KARACHI: With The Kashmir Cup under her belt, mare Princess H.K.M. added another feather to her cap while galloping to a two-length victory over dark bay horse One Way II to lift The February Cup in the Gymkhana race meeting at the Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

Riding on the crest of a wave mare Princess H.K.M. delighted race-goers with an improved performance in a smart time of one minute 5 3/5 seconds to land the cup in scale order III, IV and V run over five furlongs.

Princess H.K.M. had set the pace soon after start of the race and maintained it by crossing the winning post ahead of challengers. King’s Hand was placed third beaten by another two lengths while Princess H.K.M.’s stable-mate Almeer completed the board further four lengths behind among seven starters.

The triumph helped owner and trainer to complete a splendid double as Princess H.K.M.’s stable-mate bay horse The Great Arab had won the opener edging debutant The Champion by half-a-length.

The withdrawal of favourite filly Swarovski before the race compelled the stewards to announce re-betting of The February Cup. One Way II, Princess H.K.M. and King’s Hand were evenly backed during re-betting.

At the outset, the upset of opening two races had changed the mood of punters.

Rank outsider bay horse The Great Arab created quite a stir by getting the better of The Champion as 30 to 100 favourite Tanya settled third ahead of Blue Flame.

Similarly, another outsider mare Sonia Again opened her account imposing to two lengths victory over K. Al-Arab in the next race.

Lovely Baby was placed third while fancied Galaxy completed the quartet among four horses.

Favourite Lacoste provided some relief to the punters when he registered a facile six-length victory over Follow My Shadow to annex the day’s feature event.

Follow My Shadow edged Doctor by short head in a photo-finish verdict as Popular Song completed the frame among four horses in the fourth and concluding race.

Results:

THE FEBRUARY PLATE SCALE ORDER VIII 4½ F:

The Great Arab (Zia-ur-Rehman) 9-1, Mohammad Nasir 1; The Champion 8-10 (cr8-3), Zohaib Qamar 2; Tanya 9-0, Sohail Ahmed 3; Blue Flame 7-10 (cr8-5), Mohammad Manzoor 4.Won by ½ L, Neck, 2½ L. Time: One minute 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Channa.

THE FEBRUARY PLATE SCALE ORDER V, VI AND VII 5 F:

Sonia Again (Sher Mohammad) 7-12, Mohammad Sajjad 1; K. Al-Arab 9-1, Mohammad Nasir 2; Lovely Baby 8-1, A. Ahmed 3; Galaxy 7-12, Sohail Ahmed 4.
Won by 2 L, 2½ L, Neck. Time: One minute 6 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by owner.

THE FEBRUARY CUP SCALE ORDER III, IV AND V 5 F:

Princess H.K.M. (Zia-ur-Rehman) 8-11, Kashif Qamar 1; One Way II 9-4, Tariq Baran 2; King’s Hand 7-12 (cr8-0), Sohail Ahmed 3; Almeer 7-6 (cr8-4), Zohaib Qamar 4.Won by 2 L, 2 L, 4 L. Time: One minute 5 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Channa.

THE FEBRUARY PLATE SCALE ORDER I AND II 5 F:

Lacoste (Imamuddin Shouqeen) 8-0, Mohammad Sajjad 1; Follow My Shadow 8-2, Kashif Qamar 2; Doctor 10-0, Tariq Baran 3; Popular Song 7-8, Zaki Zakir 4.Won by 6 L, S. Head, Distance. Time: One minute 3 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Ghulam Shabbir II.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2017