LAHORE, Dec 24: Long-shot bay colt Geo Bhakkar shocked the punters by landing the feature event, run over 1,100 metres during the midweek Lahore Gymkhana races at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

He beat the 80-to-100 favourite bay horse Zoaq by over a length’s margin with chestnut mare Bird Fly coming third, two lengths behind, while bay filly, Maharani completed the frame. Another well-backed horse Big Bird ran off the frame among the 15 runners.

Ridden by riding boy Mazhar Ali, Geo Bhakkar was trained by Rashid Latif in this sixth and last race of the day’s card.

Earlier, the 50-to-100 favourite bay mare Pretty Mehak at last managed to make amends for her five consecutive defeats by winning the fourth race.

Ridden by riding boy Zameer, the mare battled to get the lead for a major portion of the race. She eventually beat Best Choice by three lengths. Candidate and Porsche completed the board.

Pretty Mehak’s victory was a just reward for the owner’s patience, who had won a race previously and then waited for the second one after five consecutive defeats in a row. For Faisal Mahmood Khan, Pretty Mehak’s win came as a surprise but a timely one to boost his morale in teaming up with trainer Nadeem Raza Khan.

The supporting and fifth event was won by rank outsider Silent Assassin who beat favourite gelding Regulation by a big margin of about four lengths.

Trainers Rashid Latif and Chaudhry Khurram Hussain and riding boys Mazhar Ali, Bilal Ahmed and Zameer shared the day’s racing honours, when each was accredited with a fine double.

The Lahore Race Club (LRC) stewards took a strong view of riders’ lapses and handed out suspensions as well as fines. An owner too was fined for racing an unfit mare.

Owner/trainer Zia-ur-Rehman was fined Rs10,000 for sending his mare Sana in an unfit condition to run in the first race.

Riding boy Pervez Bhatti was suspended for six months and fined Rs10,000 for not allowing his mount Pakistani to run on merit in the same race.

In the second race, riding boy M. Zulfiqar was suspended for six months and fined Rs10,000 for pulling his mount Raftar-e-Sehar.

The entries of geldings High Jack and Kalo II were banned for two months as both were found to be unfit during the same race.

However, well-backed Murad King ridden by riding boy Majid Ali escaped punishment when finishing off the board in the fourth race.

Results:

MASTUNG PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV 1,000M: Bobby (Farhat Sultan) 9-0, Mazhar Ali 1; Pakistani 8-7, Pervez Bhatti 2; Best Choice 9-0, S.A. Qaiser 3; Easy Load 7-6, M. Jahangir 4.

Won by I L, 1 L, Head. Time one minute 9 2/5 second. Winner trained by Rashid Latif.

MASTUNG PLATE CLASS VII DIV III 1,000M:

Independence Day (Mian Hamid Mahmood) 8-8, Bilal Ahmed 1; Raftar-e-Sehar 8-3, M. Zulfiqar 2; Pure Power 9-0, A. Wahab 3; Aa Ja Aa Ja 9-0, Munir Hussain 4.

Won by ¾ L, 7 L, 3 ½ L. Time one minute 8 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Chaudhry Khurram Hussain.

MASTUNG PLATE CLASS VII DIV II 1,000M:

Shandar (Muzaffar Baig) 8-0, Bilal Ahmed 1; Bobby Love 8-8, Mazhar Ali 2; Anarkali 8-11, Sajjad Hussain 3; Sohna Murad 8-10, Majid Ali 4.

Won by 3 ¾ L, 2 ½ L, 2 ½ L. Time one minute 8 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Shahzad Ali.

MASTUNG PLATE CLASS VII DIV I 1,000M: Pretty Mehak (Faisal Mahmood Khan) 8-6, Zameer 1; Best Owner 7-8 M. Wasim 2; Candidate 8-10, Atif Javed 3; Porsche 7-10, Sajjad Hussain 4. Won by 3 L, 5 L, 3 L. Time one minute 6 4/5 seconds. Winner trained by Nadeem Ahmed Khan.

JHANG PLATE CLASS VI DIV III & IV 1,100M:

Silent Assassin (Mian Hamid Mahmood) 7-4, Zameer 1; Regulation 7-4, M. Jahangir 2; Stride To Moment 9-0, Ali Raza 3; Golden Falcon 7-8, Khalid 4.

Won by 3 ¾ L, 6 ½ L, 1 ¼ L. Time one minute 14 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Chaudhry Khurram Khan.

JHANG PLATE CLASS VI DIV I & II 1,100M: Geo Bhakkar (Malik Bashir) 8-8, Mazhar Ali 1; Zoaq 9-10, M. Wasim Khan 2; Bird Fly 7-8, Zameer 3; Maharani 7-12, Khalid 4.

Won by 1 ¼ L, 2 L, 2 ½ L. Time one minute 13 3/5 seconds. Winner trained by Rashid Latif.