LAHORE: An eight race card features prominently the Ravi Cup during the 20th running of the Lahore Winter Meeting at the Racecourse here on Sunday.

The provincial metropolis capital of Punjab is experiencing a chilly winter — a climate ideal for horse-racing and the underfoot conditions are well-suited for the four-legged animals.

Although the feature event — a term race for four-year-old- country- bred colts and fillies to be contested over 1,800 metres — has a tiny field of six runners but its star studded cast of four colts and two fillies will certainly delight the equine sports connoisseurs with a dazzling performance on the track.

What makes the event more important is the fact that all the runners are their owners’ choicest contenders for the forthcoming classics and a couple of them for the Pakistan Derby 2020.

On the top is the colt War It Is, the winner of Christmas Cup, Munir Ahmad Dar Memorial Cup and the National Breeders Cup. Colt Conquest is the winner of Neelum Cup and the Children’s Day Cup, both owned by Makhdum Syed Ahmad Mahmud, colt Welcome Home, winner of Dominator Cup and Manzoor Begum Memorial Cup owned by Mian Maahir Ahmad and the fine-bred filly Queen’s Best owned by Karachi’s Syed Ismail Shah.

War It Is will be facing the challenge of rest while measuring strides for the top honours. Since the Lahore Racecourse has assumed greater significance besides the high class Ravi cup, there will be three more races on the card in which best breed horses are taking part to provide race-goers a chance to enjoy an equine sports activity in a relaxed but competitive atmosphere in which some of the best bloodline horses are in action preparatory to condition their fitness for the terms and handicap racing action.

The supporting event, the Fair Magic Plate Class VI Division III & IV to be contested over 1,400 metres has 11 runners. Of them quartet of Sparking, Tiger Jet, Jharra and Salam-e-Dera are prominent having won some good races.

Five-year-old Tiger Jet has previously proved himself a stayer over the 1,400 metres distance and is placed good in the handicap to have the better of others in the challenge. Although he has an outside draw to be boxed at number 11 still he is fast enough to cover this hurdle. Sparking and Jharra will be his main challengers.

The second supporting event, the Fair Magic Plate Class VII Division 1 to be gone over 1,000 metres has 13 runners. Four of them on recent form look on chance to be ranked as the real contenders. They are Legacy, Sher Garh Queen, Baland-O-Bala and User. They should battle it out with filly User better placed in the handicap.

In all, a sizeable number of 92 runners are expected to line up at the starting gate in eight events, if there are no last-minute withdrawals.

Six races will be held over the sprinting distance of 1,000 metres, one over 1,400 metres and the cup race over 1,800 metres.

The first race will be held at 11:30am.

Following is the field and selections:

THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV V — 1,000M: Take Care 9-0, Janab 9-0, Easy Catch 9-0, Jalpana Prince 8-10, Says Gone 8-10, Golden Beauty 8-7, Mr Brown 8-6, Baa Aitbar 7-12, Bano 7-10, Great Queen 7-10. Win: Golden Beauty.
Place: Mr Brown and Take Care. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV V — 1,000M: Turab Prince 9-0, Tell Me 9-0, KFK Princess 9-0, English Babu 9-0, Shining Armour 9-0, Jungle Da Shahzada 9-0, Anmole One 9-0, Sajju Star 9-0, Bet Of The Day 8-10, Madeeha 8-10. Win: KFK Princess.
Place: Madiha and Anmole One. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV — 1,000M: Silken Black 9-2, Safdar Princess 9-2, Chan Punjabi 9-0, Royal Runner 9-0, Malika Princess 8-10, Twenty Twenty 8-10, Taha Princess 8-10, Ask Me 8-10, Aya Darwaish 8-8, Over For Win 8-6, Parwaz-e-Bhakkar 8-4, Lucky Time 8-4, Dancing Beauty 7-12, Zahid Love 7-10. Win: Safdar Princess.
Place: Chan Punjabi and Parwaz-e-Bhakkar.
Upset: Silken Black. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV III — 1,000M: Qamar Choice 8-10, New Market 8-8, Fight Me 8-8, Neeli De Malika 8-6, Piyari Malangni 8-6, Lucky Is Me 8-4, Black Storm 8-4, Qalandra 8-4, Dum Dama Dum 8-4, Bright Gold 8-2, Zoaq-e-Yaqeen 8-2, Wahab Choice 7-12, Prince Of Lion 7-12, After Hero 7-10, Banjo 7-10, Neeli The Great 7-10. Win: Qalandra.
Place: Qamar choice and Banjo. Upset: Zopaq-e-Yaqeen. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV I — 1,000M: Legacy 8-12, Gondal Choice 8-10, Warrior’s Charge 8-10, Secret Lady 8-4, Jabbar Prince 8-4, Sher Garh Queen 8-4, Tiffney’s 8-2, Baland-o-Bala 8-2, Jan-e- Fida 8-2, User 8-0, Missing My Love 7-12, Amazing Runner 7-10, Miss World 7-10. Win: User.
Place: Sher Garh Queen and Baland-o-Bala. THE RAVI CUP — A TERM-RACE FOR FOUR-YEAR-OLD TBP & HB COLTS AND FILLIES — 1,800M: War It Is 9-0, Prince Albert 9-0, Queen’s Best 8-11, Conquest 8-6, Welcome Home 8-6, Princess Anabia 7-9. Win: War It Is.
Place: Welcome Home and Conquest. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV III & IV — 1,400M: Sparking 9-4, Tiger Jet 9-0, Breaking The Rules 8-8, Drums Of War 8-8, Jharra 8-8, Gondal Gift 8-4, Amazing Lips 8-2, My Son 8-2, Young Gun 8-0, Samoore Princess 7-10, Salam-e-Dera 7-10. Win: Tiger Jet.
Place: Jharra and Sparking. THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV II — 1,000M: Double O Seven 9-0, Dream Secret 8-10, Race The Moon 8-10, Eden Rock 8-10, Minding 8-6, Rashk-e-Qamar 8-6, Gold Man 8-6, Shan-e-Saddar 8-2, Cameo 7-10, Mud House Legacy 7-10. Win: Double O Seven.
Place: Rashk-e-Qamar and Gold Man.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2020