Bridget Stidolph saddled Placid Sea (Chambers) and Valmont (*Sawere) who finished first and second on Sunday in the 1800m Novice Plate. Haga Haga and Golden Mystery ran third and fourth.

By Sabiango (GER) the four-year-old filly, Placid Sea, has won two of her three starts at Borrowdale. She was bred by Maine Chance Farms and is owned by the Newbury Racing Syndicate. –  Valmont  belongs to Newbury Racing and Wilgersbosdrift. Congratulations to Gael and Denis Evans and everyone else concerned. — with Bridget Stidolph, Gael Evans and Fanie Chambers.

Cool Solution, with Sherman Brown up, carried top weight to victory in the 1200m MR 70 Handicap, holding off a challenge from Kirk Swanson’s other runner,  Gotago.

The son of Mullins Bay (GB) is owned by Ron Mhizha, Sean Gorringe, Z.R. Lusengo, Sterling M. Miller, D.K. Ward, Mark Wood, Gary Carter, Paula Lewis, Ursula Malan and Anna Mason. He was bred by Summerhill Stud and has now won four of his 9 starts.

Solinski, by Fencing Master (GB), opened her winning account in the first Borrowdale race of 2017, a 1200m Maiden Plate, her second start.

This was the first of three winners from the Swanson yard.  Keagan de Melo was aboard and Solinski was bred by Sarahdane Stud. She is owned by the Dixie Chick Syndicate, Jackie and Duncan Cocksedge, Dubbles Draper, Ursula Malan and C. John Smith. Definitely a good way to start off the New Year.

Photograph: Zimbabwe Equine News

The Gavin MacLeod trained Aloft staked her claim as a likely Zimbabwe Triple Tiara contestant, when an easy winner of the 1700m Maiden Plate at Borrowdale on Sunday.

The three-year-old Main Aim (GB) filly showed her field a clean pair of heels, finishing four lengths clear of Flasher On The Run with Danger Dan and In The Oven trailing.

A four-year-old son of Announce, Super Good, stepped up in class at Borrowdale Park on Sunday and won the 1100m Hachiman Sprint with style. He was receiving 5kgs from the 2016 winner, Road To Dubai, who finished 3.75 lengths back in heavy going.

Wylde Style and Sheik’s Brashee filled the other places.

From the Mashonaland Turf Club race card for JANUARY 8th 2017

RACE 1 – King’s Wager (1), Solinski (8), Ezekial (3), Man Of Distinction (4).

If there is a deluge could the lightly weighted Tamarind surprise us?  Photograph by Zimbabwe Equine News.

This Borrowdale Park race meeting – the first of 2017 – looks set to be more of a mind game than usual.  The recent departure of Gokhan Terzi, rather more than less, to the Vaal, has resulted in the remaining trainers battling to keep the scheduled races alive.  Now we have to decide who is in it to win it, who is out for a run and who would rather have stayed in the stables.

Not that I have any objection to mind games because that, after all, is what makes racing special. There is so much more to it than simply ticking off names in a box.  With a bit of thought one can pick up a Quartet or two, and Borrowdale Quartets are worth winning.

The main event on Sunday is the 1100m Hachiman Sprint where Kirk Swanson will saddle five of the eight runners and of these I would say Road To Dubai is definitely in to win, although Penny Fisher’s charge, Sheik’s Brashee, is there to spoil his fun.

Bridget Stidolph fields the in-form Super Good, and Amy Bronkhorst’s three-year-old star, Wylde Style, also gets the chance to show how good she is up against the big boys.

We have to consider the going, and long distance predictions are about as reliable as weather forecasts seem to be right now.  There is likely to be a lot more rain, punctuated with brilliant sunshine, and Borrowdale Park drains well.

In a field of this nature expect some surprises.  In fact the more I think about it the more this seems a fascinating race. Expect more of the same in the rest of Sunday’s races.  Dare I say the Hachiman Sprint runners listed below appear in order of preference?  I don’t think so.

SHEIK’S BRASHEE – (63 kgs) Ignore his last outing in the Zimbabwe Challenge as 1450m has never been his game.  Concentrate rather on the MR 95 Handicap run over 1100m on November 6, which he won, beating Approval Rating and Road To Dubai, and the HRIB Gold Cup on December 18 when Sheik’s Brashee ran third to Road To Dubai, giving his younger paternal half-brother  6 kgs for a 2.60 lengths beating.  He will be 3kgs better off on Sunday.  Ryan Munger rides and he jumps from the number 2 stall.  Likely Tote favourite.

