KARACHI: Long shot filly Queen of Spades lowered the colours of public fancy bay horse Royal Ransom in an exciting finish to bask in Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup glory before a full house in the winter Gymkhana race meeting here at the Karachi Racecourse on Sunday.

With Stewards Cup and Shah Mardan Shah Pir Pagara Memorial Cup under her belt, the victorious filly came from behind in home stretch to edge the 2020 Gold Cup winner by three-quarters-of-a-length recording two minutes and eight seconds for 10 furlongs.

While doing so, she made the trio of owner Syed Sibghatullah Shah Pir Pagara, trainer Mohyu­ddin and rider Zaki Zakir proud who all celebrated the day with a treble.

“I was confident of steering the horse home and lay my hands to [the] maiden Gold Cup,” a jubilant Zaki told Dawn.

The 40-year-old veteran who had served as camel rider in the UAE, dedicated the cup to his wife and three daughters.

It is pertinent to mention that the incumbent Pir Pagara won the Gold Cup for the second time, the other winner being Risk Free in 2014.

Chestnut horse Thunder Star came third by 11 lengths while colt Come On Champion completed the quartet another seven lengths away among half-a-dozen contenders.

In addition to the Gold Cup, the winning owner fetched a purse of Rs0.85 million out of a total prize money of approximate Rs3.7 million. The prize money was raised by Rs0.4 million on Saturday night. The rider and trainer also received their trophies in a ceremony held in the paddock amidst cheers.

The trio’s other success came in the Nursery Cup when rank outsider filly Time Game edged colt Ex Gambler by neck in a closely-fought race as favourite colt Sand Man came third and was followed by filly Cheer Leader. She romped home in one minute 18 seconds in the six furlongs contest.

They completed the feat when filly Angel Love outpaced filly Flaming Ember by two lengths in the 10th and concluding race of the day.

Rider M. Sajjad presented co-owners Syed Ismail Shah and Hamad Farooq Fikree with a splendid double while guiding favourites filly Queens Pride and bay horse Churchill to victories in the 2000 Guineas of Pakistan and the X-MAS Cup respectively. Both the horses were partnered by trainer Ghulam Shabbir II.

Queens Pride edged filly Silent Response by distance to post her fourth consecutive victory while Churchill obliged all and sundry by getting the better of Night Vision by three-and-a-half lengths.

Another favourite filly Chile made her mark while prevailing over mare Heer by four lengths to clinch the M. Rasheed Jung Memorial Cup that helped Sajjad and Shabbir to finish the day with a treble.

Earlier, chestnut horse Mehar­ban created quite a stir by sprinting to eight-and-a-half lengths victory over mare Soldier Girl to land the opening race.

In the other races, bay horse Raging Comet, colt Al Sabah and bay horse Azeem Choice returned victorious.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2022