KARACHI, Dec 25: Fancied five-year-old bay mare Quality Road proved that her Trial Cup triumph earlier this month was not flash in the pan when she galloped to a commendable 14 lengths victory to land the high profile Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup in the Gymkhana race meeting at the Karachi Racecourse on Tuesday.

The 80 to 100 favourite Quality Road, ridden by rider A. Raza, convincingly beat bay horse Pathan to present owner Syed Ismail Shah with the prestigious cup. The victorious mare was saddled by Sardar Abdul Haq.

Bay horse Jahalwan Blue was placed third, 12 lengths behind while bay mare Starry Night completed the frame finishing a further three-quarter-of-a-length away among six contestants.

By clocking two minutes 36 3/5 seconds for the race run over a gruelling distance of 12 furlongs Quality Road also erased the timings clocked by different horses during the last three years.

“I was confident that Quality Road will live up to her credentials and she did it in style,” a jubilant owner and KRC steward Syed Ismail Shah told Dawn. “It is my day!” It is pertinent to mention that The First Lady owned by Ismail Shah’s father Sadruddin Shah had won the Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup in 2004. He also paid rich compliments to Lahore’s rider A. Raza for tactfully guiding the horse to victory.

It was a memorable day for 19-year-old Raza who won his second Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup in three years, his previous success coming in 2010 with Zarkava.

The rider attributed his success to his father Zahid Ali, a former jockey- turned-trainer, whose guidance paved the way for his success.

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Khan Ghauri, who graced the occasion in place of Sindh governor, awarded the glittering cup to Syed Ismail Shah amidst applause from packed to capacity house.

The owner got richer by winning purse of Rs0.6 million besides the trophy.

The minister also announced a donation of rupees one million for the KRC on behalf of Sindh Governor, Dr. Isrrat-ul-Ebad Khan, who could not make it owing to other commitments.

Victory for Raza, meanwhile, capped off a spectacular double after he had earlier piloted home second favourite and Quality Road’s stable mate filly Dancing Rain to a fluent four-and-a-half lengths victory to claim The Christmas Cup.

Celebrated jockey Shahid Rehman, who also hails from Lahore, also shone in the saddle with a treble. He partnered National Queen, Sweety and Pretty Lady to victory.

Gul Mohammad Rajar’s colt Dallas won the AKD Nursery Cup by getting the better of colt Hotman by a length while The Invincible won the 2000 Guineas of Pakistan.

Results: THE CHRISTMAS PLATE CLASS VII DIV II AND III 5 F: National Queen (Zain Rahim) 9-3 Shahid Rehman 1, Stall Wart Fighter 8-10 A. Raza 2, Hot Black 8-4 Waheed 3, Lolly For Dolly 8-9(cr8-4) A. Qayyum 4. Won by 2 L, ¾ L, 2 L. Time: One minute 4 seconds. Winner trained by M. Rafiq K. THE CHRISTMAS PLATE CLASS VII DIV V 5 F: Amazing Power (M. Munawar Qureshi) 8-5 M. Manzoor 1, Easy Match 8-11 Zaki Zakir 2, La Di Da 8-0(cr8-2) Mohammad Essa 3, Ghijju Baba 8-0 Waheed 4. Won by 1 ½ L, 2 L, 2 ½ L. Time: One minute 5 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Sharif. THE AKD NURSERY CUP — A TERM RACE FOR TWO-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND FILLIES — 6 F: Dallas (Mr. Gul Mohammad Rajar)8-4 Waheed 1, Hotman 8-11 M. Nasir 2, The Incredible 8-11 Ghulam Shabbir II, 3, Amazing One 8-8 Shahid Rehman 4. Won by 1 L, ¾ L, 1 ½ L. Time: One minute 16 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sufi M. Ayub. THE CHRISTMAS CUP CLASS IV AND V DIV I AND II 6 F: Dancing Rain (Syed Ismail Shah and Faisal Farooq) 8-0 A. Raza 1, Janab Sahab 9-0 Mohammad Naeem 2, Mujahid 8-10 Ghulam Shabbir II, 3, Fly To The Moon 8-1 Abdul Hakeem 4. Won by 4 ½ L, 6 ½ L, 5 L. Time: One minute 15 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sardar Abdul Haq. THE 2000 GUINEAS OF PAKISTAN — A TERM RACE FOR THREE-YEAR-OLD COLTS AND FILLIES — I M: The Invincible (Syed Ismail Shah) 8-7 Ghulam Shabbir II, 1, Qous-e-Kaza 8-4(cr8-5) Shahid Rehman 2, Macho Man 8-7 Muzaffar H 3, Easy To Walk 8-7 Mohammad Essa 4. Won by S. Head, ½ L, 8 ½ L. Time: One minute 44 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sardar Abdul Haq. THE CHRISTMAS PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV 5 F: Sher Dil (Syed Ali Gohar Shah) 8-8 Mohammad Essa 1, Wati Wati 9-0 Waheed 2, Love For Sale 9-0(cr8-11) Shahzad Gul 3, Karigar 8-4 Hakim Ali 4. Won by 4 L, 6 L, 2 ½ L. Time: One minute 4 seconds. Winner trained by Manzoor Baran. THE QUAID-I-AZAM GOLD CUP — A HANDICAP RACE FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLD AND UPWARD HORSES — 12 F: Quality Road (Syed Ismail Shah) 7-12 A. Raza 1, Pathan 7-12(cr8-3) Muzaffar H 2, Jahalwan Blue 8-13 Abdul Mutlib 3, Starry Night 8-0 M. Zulfiqar 4. Won by 14 L, 12 L, ¾ L. Time: Two minutes 36 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Sardar Abdul Haq. THE CHRISTMAS PLATE CLASS VI AND VII DIV I 5 F: Sweety (Mr. Zaid Rahim) 8-2(cr8-5) Shahid Rehman 1, The Contractor 7-10(cr8-0) Waheed 2, Gold Finger 7-12 Zaki Zakir 3, Laitay Jao 8-8 Mohammad naeem 4. Won by 3 L, Neck, 6 ½ L. Time: One minute 2 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Rafiq K. THE CHRISTMAS PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 5 F: Pretty Lady (Mr. Abdul Rahim) 9-4 Shahid Rehman 1, Reach The Heights 8-2 Mohammad Naeem 2, Dream Girl 8-2 Mohammad Essa 3, Black Orchid 8-12 Ghulam Shabbir II, 4. Won by 5 L, 1 ½ L, 1 ¼ L. Time: One minute 3 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by M. Rafiq K.