Jet Green, a Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) filly having her first start at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, January 12th, finished within 0.25 lengths of When Evening Comes in the 1600m MR 65 Handicap.
The winner, trained by Thomas Mason and bred at Kevin Fallon’s Spotted Pig Stud, was completing a double and has now won 3 races for Messrs C Adamson, K P Fallon and Mrs I A Fallon. Kaidan Brewer was in the irons.
Leading trainer Debra Swanson added to her tally at Borrowdale Park on Sunday the 12th of January when Admirals Chance won the 1200m MR 85 Handicap, and Pragmatist the 2000m Allowance Plate. Jeffery Syster rode both winners.
Admirals Chance, a five-year-old horse by Admiral Kitten (USA), is owned by Messrs P D Gorringe , S P Gorringe, V Patel & D K Ward. Bred by Mr S W van der Walt, he has now won five races and finished two lengths clear of stable companion Ultimate Jewel on Sunday.
The Dalzel Syndicate (nominee Mathew Moxon) owns Pragmatist, a five-year-old gelding by Jackson out of a Silvano (GER) mare. Bred by Maine Chance Farms, the five-time winner was involved in a tight finish with the newcomer to Borrowdale, Master Tik Tok.
2025 Zimbabwe Challenge Captive Moon under Philasande Mxoli won the 1450m Zimbabwe Challenge. Trained by Gavin Macleod.Tom’s Diner (Mxoli) won the 1100m Graduation Plate. (Photographs by Zimbabwe Equine News).
In 2024 trainer Gavin Macleod and his daughter, Robyn Macleod, won the 1450m Zimbabwe Challenge with Brianna. At Borrowdale Park on Sunday, they won the 2025 version with Captive Moon.
Philasande Mxoli piloted the six-year-old Flower Alley (USA) gelding, bred by Geoff Armitage. Captive Moon has now won seven races. He won this Zimbabwe Challenge by 2.50 lengths and then came Abayyaan, Wantage and Citrusdal.
Earlier in the afternoon the Macleod/Mxoli team scored with Tom’s Diner, winner of the 1100m Graduation Plate.
The feature race at Borrowdale Park this Sunday, the 12th of January 2025, is the 1450m Zimbabwe Challenge, won last year by Brianna under Morgen Nyamagwete.
Brianna’s trainer, Gavin Macleod, fields Captive Moon (Mxoli) and Raining Again (Derere) this time. Debra Swanson will saddle Abayyaan (Syster) and Var Aglow (Takawira), while Citrusdal (Marwing) and Wantage (Brewer)represent Bridget Stidolph’s yard.
The race is due off at 15:20 and this is a competitive field. Dare I say there is likely to be a change in the going which may complicate things? There has been some rain recently, but the weather is unpredictable this year – and that’s putting it mildly.
The first race on Sunday is off at 12:25.
Photograph by Zimbabwe Equine News: When Brianna won the 2024 Zimbabwe Challenge.
Joan Callaghan had a birthday recently and posted this on a WhatsApp group. With her permission, I am sharing what she said as it expressed, perfectly, what many of us feel.
‘’Thanks once again for your messages
‘’I am sitting here thinking about how wonderful it was to own horses in the good old Borrowdale days. A beautiful racecourse, great trainers and jockeys, and so many great characters who owned
‘’I consider myself blessed to have been a part of this wonderful racing community.’’
Dandy Lad, trained by Freddy Maisch, was Joan’s first runner, and she said: “The very handsome Dandy Lad was sent up to me from Terence Millard …Royal Pardon out of Flushing Meadow.
“I was 33 years old and my last winner was here in Johannesburg …Emirate Gina …when I was 81! I’ve been around a long time.”
On Friday, Hildelita, a four-year-old Vercingetorix filly bred by Bafazi Bloodstock, won the 1600m Champion Fillies Stakes at Borrowdale Park.
Trained by Debra Swanson and owned by the Centaur Syndicate (nominee Craig Danckwerts), Hildelita has now won four races. She won this one easily carrying 60 kgs, and then came Ian’s Ferrari (Klink) and Cutback (Penny). Jeffery Syster rode the winner.
On Friday, the 20th of December 2024, the 1600m Champion Fillies Stakes is the feature race at Borrowdale Park. Seven fillies and mares have been nominated and the Final Field should be known by Tuesday.
Let’s look at what happened in 2015.
