The link to the online Borrowdale card for today, Sunday March 7, is on this site now.

The average penetrometer reading at Borrowdale this morning was 31.

The first race at Borrowdale Park this afternoon, March 7, is due off at 13.05.

I have not received the pdf file for today’s meeting from the Mashonaland Turf Club so cannot post the card online.

Peggson and Yarraman have each had a moment of glory in the 1600m Ipi Tombe Stakes (L) and they step out again at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, 7th March, aiming for a repeat performance.

This year there are seven contestants all set to carry 60 kgs in the race which honours Ipi Tombe, but at the weights the previous winners may be hard to beat.

 In 2019 Peggson, by Jaypeg and with Brendon McNaughton up, beat Twilight Trip by 0.75 lengths in good going, and Simona ran third.  Peggson went on to win the Castle Tankard that year.

In 2020 Yarraman, by Await The Dawn (USA) and ridden by Hennie Greyling, beat Peggson (Thackeray) by half a length. Three To Tango (Takawira) came third – that day Fareeq was almost 11 lengths behind the winner.  The conditions were soft underfoot and since then Yarraman has won the 1800m National Foods Cup, in soft going, beating Peggson who was giving the winner 4 kgs, and Sunday’s runners Mr Greenlight, Wantage, Fareeq and Three To Tango.

Mr Greenlight was an impressive winner over 1260m in his last outing, and in December, in an 1800m Pinnacle Plate, Three To Tango (*Satombo) beat all of Wantage Yarraman, Peggson and Fareeq, in soft going, but the weights are very different now, although presumably Satombo will be claiming 2.5 kgs.

Last, but not least, in this competitive field is Bugatti Blue who has won his last two starts over 2000m and 1700m. The son of Traffic Guard (USA) usually puts his best hoof put forward but may have to try harder here. 

Dindingwe (the Cheetah) won the Betty Prosser Fillies Classic, first leg of Zimbabwe’s Triple Tiara, at Borrowdale Park today.

Bred by Ndoro Stud, the daughter of Futura has a host of owners headed by the Shepherd family, and this was her fourth win from five starts. This filly is in the Swanson yard and Apprentice Rodgers Satombo had the ride. The Swanson stable, and *Satombo, had a great afternoon, winning four of the seven races on the card.

The Fillies Classic provided some anxious moments when, 300m from the line, frontrunner Mazikeen seemed to be determined to hold off Dindingwe, but the favourite persevered and drew away to win comfortably.  Mazikeen was second, then True Beauty and Obscure.

Congratulations to all the winning connections.

Wish you were here…

The first race at Borrowdale Park today, Wednesday, February 24, 2020, is off at 12 30.

COVID-19 protocols apply so racing is still behind closed doors.

View or download the online race card from this site – where a link to the livestream will also appear. In addition, the Borrowdale races will be on Tellytrack Channel 249.

Photograph by Zimbabwe Equine News

Last Wednesday the scheduled Borrowdale Park race meeting was postponed due to heavy rain and it was carried forward to Wednesday 24 February – same card and featuring the Fillies Classic.

At the time of writing, it is all systems go barring another flood.  The meeting will be held behind closed doors and information published previously is on this site.

If you have studied the card you will have noticed Wednesday’s races are named after some of the late Betty Prosser’s favourite horses, one of which was Moment In The Sun. With a name like that how could the son of Kitalpha (USA) fail to have significant impact?

Born in 2008, ‘Moment’ was owned by Betty Prosser and Peter Moor and he raced at Borrowdale from February 2012 to December 2014.  He won four races and was placed 22 times from 32 runs – and wouldn’t we all like to share in such a super trooper?

Sooner or later every racing scribe gets around to writing about What’s In A Name and  https://dailyracingblog.com/ did so recently.  Although originating from America the information about the rules regarding naming a racehorse also applies here, but at the end of the serious stuff the author states, “But most of all have fun with the name” and I quote:  

‘In 1989 there was a filly named THE BRIDE. She never won a race in her short career, but at least one time, at some nondescript racecourse, as the horses made the turn for home, the track announcer got to bellow “And here comes THE BRIDE!’

Perhaps when choosing a name, one should also give more thought to the commentator.

A long time ago I named a horse Something Else…only because I became fed up with choosing brilliant names and then finding out those names were taken. So, I had to think of something else, and eventually decided the only option was to name the colt Something Else. He won races and I had no problem with the name – but Mervyn Hamilton did. One day at Borrowdale I was within earshot of an interesting conversation.

‘What was the horse you could not identify, Mervyn? – and Mervyn, who didn’t pull any punches, snarled, ‘I could identify the horse, but some idiot named him Something Else.’

