LAHORE, Aug 26: Seven-year-old horse Umar Prince looks a better proposition to edge out his nine opponents to win the feature event during the day/night midweek Lahore Gymkhana races that get underway at the Racecourse on Wednesday.

After registering a facile win with a smart timing, Umar Prince ran off the frame in better company and has been handicapped now in his own class but slightly penalised at the top of the weight scales with nine stones and three pounds in the class VI division I and II combined.

Since the distance of the race is 900 metres, the horse should have no difficulty in having the better of his rivals, provided the stable too fancies him.

Chestnut mare Bird Fly and dark-bay gelding Black King will be his main challengers in the sixth and last race of the card.

The supporting and the fifth race has 13 runners but the quartet of Geo Bhakkar, Mahnoor II, Aaja Bulbul and Dream Memories look on chance. The first two named are consistently on the board in their previous outings while Aaja Bulbul and Dream Memories are unreliable performers. Geo Bhakkar and Mahnoor II should fight it out for the winning enclosure.

Five-year-old grey mare Muskan, who is showing good performance consistently in her eight starts appearing on board with two wins, seems a better performer among her six rivals. She was beaten by Cash Price last Wednesday and should make amend this time contesting in the fourth race. Cash Price and Bagh-o-Bahar may prove constant thorns all along her way to victory being fast runners.

The third race has the largest field of 16 runners. A vast majority of them subscribes to unknown pedigree animals who have virtually swarmed the Lahore Race track.

The unknown pedigree animals are a blessing in disguise for the race club as on the one hand they have been contributing a lot facilitating twice a week racing and on the other ending the curse of pedigree-forging. Every owner is allowed to bring a horse without pedigree authenticity.

Golden Falcon, Client and Changer look good in the strong field to pick up the spoils in the third race. They should finish in the same order provided they are backed by stable connections. In gymkhana races particularly stable backing is most important in the performance of runners.

Book Bet, Kiss Of Love and Kotli are the pick of nine runners left-in after the final scratching in the second race. Book Bet in his five outings to date has never been off the board without success. He should make amends and win this time.

The first race has 15 runners. Race-goers may expect a stiff competition among the runners to fight for the top honours. On previous performances Lal Pari, Leader’s Wing and Azeem Prince attract attention to fight for the top slot in the same order.

A card of six events has been drawn for the day/night gymkhana meeting. All races will be contested over the sprinting distance of 900 metres. The first race will be held at 5:30pm.

The following is the field and our selections:

KAHNA PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV 900M:

Leader’s Wing 9-2, Blank Cheque 9-0, Cash Box 8-10, Easy Load 8-10, Azad Panchi 8-10, Geo News 8-8, Loving Heart 8-6, Pretty Karina 8-6, Azeem Prince 8-6, Lal Pari 8-6, Aaa Jaa 8-0, Pattola 7-8, Naimat Aie 7-8,Sana 7-8.

Win: Lal Pari.

Place: Leader’s Wing and Azeem Prince.

KAHNA PLATE CLASS VII DIV III 900M:

Miss Mano 9-0, Sana My Love 9-0, Anarkali 8-12, Book Bet 8-10, Kiss Of Love 8-8, Scented Dust 8-8, Shandar 8-4, Dynamite 8-4, Kotli 8-2.

Win: Book Bet.

Place: Kiss Of Love and Kotli.

KAHNA PLATE CLASS VII

DIV II & III 900M:

Royal Partner 9-0, Lion Horse 9-0, Raza The Great 8-10, Aohna Murad 8-10, My Hope 8-10, Client 8-10, Bobby Love 8-10, Delux 8-10, Better Time 8-10, Changer 8-8, Golden Falcon 8-8, Double Victory 8-6, Best Boy 8-6, Ronaq Mayla 8-6, Raftar-e-Sehar 8-6, Come On 7-4.

Win: Golden Falcon.

Place: Client and Changer.

KAHNA PLATE CLASS VII DIV 1 900M:

Bella Rani 9-0, Cash Price 8-12, Lucky Dancer 8-6, Al Dar 8-6, Muskan 8-2, Gypsy 8-2, Bagh-o-Bahar 7-10.

Win: Muskan.

Place: Cash Price and Bagh-o-Bahar.

CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III & IV 900M:

Sun Downer 9-0, Regulation 9-0, Dream Memories 9-0, Grace Glamour 8-10, Sun Ray 8-10, Aaja Bulbul 8-8, Cheeku Khan 8-4, High Quality 8-4, Geo Bhakkar 8-4, Mahnoor II 8-2, Best Owner 8-0, Shah Rani 8-0, Happy Life 8-0.

Win: Geo Bhakkar.

Place: Aaja Bulbul and Mahnoor II.

CHUNIAN PLATE CLASS VI

DIV I & II 900M:

Umar Prince 9-3, Amazing Mission 8-2, Amazing Boy 8-2, Desert Whisper 8-0, Bird Fly 7-12, Araafa 7-12, Victory King 7-10, Sohna Billoo 7-10, Pakeeza 7-8, Black King

7-4.

Win: Umar Prince.

Place: Black King and Bird Fly.