Equina Wins Champion Fillies Stakes
Posted on Nov 17, 2015
Zimbabwe’s champion race mare, Equina, clocked up another victory at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, despite carrying top weight. Quinton Riddle, master of the last–minute pounce, was in the irons and Amy Bronkhorst trains Equina. Gentle Brook, also from the Bronkhorst yard, was second. Print The Pounds was third and Diversify fourth.
Bred by Cheveley Stud, Equina is owned by Peter Moor. She has now won 12 races, including the Castle Tankard (GR 1), the OK Grand Challenge (GR 2) and the Republic Cup (GR 3).
Diz Buckler presented the Champion Fillies Stakes trophy to Equina’s trainer, Amy Bronkhorst, and Richard Moor. Quinton Riddle was also in the line-up.
The Stidolph yard and jockey Nathan Klink were also in fine form at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, winning three of the cards’ six races.
Guerra came home lonely in the 1200m Graduation Plate finishing three lengths clear of Tom’s Diner. The Lancaster Bomber (USA) gelding carried top weight, and he is owned by Messrs A Dixon, R S Dyer, S N Buchan, N Evans, G De Jong, M K Chant, Bryn Ressell, F Sherwood, P Annesley, D C Samuels and S W Shutt. Congratulations everyone!
The next to score was Kallipos, owned by Edith Tapfuma, who won the 1260m MR80 Handicap, narrowly beating Admirals Chance. The son of Oratorio (IRE) has now won five races. Well done.
Borrowdale veteran Citrusdal completed the treble for Bridget and Nathan when he won the 2200m Pinnacle Plate 105. This was Citrusdal’s 14th win – quite an achievement – and the eight-year-old is owned by Messrs R S Dyer, S N Buchan, N Evans, M K Chant, G De Jong, A Dixon, R Morgan, R Sherwood and Bryn Ressell.
Congratulations to all the winning connections. A memorable day.
Photographs by Zimbabwe Equine News: TOP Guerra; BELOW LEFT: Kallipos; BELOW RIGHT: Citrusdal.
Once more the Gold Cup Sprint (Gr 3) provided a thrilling finish with the first three home, Majestic Warrior, Var Aglow and Jubilee, crossing the line within less than a length.
This was Majestic Warrior’s fourth victory and the five-year-old gelding, by Master of My Fate, is owned by Duncan and Jackie Cocksedge. On Sunday, Ndoro Stud bred the winner, Debra Swanson trains, and Kevin Derere was in the irons.
The Swanson/ Derere partnership was firing at Borrowdale Park on Sunday afternoon, having won the first two races with Hemlock and King’s Crown.
The Gold Cup Sprint will be run at Borrowdale Park this Sunday, the 8th of December 2024. This race has a proud history – sponsored over many years by the likes of Schweppes and HRIB – so let’s look at one that went before– together with the race report published then.
DESPERATE DASH FOR HRIB GOLD CUP
What a race. The first four horses in the 2017 HRIB Gold Cup finished within 1.10 lengths, with Coachella holding on to win by a whisker from a fast finishing Super Good .
Bridget Stidolph saddled the first two horses past the post, Life Is Good ran third and Road To Dubai fourth. Fanie Chambers was aboard the winner.
By Alado (GB), Coachella was bred by Prof I.M. Sanne and is owned by John Koumides. The four-year-old gelding carried 61 kgs on Saturday and it has been quite a while since that was equalled in the HRIB – Zimbabwe’s most prestigious sprint.
It was Coachella’s sixth win and this one completed a hat-trick.
Hildelita (Syster) won the 2024 Sable Flyers (LR) run over 1260m at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, after a tight tussle with Queen Of Fire (Kaidan Brewer).
Leading trainer Debra Swanson saddled the four-year-old Vercingetorix filly, bred by Bafazi Bloodstock, and owned by the Centaur Syndicate (nominee: Craig Danckwerts). The winning margin on Sunday was 0.10 lengths and Hildelita has now won three races.
The Mashonaland Turf Club played catch-up after Sunday’s race meeting by presenting the racing awards in all categories for both 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Nobert Takawira was Champion Jockey in 2022/23 and that year Debra Swanson was the Champion Trainer. As usual, the photographs provided by Zimbabwe Equine News tell most of the story. Mark Pozzo was Master Of Ceremonies. Rosemary Dorward and Jill Bruss did the presentations.
Racing at Borrowdale Park in Harare - Zimbabwe 