So, if you can’t come up with a suitable winning name, you can always concentrate on enraging the commentator…

Joking aside, a horse with a perfect name usually wins races, so what about the Fillies Classic? True Beauty is a great name, but will someone please translate Dindingwe?  

PS I now know Dindingwe means Cheetah. Thank you Charles Rwizi

The Borrowdale Park race meeting scheduled for today, February 17, and postponed due to heavy rain, has been moved to 24 February, 2021.

The Mashonaland Turf Club has postponed tomorrow’s (Wednesday, 17 February) race meeting. The course was inspected at 9 pm this evening after heavy rain. In excess of 50mm has been recorded, it is still raining, and more rain is forecast.

Stablemates Dindingwe and True Beauty are due to clash again in the 1600m Fillies Classic at Borrowdale Park on Wednesday – and this is the first leg of Zimbabwe’s Silver Tiara.

On previous form it is hard to look further than this sparkling pair but if you are looking for long shots there is Mazikeen from the Gokhan Terzi stable, Borrowdale newcomer Karoo Winter, and Obscure to consider.  Obscure is sister to Lily Blue who won the Silver Tiara in 2020, and for all sorts of sentimental reasons many will be wishing her well.

All the runners are set to carry 58 kgs – but Dindingwe and Karoo Winter will have claiming apprentices in the irons.

Let’s take a look at the field:

 1 (3) DINDINGWE 58.0 (MR88) *R Satombo (2.5) Kirk Swanson

By Futura out of a Jallad (USA) mare.  Dindingwe is the winner of three of her four starts, including the Champion Juvenile Stakes and the Breeders Fillies Mile. Her stable companion True Beauty looks her main threat but in the Fillies Mile she got the better of True Beauty by 2.50 lengths when *Satombo was still claiming 4 kgs.

2 (2) TRUE BEAUTY 58.0 (MR88) N Takawira Kirk Swanson

By Skitt Skizzle out of a Silvano (GER) mare. A winner of three of her seven starts, including the 1200m Jacaranda Free Handicap and the 1600m Tote Free Handicap, True Beauty is the other class act in this one, but has yet to beat Dindingwe over 1600m. It is guaranteed she is going to try.

3 (6) KAROO WINTER 58.0 (MR76) *W Shumba (4.0) Thomas Mason

By Futura out of a Western Winter mare. 7 starts in the Cape and placed over 1400m and 1600m. Last raced at Kenilworth in November. Dropped in at the deep end for this her first start at Borrowdale but, if fully acclimatised, might surprise.

4 (5) POWDER PUFF 58.0 (MR74) K Derere Noelene Peech

By Judpot (USA) out of a Fort Wood mare.  Placed over 1450 at Turffontein. Only race at Borrowdale was in the 1200m Jacaranda Free Handicap in October when 4.40 lengths off True Beauty and was also behind Dindingwe and Mazikeen that day. Has probably improved.

5 (4) MAZIKEEN 58.0 (MR69) C Habib Gokhan Terzi

By Twice Over (GB) out of a Black Minnaloushe (USA) mare.  Won her first start over 1000m on February 19, 2020, and since then has been consistently placed from 1200m to 1600m.  Her last outing was in the Guineas Trial a month ago but ignore that as Mazikeen can do better.  However, Dindingwe and True Beauty have proved hard to beat, so far.

6 (1) OBSCURE 58.0 (MR64) T Gould Bridget Stidolph

By Black Minnaloushe (USA) out of a Kitalpha (USA) mare.  On November 28 Obscure won a 1450m Maiden Plate in very soft going with Teaque Gould aboard. She was fourth behind True Beauty, Mazikeen and Suave Judge in the 1600m Tote Free Handicap, and second to Magnus Maximus in the recent Guineas Trial.  An interesting runner.

7 (7) SEATTLE SWIFT 58.0 (MR57) K Steyn Bridget Stidolph

By Alado (GB) out of an Imperial Stride (GB mare). Left the maiden ranks on January 3 over 1600m in very soft going. Prior to that something seemed to have gone amiss in the Breeders Fillies Mile, but she was 5.75 lengths off Tricky Business over 1700m in December. Needs to show improvement to feature here.

Photographs by Jenny Stock, Gavin McLeod and Laurent Viguie

The postponed Fillies Classic meeting will now be held at Borrowdale Park on Wednesday, February 17. Nominations today and Final Declarations on Friday.

THE BORROWDALE PARK RACE MEETING SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY 31ST JANUARY 2021 HAS BEEN POSTPONED AS BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS ON THURSDAY PERMISSION HAD NOT BEEN RECEIVED FROM THE SRC TO HOLD THE MEETING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.