Sahil clinches Ravi Cup at Lahore races.

LAHORE -- Four-year-old bay colt Sahil won the Ravi Cup in a magnificent style during the Lahore Winter Meeting at the Racecourse here on Sunday to become the strongest contender for the Pakistan Derby in March.

The Rashid Latif-trained Sahil, ridden by jockey Aftab Chaudhry, ran third in the early part of the 1,800-metre race but burst in to the lead after covering 1,600 metres to overcome four rivals to win by a length from colt Big Move with colt Exceptional One third, another five lengths behind.

Chestnut colt Special One completed the frame two and a half lengths back while favourite colt Churchill slithered pathetically while trailing a distance away from the quartet.

Lahore Race Club (LRC) steward Mahmood Rafi Khan, flanked by LRC secretary Shahzad Akhtar, gave away the cup to the winning owner Khawaja Mohammad Atif.

This was the sixth race in the order.

In the supporting feature event, the Winter Cup, run over 1,200 metres, chestnut colt Manthaar produced a most convincing victory. Trained by Shahid Rehman and guided by Tahir Abbas, the LRC chairman Makhdum Syed Ahmad Mahmud-owned and bred colt recorded his second successive win within a week to establish superiority of his fine bloodline. He beat chestnut Ibram Prince by over four lengths.

The owner's son Syed Murtaza Mahmud, who is also a steward, received the cup from his senior steward Mohammad Kaleem Khan.

A couple of other thoroughbred racing events were held that showed that the Lahore racing was moving towards to the realm of professionalism and gradual improvement ensuring that the current three and four-year-old crops of thoroughbreds were undoubtedly the vintage crops. This also proved that the efforts of enthusiastic breeders' dedication to keep on refining their produce.

Results:

THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV V - 1,000M:

Neeli The Great (Asim Raza) 9-0, Safdar Ali 1; Azm-e-Nau 8-10, Munir Hussain 2; Golden Pound 8-9, Mohammad Fayyaz 3; Zaman Sahib 9-0, Javed Iqbal 4.

Won by Short-head, 5 L, 1A3/4 L. Time: one minute 6 2/5 seconds. Winner trained by Tanvir Aslam.

THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV V (MAIDENS) - 1,000M:

Merchant Of Venus (Sheikh Naseeruddin Siddiqui) 8-4, Mubashir Bhatti 1; Golden Arrow 8-6, Rehman Ahmed 2; Shining Armour 7-12, Hammad Chaudhry 3; Master Prince 9-0, Mohammad Wasim 4.

Won by 1A1/4 L, 2A1/4 L, 5 L. Time one minute 6 1/5 seconds. Winner trained by Mohammad Ramzan.

THE FAIR MAGIC PLATE CLASS VII DIV IV - 1,000M:

Khabib (Mohammad Zaman...