LAHORE: Former Punjab governor and the sitting chairman, Lahore race Club (LRC) Makhdum Syed Ahmad Mahmud has engaged an English jockey Ray Dawson to ride his stable, the leading at present, on the Derby Day races.
Dawson arrived in Lahore from London early this morning. The English jockey, who rides at New Market soon after his arrival had a track-work on the mounts he is to ride on Sunday.
The 25-year-old jockey has been invited by the Makhdum because in the Derby trial race his prestigious colt War It Is did not perform satisfactorily and it was suspected that jockey Aamir Pervez did not let him perform on merit.
The mounts of Ray Dawson are: Sanctity (third race), Countess Mara (fifth), Governor (sixth), War It Is (seventh race-Derby), and Lola’s Theme (eighth race-Queen Elizabeth, the second Challenge Cup).
This is for the second time an English jockey has been invited to feature in the Pakistan Derby. The first was Denis Michael, who rode colt Live For Others to success in 1993 owned by Abrar Abid and trained by Haji Fazal Hadi.
The arrival of Dawson to ride in Lahore is being welcomed in the world of equine sports, which would open new vistas for more foreign jockeys to visit the country.
Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2020