner in Sunday’s card was the dark bay colt Hallow Handsome, who responded quickly to the demands of jockey Salahuddin to defeat the much talked about prodigy, the bay filly Deja Vu by four lengths. Heaven’s Heart and Scooby Do completed the frame in the fast-paced race.
A long shot chestnut horse Babbu The Great, owned by Khadim Masih, really proved his worth as a great sprinter by winning the sixth and last race of the day. He beat bay filly Creek Cat, who failed to match the winner’s strides, falling short by half a length’s margin. The bay filly My Delilah managed a close third.
The thrice beaten chestnut horse Munsaf at last occupied the winner’s box in the first race defeating favourite Alishba by over two lengths. Owned by M.V. Malik and trained by Haji Fazal Hadi, Munsaf was piloted to an easy win by jockey Faisal Tahir. Although it was being alleged before the start of the race that the colt was erratic, he showed no such signs. Well ahead of the rest, he was already the winner at the halfway mark.
Three favourites won in a card of six events. They were: Hallow Handsome (30 to 100), Sonu Love Zubi (30 to 100) and Quwat (30 to 100).
Results:
GHAZAL PLATE CLASS V DIV III 1,200M:
Munsaf (M.V. Malik) 9-0, Faisal Tahir 1. Alishba 9-0, M. Hanif 2; Sabbat Qadam 9-0, A. Imran 3; Tallal The Great 8-0, M. Zeeshan 4.
Won by 2 1/4 L, 7 1/2 L, 2 L. Time one minute 16 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Haji Fazal Hadi.
GHAZALI PLATE CLASS V DIV II 1,200M:
Hallow Handsome (Mian Hamid Mahmood) 9-0, Salahuddin 1; Deja Vau 7-12, M. Hanif 2; Heaven’s Heart 8-10, A. Alam 3; Scooby Do 8-10, Ali Raza 4.
Won by 4 L, 3/4 L, 8 L. Time one minute 16 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Chaudhry Khurram Hussain.
SAMANABAD PLATE CLASS IV
DIV III 1,200M:
Sonu Love Zubi (Zubaida Rehmat) 9-0, Shahid Rehman 1; Karam Pe Karam 9-0, A. Imran 2; Lucky Cat 8-12, Faheem K. 3; Lovely Dunit 8-6, Pervez Bhatti 4.
Won by 5 L, 7 L, Distance. Time one minute 15 seconds. Winner trained by Abdul Rasheed.
GHAZALI CUP CLASS V DIV I 1,200M:
Dillagi (M. Rafiq) 9-0, M. Wasim Khan 1; Houstan 9-0, Aamir Pervez 2; Empire Maker 8-7, M. Hanif 3; Trump Coup 8-0, Faisal Tahir 4.
Won by Head, 1 1/2 L, 1/2 L. Time one minute 16 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Hanif Shera.
SAMANABAD PLATE CLASS IV
(CLASS III INCLUDED) 1,200M:
Quwat (Chaudhry Tahir Mahmood) 8-2, M. Hanif 1; Poly Cat 8-6, M. Zeeshan 2; Harry Can View 7-10, Sajjad Hussain 3; Chill 7-8, A. Alam 4.
Won by 1 L, 6 3/4 L, 3/4 L. Time one minute 15 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Abbas.
CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI DIV I 1,100M:
Babbu The Great (Khadim Masih) 7-10, Pervez Bhatti 1; Creek Cat 7-6, M. Jahangir 2; My Delilah 9-0, Tariq Habib 3; Well Done 9-0, A. Alam 4.
Won by 1/2 L, Neck, 7 1/2 L. Time one minute 13 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Farid.
