A pal of gloom surrounded the Karachi Racecourse for most part of the preceding year on two counts — the casualties of a pair of brothers — one a rider, other a trainer - and frustration among the staff members due to an alarming rise in inflation.

However, in the end better sense prevailed as the managing committee at the KRC took two wise decisions before the year end – to provide insurance to riders and bring the salaries of lower staff at par with the government scales.

Couple of other staffers including the secretary who are in the senior cadre, still awaits raise in their salaries which was promised.

The year started well for the KRC as favourite bay colt The Invincible won the Pakistan Derby held at Lahore on March 2. Owned by KRC steward Irfan Mehdi, the victorious colt was piloted home by Bilal Ahmed and trained by M. Hanif.

But the KRC received its first severe shock in the second half of the year after riding boy Mohammad Naeem succumbed to his injuries that he sustained after falling from his mount Sugar King during the morning track work on Aug 31.

Naeem, 35, thus became the third rider to lose his life on this course during a short span of two-and-a-half years, starting Jan 2012. Promising rider Abdul Aziz II and Hakim Ali have lost their lives this year in quick succession, much in similar way.

Naeem’s incident raised quite a few eye brows and the management soon started negotiations with the insurance companies and ended by striking a deal with one of them. But one thing that left much to be desired was excluding trainers and other staff members from the insurance cover. It could have benefited the family of the late trainer M. Rafiq K had they also been covered.

Rafiq, who comes from a family connected with the equine sport, was crushed to death in a fatal road accident shortly before the end of the year. Rafiq’s family had not fully recovered from the trauma in the death of his younger brother and rider Naeem when they met with this other tragedy.

The year culminated with the blue-ribbon Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup that was won by public fancy three-year-old bay colt Risk Free in convincing fashion.

The winning horse was owned by Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara, who has followed in with the tradition of his illustrious father, the late Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara. Horses from the stables of the latter have won the prestigious Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup three times in the past.

The winning horse was given a perfect ride by jockey-turned-trainer Ghulam Shabbir II. This was Shabbir’s fourth triumph in the Quaid Cup the previous three being in 1998, 1999 and 2006.

Risk Free also gave its trainer Mohyuddin his maiden Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup award.

The total stakes in the three cups — The Quaid-i-Azam Gold Cup, 2000 Guineas of Pakistan and The Nursery Cup — were over Rs1.8 million, a raise of Rs3,35,000 from 2013.

Ace rider Mohammad Essa and trainer Mohyuddin won the honours of best rider and trainer of the year respectively.

The horse racing fraternity look forward to an entertaining 2015 and hopes the stewards will do away with the alleged practice of manipulation of in and out running and take the institution where it was in the yesteryears when it used to be an honour to be its member.

Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2015

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