Asher Butt and Abid Sultan
My selections vs results:
Race 1 was the toughest call of the evening. Xena won outright — not selected by either the book or me as anything more than a field entry. Naveed-e-Sahar, my fav at 9-0, finished third rather than first, though it did place. Dogar Choice (my pick for place) ran second, so the place call was partially vindicated. Full upset.
Race 2 was the clearest vindication of the night. Fakhar-e-Sardar, which I backed emphatically as my fav after the book kept relegating it to fluke status, won exactly as the form and weight record demanded. The second and third (Wake Up and Power Up) were surprises from the bottom of the field — both at 7-10.
Race 3 was the second clean fav call. Nisha at 9-0, my fav against the book’s Tomorrowland, won. Ceaser was a surprise runner-up but Feel My Love (my place) hit the frame in third — a solid race.
Race 4 was the sharpest upset. Amanah One (agreed favourite for both me and the book) didn’t figure, and Moni Ki Chahat — which I had as my place — actually won. That’s the definition of a fluke-within-a-pick: I had it right but underestimated it. Awan Choice and Kalabi’s Queen completing the frame from the lighter weights is a genuine surprise.
Race 5 closed with another upset. Falco, the agreed fav, didn’t win — Dubawi’s Dream at 7-10 took it. Construct Craft (my place) ran a solid second and Safe Bet (book’s place) came third — so the place/fluke tier delivered even when the fav didn’t.
Bottom line: 2 of 5 favs correct (mine outperformed the book’s 1 of 5), the place selections held up well across R1/R3/R5, and the big systematic call — Fakhar-e-Sardar in R2 — landed with conviction.
