LAHORE, Dec 25: Three-year-old bay colt Ice Burg looks a better proposition to have the better of his rivals, when a six-event card will be gone through during the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races at the Racecourse on Wednesday.
The colt from Double Classic out-of-Naseebo Lal, Ice Burg is contesting in the fifth and supporting event to be gone over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres. After winning a race on Nov 11, Ice Burg was beaten to second place by Charming King the over 1,000 metres on Nov 18.
And if nothing goes wrong, he should win the race and make amends for his defeat on the last outing. Among his rivals, the gelding Tallal The Great, beaten on consecutive four occasions, Run For Dollar and Little Smile are prominent.
In the fourth race, chestnut filly Well Done will be going all out to make it two in a row.
She will, however, have the bay gelding Sun Shine and Regulation, constant threats in her side, in a stiff competition for success.
In the third race, bay colt Victory King should prove his worth in name by picking up the spoils. Last time, Victory King was beaten to third place behind Regulation and Brave Heart on Nov 21. Even if he puts up a similar show, he will be able to secure the winners’ box.
Mah-e-Noor, Company and Malika should fight for the place on the board.
Non Stop, Sohna Noor, Leader’s Wing and Raksh-e-Raqeeban are in with a claim to win the race in the second event. Chestnut gelding Non Stop striding in a non-stop style was caught by Dimple in the dying strides to be beaten by half a length. He should make amends this time while the rest should fight for places.
Both the first and the last races look open affairs with no runner having any significant achievement to his/her credit. There are a dozen acceptors in the first race barring last-minute withdrawals. All subscribe to unknown pedigrees and that too with in and out performances.
The same is the case of the runners listed in the last race, which has seven runners. None had even hit the board yet, besides a couple of those, who are to open their debut on the track. Better watch the ring or skip both the races or just go for a lottery chance.
Some owners while naming their horses go for high-sounding names or name them after past turf heroes, who have set shining examples on the racetrack. They do so in their quest for finding a similar luck without realising, the inherited bloodline capability of the named ones.
One of the many examples is that of Lail-o-Nihar, who has been named after a filly the likes of her would seldom be seen on the Lahore turf. Lail-o-Nihar was the champion sprinter at the old Racecourse on Gulberg Road, now turned into a public park. The newly named Lail-o-Nihar is contesting in the second race in the class VII division I-A handicap race to be gone over 1,000 metres on Wednesday.
In all 70 runners are to take part in six races, all to be gone over 1,000 metres. The first race will be held at 12.30pm.
The following is the field and our selections:
BADEEN PLATE CLASS VII
DIV I 1,000M:
Lal Pari 9-0, Billoo Love 9-0, Trivera 8-6, Hit Song 8-6, Sohni Noor 8-5, Pattola 8-4, Mosaic 8-4, Gold venture 8-4, Waqas Prince 8-4, Kashif Da Gulshan 7-10 and Kiss Of Love 7-10.
Win & Place: (Watch the ring).
BADEEN PLATE CLASS VII
DIV I-A 1,000M:
Non Stop 9-4, Lail-o-Nihar 9-0, Kipsha Gulshan 9-0, Sohni Bulbul 9-0, Raksh-e-Raqeeban 8-10, Noor-un-Nisa 8-10, Geo Bhakkar 8-10, Mahima 8-10, Sohna Noor 8-10, Nargis 8-10, Sohna Murad 8-10, Leader’s Wing 8-6, Dharkan 8-6 and Magic Dream 8-0.
Win: Non Stop.
Place: Leader’s Wing and Sohna Noor.
SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VI
DIV III 1,000M:
Victory King 9-0, Sun Ray 9-0, Malika 8-10, Aajzi 8-10, Sabbat Qadam 8-10, Dimple 8-10, Mah-e-Noor 8-6, Sana 8-4, Company 8-2, Gold Dust 8-0, Royal Palace 7-12, Kotli 7-12, Cash Deposit 7-10, Have No Fear 7-10, Great Rhythm 7-10, Yard Arm 7-10 and Miss Mano 7-10.
Win: Victory King.
Place: Mah-e-Noor and Yard Arm.
SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VI
DIV II 1,000M:
Weldon Shogun 9-0, Arsom Prince 9-0, Regulation 9-0, Sun Shine 9-0, High Quality 8-10, Happy Bear 8-6, Well Done 8-4 and Bird Fly 8-0.
Win: Well Done.
Place: Regulation and Sun Shine.
SUKKUR PLATE CLASS VI DIV I 1,000M:
Tallal The Great 9-2, Ice Burg 9-2, Hallow Handsome 9-0, Pick Of The Day 9-0, Run For Dollar 8-12, Chandi 8-8, Murad King 8-6, Arzoo 8-6, Babbu The Great 8-6, Little Smile 8-5, Nut Cracker 8-2 and Armida 7-12.
Win: Ice Burg.
Place: Run For Dollar and Tallal The Great.
HYDERABAD PLATE CLASS V
DIV II 1,000M:
War Artist 9-0, Pawan Again 9-0, Sohna Shahbaz 8-10, Lubna 8-6, Look My Luck 8-6, Jomteen 8-6 and Darnaz 8-2.
Win & Place: (Watch the ring.)