ROAD TO DUBAI – (60 kgs) winner of the 1200m HRIB Gold Cup on December 18, but with the turnaround in weights this gifted sprinter has more to do here.  Ran a shocker in November when third to Sheik’s Brashee over 1100m but was hanging-in in the final 250m.  Keagan de Melo rides on Sunday from a number 3 draw.  Four of Road To Dubai’s 8 wins have been over Sunday’s distance so definitely in with a big shout .

TAMARIND – (52 kgs) drawn 7 out of 8, Kevin Derere rides this son of Kahal (GB) for the first time.  With Keagan de Melo aboard Tamarind finished a creditable third to Newton Power and Road To Dubai over 1200m on May 7, and he is also lightly weighted here. He ran behind Sunday’s runners Super Good and Wylde Style over 1260m but meets them now on slightly better terms.  Definitely in my Quartet.

The two younger horses, SUPER GOOD and WYLDE STYLE both carry 54 kgs and have drawn 4 and 5 respectively.  Eric Pheiffer will ride Wylde Style while Fanie Chambers has Super Good.  Neither of these horses have taken on the likes of Sheik’s Brashee and Road To Dubai previously, but considering the weight they will have on their side I don’t know what to expect.  The Quartet looms larger.

MADIGAN – (57.5 kgs)  – drawn 1 – Sherman Brown in the irons.  Was no slouch over 1100m and 1200m initially, but that was a long time ago and he has gathered most of his many laurels over more ground.  The inclusion of this talented 8-year-old makes life interesting but I don’t think he will make my quartet on Sunday  – but OMG imagine the payout if this old favourite pulls a fast one.

PERFECT GRACE – 53 kgs – has the outside draw and Brendon McNaughton aboard – neither of these factors would one normally choose to overlook.  However, 1400m is the shortest trip this five-year-old son of Antonius Pius (USA) has ever attempted so maybe give him a miss.  Of course I – and everyone who has trained this horse to date – could be wrong.  We have to wait and see.

SILVA HAWK –  (60kgs) – Norbert Takawira rides.  Drawn 6.  A 7-year-old son of Silvano (GER)  having his first start at Borrowdale.  Three-time winner at Scottsville, Turffontein and Greyville from 1400m to 1600m.  Last race was at Greyville in February 2016 – watch for now.

The first race is due off at 12 40. Come rain or shine, if you can, please be there to support the trainers who have had to pull out most of the stops for Sunday.

 Photograph courtesy of Zimbabwe Equine News. If there is a deluge could the lightly weighted Tamarind surprise us?
 

Borrowdale Park Tote Favourites were conspicuously absent from the Number 1 Box on Sunday – in fact only two finished in the first four.  The penetrometer reading at the beginning of the meeting was 23 – a far cry from the 12 recorded on December 3 – and rain fell during the afternoon.

Bridget Stidolph saddled the winners of the first three races on the card and then followed up in the lucky last.

Windigo, trained by Kirk Swanson and with Randall Simons in the irons, snatched victory from Newton Power in the last stride of the 1450m Zimbabwe Challenge – winning margin 0.05 lengths.

By Windrush (USA), Windigo is owned by Colin Bird . His previous four wins have been over more ground but the five-year-old gelding produced a storming finish, after being rested for 155 days. He was bred by The Alchemy.

Phantom Major and Sherman Brown won the 1450m Novice Plate for owner John Koumides and the Swanson yard.  By Sarge, Phantom Major now won both his starts and he was bred by Mr D.G.M. Southey, who also bred the Stidolph winner Super Good.

By Announce and owned by The Sunmark Racing Three, Super Good, held off Cool Solution, Wylde Style and Tamarind in the  1260m MR 78 Handicap.  Fanie Chambers had the ride and he also scored with the Stidolph-trained Nemba Beach, in the 1200m Maiden Plate, and Milla’s Smile in the 1260m MR 59 Handicap – both horses owned by Newbury Racing.

Brendan McNaughton was aboard the other Stidolph winner, Megagram, in the third race, a 1800m Maiden Plate.  The three-year-old gelding, by Tamburlaine (IRE), belongs to Messrs M.S. Kajese and R.E. Davenport and was bred by Sunmark Thoroughbreds.

