LAHORE, Jan 31: Four-year-old chestnut colt Vendetta looks to be a better proposition to land the February Cup to be contested over 1,600 metres at the Racecourse on Sunday.The cup features a seven-event card drawn for the 22nd Lahore Winter Meeting and is a class IV division I and II handicap race.

The colt from reputed sire Vitellozzi out-of-Gambling Princess, Vendetta is trained by Sohail Aziz, who boasts of the most successful training record, winning every classic except the Pakistan Derby. He, however, harbours nice prospects for this year’s Derby.

Owned by Syed Tasweer Hussain, Vendetta made the frame behind Tipu Sultan, Philogyny and Pick Of The Day in the Peshawar Cup over the identical distance on Jan 4.

Vendetta did not race well, leaving every race goer crossing fingers. Perhaps the race was run on a fast pace and he was slow at the start. He is tracking well and may fight with Apex and Mythical to win the top honours in the sixth race of the day.

The supporting and fifth race, the LRC Cup, run over 1,300 metres has nine runners. Four-year-old bay colt Northern Crown seems a cut above in class vis-a-vis his eight rivals.

Northern Crown had registered a facile victory on his debut on Jan 4 and will be on course to make it two consecutive wins on Sunday. There is no other runner, who can match his strides and timing recorded on his debut, and is expected to show further improvement on each running.

Rustam and Magic Queen are the next best in line.

Four-year-old bay colt Life, who was beaten last Sunday, will be going all out to make amends and salvage the pride of Mian Maahir Ahmed and Mahmood Khan’s stable.

Life, trained by Abdul Rasheed was a little backward on his previous outing. Still he was backed by the connections. No doubt the colt is aiming for long term prospects of the owners, whose motto, emblazoned on the stable’s crest is “always trying”. There is, of course, no certainty in racing but colt Life is Dawn’s best bet of the day. His main rivals could be Naughty By Nature and Sultan.

The first race has nine runners. Of them three are on chance, namely, Green Desert, Stride To Moment and Batista. They should fight for the spoils in the same order.

Maharani, Tree Of Life, Skippy and Dizzy Heights attract attention in the second race. It looks like any of the quartet’s race.

A card of seven events has been drawn up for the day. Four races will be contested over 1,100 metres, one 1,600 metres and two 1,300 metres. The first race will be held at 1:00pm.

Following is the field and our selections:

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV III & IV 1,100M:

Green Desert 9-4, Sabbat Qadam 9-0, Mama Mia 9-0, Mona The Great 8-10, Stride To Moment 8-7, Dream Act 8-0, Silent Assassin 7-12, Batista 7-6.

Win: Green Desert.

Place: Stride To Moment and Batista.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV II 1,100M:

Azhar Prince 9-0, Piyari Bulbul 9-0, Dream Memories 9-0, Tree Of Life 9-0, Mera Chan 9-0, Safe Bet 8-10, Maharani 8-10, Golden Edition 8-10, Pretty Princess 8-8, Skippy 8-6, Brave & Beautiful 8-6, Roheen 8-6, Secret Night 8-6, No Fear 8-6, Khuddar 8-6, Dizzy Heights 7-13, Jurrat 7-8, Sono Bhair 7-8.

Win: Maharani.

Place: Tree Of Life and Skippy.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIVI I-B 1,100M:

Singhar 9-0, Ajwa 8-12, Desert Energy 8-12, Brave Heart 8-12, Sultan 8-11, Gold Medallist 8-8, Life 8-8, Naughty By Nature 8-8, Chakori Jaisa 8-6, Heart Lake 8-6, Khyber Star 8-6, Sikander 8-6.

Win: Life.

Place: Naughty By Nature and Sultan.

CHAKWAL PLATE CLASS VI

DIV I-A 1,100M:

Bread And Butter 9-0, Cleopatra 9-0, Al Ain 9-0, Roman Glory 9-0, Sweet Lady 8-11, Historical 8-10, Never Be Sure 8-10, Grandy 8-10, Fantastic Life 8-10, Daud Princess 8-10, Queen Of Sabbowal 8-10, Alishba 8-10, Warrior Princess 8-10, Hero’s Hope 8-8.

Win: Sweet Lady.

Place: Cleopatra and Daud Princess.

LRC CUP CLASS V DIV I & II 1,300M:

Rustam 9-2, Eve 8-9, Chinkara 8-6, Northern Crown 8-4, Blitz 8-2, Miss Tabinda 8-2, Sun City 8-0, Magic Queen 7-10, Frontier Prince 7-10.

Win: Northern Crown.

Place: Rustam and Magic Queen.

FEBRUARY CUP CLASS IV

DIV I & II 1,600M:

Sher-e-Gujrat 9-4, Claims To Fame 9-4, Mythical 8-4, Apex 8-0, Vendetta 7-10, Pick Of The Day 7-6, Royal Gesture 7-6, Secret Memories 7-4, Blanchine 7-4.

Win: Vendetta.

Place: Apex and Mythical.

LRC PLATE CLASS V DIV II 1,300M:

Legend Setter 9-0, Mikkado 8-13, Shim Jim 8-10, Pretty Girl 8-8, Miss Brave Heart 8-8, Will He Wish 8-6, Mahiya 8-6, Qasid 8-6, Notia 8-6, Fight To The Last 8-2, Pretty Poly 8-2, Opera Winfield 8-2, Khyber Rifle 8-2, My Delilah 8-0, Fakhar-e-Sialkot 7-12, Geo Bhakkar 7-10.

Win: Pretty Girl.

Place: Will He Wish and Fakhar-e-Sialkot.