LAHORE, Sept 3: The stamina of Saakshi, a five-year-old thoroughbred chestnut mare, will be put to test when she measures her strides with speedsters like Munich II and Provocative when the day/night Lahore Summer Meeting gets underway at the Racecourse on Sunday evening.
A fabulous card of seven events featuring five cups bearing the names of national war heroes, the recipients of highest gallantry award, Nishan-i-Haider, will be decided ahead of the Defence Day.
Participating in the Major Raja Aziz Bhatti Shaheed Cup, to be gone over the sprinting distance of 1,100 metres, this daughter of Putra-out-of Dancing Key, Saakshi with a fine hat-trick on the trot will be going all out to extend her winning streak further.
However, she will be facing a tough time in the presence of Munich II and Provocative, who too are confirmed speedycustomers.
All the three contenders have their past record fantastic and somewhat overwhelming at the same time and a victory on Sunday will put the winner as the top sprinter of 2011.
Saakshi has gone up in classification while Munich II and Provocative are by far ahead in classification and have come down in the handicap last season. They have not raced during this season yet.
The three contenders will be battling it out for the honours with the best effort from the saddle in this fifth race.
The supporting and sixth race, the Major Shabbir Sharif Shaheed Cup, has eleven contenders.
Of them three come into reckoning, namely, Mermaid, Sweet Dream and Never Say Never.
The three-year-old bay filly, Mermaid, is a cut above in class vis-à-vis her ten rivals. Sweet Dream and Never Say Never will be her strong challengers.
The Major Tufail Mohammad Shaheed Cup has a big field of sixteen runners. Of them four seems to be on chance.
They are: Baraka, Naked Venus, Bedouin Raider and Golden Queen. The first named looks a better proposition on track work.
The third race, the Major Mohammad Akram Shaheed Cup, has fourteen runners.
Of them four attract attention. They are: Fakhr-e-Darya Khan, Love Trace, Captain Templer and Brave Zoia to fight for the top spot.
Six races will be contested over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres and one over 1,100 metres.
The first race will start at 4.00pm.
Following is the field and our selections:GOLDEN OPINION PLATE CLASS VII DIV III 1,000M:Boss 9-0, Makhmoor 9-0, Miss Muga 9-0, Rehman Love 8-10, Darling 8-10, Dancing Doll 8-8, Miss Capri 8-6, Lajverd 8-4, Leeza Love 8-4, Special Account 8-4, Mano 8-2, Mon Ami 8-0, Poppy Bullet 8-0, Capri Queen 8-0, Silent Lover 7-10, Crown Star 7-10.Win: Miss Capri.Place: Miss Muga and Darling.
CAPT. MOHAMMAD SARWAR SHAHEED NISHAN-I-HAIDER CUP CLASS VII DIV I 1,000M:Paramount 9-4, Ahmad Choice 9-4, Again Lucky Shot 9-2, Mehrban 9-0, Shollay 9-0, Hector 9-0, Riding Star 8-10, Punjabi Sultan 8-4, Liver Pool 8-2.Win: Ahmad Choice.Place: Again Lucky Shot and Mehrban.
MAJOR MOHAMMAD AKRAM SHAHEED NISHAN-I-HAIDER CUP CLASS VI DIV II 1,000M:Brave Zoia 9-4, Captain Templer 9-4, Shafi Choice 9-0, Love Trace 9-0, Gold Star 9-0, Khurrum Prince 9-0, Fakhr-e-Darya Khan 8-12, Lucky Goshi 8-12, Bab Gee 8-10, Good Luck 8-10, Royal Rose 8-6, Blue Star 8-6, Heaven’s Candy 8-2, Arzoo II 7-12.Win: Fakhr-e-Darya Khan.Place: Love Trace and Captain Templer.
MAJOR TUFAIL MOHAMMAD SHAHEED NISHAN-I-HAIDER CUP CLASS VI DIV I 1,000M:Jungle De Hoor 10-12, Naked Venus 9-6, Baraka 9-0, Victory Light 9-0, Pawan Prince 8-10, Golden Queen 8-10, Pretty Girl 8-10, Jurrat 8-10, Mutajir 8-10, Jane Semoure 8-6, Brave Heart 8-6, Bedouin Raider 8-4, Gul Bakowli 8-0, Jal Thal 7-12, Super Chandi 7-8, Silent Star 7-8.Win: Baraka.Place: Naked Venus and Golden Queen.
MAJOR RAJA AZIZ BHATTI SHAHEED NISHAN-I-HAIDER CUP CLASS IV & V DIV I 1,100M:Munich II 9-0, Provocative 8-5, Good Wood 8-5, Saakshi 8-5, Princess Of Wales 7-12.Win: Saakshi.Place: Provocative and Munich II.
MAJOR SHABBIR SHARIF SHAHEED NISHAN-E-HAIDER CUP CLASS V DIV II & III 1,000M:Mermaid 9-2, Rustam 8-10, Sweet Dream 8-10, Victory Show 8-10, New City 8-10, Desert Flame 8-10, Never Say Never 8-8, Contact 8-6, Sweet Sorrow 8-6, Bon Voyage 8-2, Aboor 7-10.Win: Mermaid.Place: Never Say Never and Sweet Dream.
GOLDEN OPINION PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 1,000M:Sher Dil 9-4, Flick Of Gold 9-0, Happy Baby 9-0, Sarkar-e-Bhakkar 9-0, Sign Of Grace 9-0, Oxygene 8-10, Mastani 8-10, Abbas Love 8-10, Fantastic Look 8-10, Handsome Victory 8-10, Nine Before Ten 8-10, Zeeshan Choice 8-10, Myterio 8-4, Gul-e-Nargis 8-4, Sadi Choice 8-4, Shahzada Jogi 7-8, Kitten 7-8, Ladla 7-8.Win: Flick Of Gold.Place: Handsome Victory and Sher Dil.