The remaining training honours went to Penny Fisher when David’s Flower and Ryan Munger  comfortably won the 1700m MR 63 Handicap.  The Australian bred gelding has won three of his last four starts – and three before that.  He is owned by Messrs C. Lafraisiere and D.L.G. Basnier.

The next Borrowdale Park race meeting is on Sunday, January 8, and features the Hachiman Sprint.

Windigo won the  2016 Zimbabwe Challenge

The weather may hold the key…

Former Kranje star Flax has to date won one race at Borrowdale Park, and that was the 1450m Breeders Sprint on July 31.

Bridget Stidolph’s charge steps out on Sunday in the Zimbabwe Challenge, also over 1450 m, where he is set to carry 59 kgs to stable mate Mathematician’s top weight of 60 kgs.  Both these runners took part in the 1200m HRIB Gold Cup on December 3 and trailed in – a pipe opener for this race, perhaps.
Zimbabwe Horse of The Year, Mathematician, won his four races from 1300m to 2400m, but judging by their previous experience over this trip Flax probably has the edge.

Sheik’s Brashee from the Penny Fisher yard will carry 57 kgs this time but has yet to win beyond 1200m.  He finished third in the HRIB, 2.60 lengths back and giving the winner 6 kgs.

The son of The Sheik was well beaten by Flax at level weights in the Breeders Sprint.  Now he receives 2kgs and his recent form is excellent, but how will he handle the extra ground?

All of Windigo, Madigan, Call Me Earl, La Carmelita and Newton Power come in at 53,5 kgs or below.
Newton Power (52kgs) has won over Sunday’s distance both at Borrowdale and Turffontein, and also clocked up a 1400m victory at the Vaal.  He was 1.75 lengths off Flax in the Breeders Sprint, at level weights, and last time out ran second to Road To Dubai in the HRIB.  He has to be a real danger here.

As for the rest do not write them off.  They will see out the trip and Madigan, for instance, has been placed several times in this particular race, carrying much more than he will on Sunday.

The outcome is probably going to depend on the conditions underfoot.  At the last meeting I predicted a change in the going – which did not happen.  Surely we have now had sufficient rain to shift the readings away from Firm?

Another particularly interesting race on Sunday’s card is the second, a 1260m MR 78 Handicap, where Comanche Brave takes on Tote Free Handicap winner, and stable companion, Wylde Style.

By Kahal (GB) the four-year-old gelding, Comanche Brave has won three of his seven Borrowdale starts, over 1200m and 1600m, and been placed second over 1200m and 1800m.  He ran fourth in the recent HRIB and will be giving the three-year-old West Man (USA) filly, Wylde Style, 1,5 kgs on Sunday.  The stable mates have not met previously and five-time winner Wylde Style has not raced in open company before. Comanche Brave has the outside draw.

Amy Bronkhorst’s  pair will be giving weight to the rest of the field which includes the Kirk Swanson trio, Tamarind, Gotago and Cool Solution.  Bridget Stidolph fields Super Good, El Gallo and Nimble Dancer.  Super Good has got the better of Comanche Brave at level weights…and now receives 2,5 kgs. Tamarind is also one to follow, I think.

This smallish field could provide a worthwhile Quartet.  Wish I knew what the weather was really going to do.  There has been a good, soaking rain and weather  fundis  expect more.

Photograph: Flax heading for home in the  1450m  Breeders Sprint on July 31.  Followed by Newton Power and Eurakilon.

Minor events provided the tightest finishes at the last Borrowdale Park race meeting. The cliffhanger of the day was the finish of the fourth race, a 1800m Maiden Plate.

The Bridget Stidolph trained Karatu, with Fanie Chambers up, held off Supalumina (0.10) and Aloft (0.60). Supalumina was ridden by Keagan de Melo for the Swanson yard, while Aloft, with Kevin Derere aboard, is trained by Gavin Macleod.

Let’s take the sad news first. Zimbabwe’s Champion Trainer 2015/16, Gokhan Terzi, is heading to South Africa, and will be missed. However his Borrowdale Park yard will remain in operation – and that’s the good part.

Gokhan said today “First load of horses are leaving on the 14th December. The second load will be leaving two weeks later. I’m taking down 25 of the horses currently in my yard.