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Published 21 Oct, 2012 09:07pm

Favourites on song as Shabbir triumphs thrice

KARACHI, Oct 21: All but one favourite swept an eight-race card as seasoned jockey Ghulam Shabbir II shone in the saddle with a splendid treble in the Gymkhana race meeting at the Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

Unfortunately, the day’s programme was marred by an ugly incident after rider Wasim fell from his mount Babu soon after the jump at the starting gate in the fourth race and got his leg fractured. He was immediately rushed to a nearby private hospital for treatment.

Five other horses in the fray completed the race with filly Dancing Doll making it three wins on trot under rider Shabbir. The filly beat colt Taurus hands down by nine lengths. Filly Poonam was placed third while The Contractor completed the board. Lava Man was withdrawn before the race.

Pandemonium prevailed as the result irked the race goers who raised slogans and pelted stones in the betting ring demanding cancellation of the race.

However, the KRC officials brought the situation under control after sometime.

Shabbir’s two other winners were three-year-old bay filly Generosity in the third and colt The Invincible in the sixth races. The former gets the better of colt Golf Finger by half-a-length while the latter galloped home by 11 lengths to land The Karachi St Ledger gone over a mile.

Another ace rider Mohammad Essa obliged the horse-racing connoisseurs by partnering a double — bay horse Aar Paar in the second and mare Sherzad in the fifth.

At the outset, Humsafar beat Dancing Doll by a length-and-a-half while Sugar Baby was home by three lengths over Love For Sale in the eighth and concluding race.

In the only upset, mare Bankable stunned fancied Tiny Terror by eight lengths to claim the seventh race.

Owner Ismail Shah had three winners in Generosity, Dancing Rain (along with Faisal Farooq) and The Invincible. All the three horses were saddled by Sardar Abdul Haq.

Trainer Salim Durrani also partnered two winners in Sherzad and Bankable.

Meanwhile, the next Gymkhana race meeting will be held on Wednesday.

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