Haiku claims 1000-Guineas in a day of favourites’ domination

LAHORE: Haiku turned out to be the annihilator as the Malik Salman Khalid-owned filly galloped to an easy 1000-Guineas of Pakistan 2021 win here at the Lahore Race Club on Sunday.

From the word go, Haiku stretched its lead to a length leaving others way behind with no one coming forth to pose even a bit of a challenge. Haiku thus earned its owner Rs1.5 million prize purse and the trophy.

Apart from 1000-Guineas, this 22nd winter meeting of the club also had three cup races. Favourite Shah The Great claimed Khyber Cup, Taksim Square won the Anarkali Cup and Rs800,000 and Big Move lived up to the expectations to take Rana A Malik Memorial Cup.

The day started with an upset in the opening Ginza Plate when Master Prince won the first race. The favourite Jee Aya Nu slipped to second place and Zaman Sahib slid to be third.

In the second class VII and division-V race, Bright Gold, which was the favourite, did not let its followers down and won with clarity. However, Finisher that came second and Tell Me, which was third, surprised everyone with their performances.

The third race too finished n favour of the pundits’ favourite Jadi’s Pride. The second was Chan Pari, which was on fluke while no one had expected Taha Princess would be third.

In the fourth race, which was Khyber Cup, the favourite was Shah The Great and was also the winner. However, a surprise came from Banaras Prince at second place and Barbarian’s Charge finished third.

Haiku, true to its potential, won the 1000 Guineas of Pakistan 2021, with a clear distance. Innocent One, which was on fluke, came second and a surprise came from Amazing Lips with third place win.

In the sixth race, Taksim Square won the Anarkali Cup. But the remaining two positions were surprisingly claimed by Sky Active and Widad.

The seventh race of the day was Rana A Memorial Cup and Big Move did not disappoint the pundits. Even Nayal and Pockets, which were second and third, respectively, were also favourites in their pre-race assessment.

Chotta Jhara, however, came up with an astonishing performance in the eighth race of the day. Salam-e-Lahore too was a surprise second and Khadim, one of the favourites, was third.

In the final race of the day, Naymar staged an upset with Sohna being second and Jalpana Prince becoming third.