We race at Borrowdale Park on Friday and the 9-race card includes the 1260m Sable Flyers, a Listed race for fillies and mares, and the 1450m Breeders Sprint.

All the runners in the Breeders Sprint, except for what A Dandy, will carry 60 kgs and Vee Racing (the Terzi satellite yard) has an extremely strong hand with Tandava, Yarraman and Fareeq. Bridget Stidolph enters the fray with Twilight Trip and the Swanson team fields What A Dandy.

TANDAVA, is drawn 3 and will have champion jockey Norbert Takawira in the irons. By Century Stand (AUS) this 8-year-old is extremely versatile with 13 wins in Gauteng and Borrowdale from 1000m to 1900m. He won this race on July 27, 2019, beating Twilight Trip by 6.55 at level weights. His last outing was on August 16 this year over 1000m, when beaten by Christofle (receiving 3.5 kgs) by .75 lengths. Twilight Trip was further back.

YARRAMAN, a five-year-old gelding by Await The Dawn (USA), has the number 1 draw and Brendon McNaughton aboard. He too raced in Gauteng before coming to Borrowdale and has 7 wins to his credit, from 1600m – 1900m. Difficult to find form over Friday’s distance but on March 10, 2019, Yarraman (receiving 2kgs) was two lengths clear of What a Dandy over 1400m.

FAREEQ by Nadeem (AUS) is drawn 2 and Nikki Sibanda rides. The 8-year-old gelding had two good wins at Turffontein over 1600m, plus two at Borrowdale over 1800m and 1260m. Quite interesting in Friday’s context are his performances in a 1260m MR 88 Handicap in February when he beat stablemate Silver Coin, and in July, over the same trip, when five lengths off Tandava at level weights. Fareeq’s last outing was on August 16 over 1600m when 4.25 lengths off stable companion, Armstrong, who was receiving 2.5 kgs.

TWILIGHT TRIP, drawn 4, is a -seven-year-old by Trippi (USA) and he will be piloted by Morgan Nyamagwete. He won three races in the Cape over 1600m, and two at Borrowdale over 1200m (the 2018 HRIB Gold Cup) and 1260m, when in February 2019 he beat Coachella by 3 lengths, receiving 9 kgs. His more recent form is not so spectacular but who knows. Twilight Trip’s last outing on August 16, when he was behind Christofle and Tandava over 1000m, came after a lengthy layoff.

WHAT A DANDY, drawn 5, has *Rodgers Satombo (claiming 4kgs) in the hot seat. This six-year-old gelding by Just As Well (USA) has won 8 races from 1000m to 1800m but has only tried the 1450m trip once, in March 2019, in a MR 68 Handicap. That race was won by Kilowatt Kid, Yarraman was second, and What A Dandy, giving Yarraman 2 kgs, was 2 lengths behind him. On Friday What A Dandy will have weight on his side and being one of my favourites I certainly would not ignore him here.

However, I am not feeling adventurous so I expect Tandava will win. The Breeders Sprint is due off at 15 40 on Friday, and the first race is at 11 35.

Photographs by Zimbabwe Equine News