One of the first things cadet journalists used to be taught was “You are not the story” and I agree with that.
However, this time I am the story – or at least half of it.
Someone, who has chosen to be known as ‘James k’, has commented on the post IF SHE IS IN IT SHE WINS IT and beginning ” Lily Blue The 2021 STYLE Round Table Champion Fillies Stakes will be run over 1600m at Borrowdale Park on Saturday…”
James k on November 4, 2021. at 7:18 pm said:‘Is there only one trainer at borrowdale park ??? as it seems all the headlines are only focused to one yard and never any credit given to horses that win from the other yards…’.
‘I replied: “Quite an offensive comment and I am sure you are aware there are several trainers at Borrowdale. Perhaps you should get your information about Borrowdale elsewhere.
”Then…James k on November 4, 2021, at 7:36 pm said:‘Maybe you should you promote borrowdale racing more openly and fairly instead of being so biased to one yard, and give credit where credit is due. this just leaves a bitter taste to owners in other yards.’’
As ‘James k’ feels so strongly about this I feel his comments should be given adequate coverage, and so I will post this on my three Facebook pages – which have been aimed at promoting Borrowdale Park – for years.
I am not employed by anyone to promote Borrowdale Park – or individual trainers. I write what I like, when, and if, I like – and that is not going to change.
And I certainly appreciate all those who have supported me in this hobby, which takes up a great deal of my time – when I am not having to deal with all the other things that go with life in Zim.
The 2021 STYLE Round Table Champion Fillies Stakes will be run over 1600m at Borrowdale Park on Saturday and, if Lily Blue is in it, I expect her to win.
Traditionally this race has been run over 1800m – which may have suited Lily Blue better at this stage of her career – but it is what it is and she will surely be hard to beat. Lily Blue won this race in 2019 and recently returned to Zimbabwe after campaigning in Gauteng.
Last season’s champion, Dindingwe, is also among the acceptors and is set to carry 60 kgs – the same weight as Lily Blue. Of the others, Ultra Edge, Fortuna Doro and Mazikeen could surprise, so let’s take a quick look at the previous form.
1 Drawn 4 DINDINGWE 60 kgs (MR90) Wes Marwing – Debra Swanson – 4f By Futura – Miss Delish by Jallad (USA). As a three-year-old won 1600m Fillies Classic, Breeders Fillies Mile, Zimbabwe Guineas, Silver Slipper (1800m), and placed third in 2400m Zimbabwe Derby. Has not fared well in open company so far.
2 Drawn 1 LILY BLUE 60 kgs (MR94) J Gates – Bridget Stidolph – 5m By Black Minnaloushe (USA) – Mammy Blue (ZIM) by Kitalpha (USA). In 2019 Won Breeders Fillies Mile, Champion Fillies Stakes (1800m), Fillies Classic, Zimbabwe Guineas, Silver Slipper (1800m), Zimbabwe Derby, and Zimbabwe Oaks. Has won two races at the Vaal over 1800m this year.
3 Drawn 2 FORTUNA DORO 58 kgs (MR86) K Steyn – Bridget Stidolph – 6m By Pomodoro – Fortunes Hand by Elliodor (FR). Won over 1450m at the Vaal and two races at Borrowdale over 1450m and 1500m. Has run a couple of decent races over 1600m, and was placed in this race in 2020.
4 Drawn 3 SEVEN SEAS 54 kgs (MR79) A Arries – Gokhan Terzi – 5m By Elusive Fort – Seven Sails by Argonaut. Won over 1450m at the Vaal and a 1200m Graduation Plate at Borrowdale, beating Tulip Way. Rather a dark horse as has not often tried further.
5 Drawn 6 ULTRA EDGE 54 kgs (MR77) T Gould – Bridget Stidolph – 4f By Master Of My Fate – Quick Single by Jallad (USA). Has won last 3 starts – an 1800m Novice Plate, the 1260m Sable Flyers and a 1600m Progress Plate. In form and should do well.
6 Drawn 5 MAZIKEEN 52 kgs (MR 74) L Tarentaal – Vanessa Birketoft – 4f By Twice Over (GB) – Jennyanydots by Black Minnaloushe (USA). Second to Dindingwe in 1600m Fillies Classic, has won 1600m Novice Plate and ran second to Diesel And Dust in the Zimbabwe 2000 in April, finishing 1.55 lengths ahead of Dindingwe. Seems to have gone off the boil recently.
The first race on Saturday is at 12 20 pm and the Champion Fillies Stakes is due off at 16 25.
This could be a first at Borrowdale Park. To read what The Centaurian has to say about Match Races – and other things – visit his page on this site https://zimracing.com/the-centaurian-takes-aim/
Star filly Lily Blue came home to Zimbabwe about three weeks ago and Bridget Stidolph has nominated her for the Champion Fillies Stakes – a race she won in 2019.
The yard has also nominated Bam Bam Pebbles, Fortuna Doro and Ultra Edge for this event to be run at Borrowdale Park on Saturday 6 November.
Lily Blue is returning from a sojourn in the Paul Matchett yard in Gauteng where she won two races. The daughter of Black Minnaloushe (USA) is an 11-time winner.
Borrowdale Park veteran, Peggson, again carries top weight in the 1800m National Foods Plate due to be run on Sunday October 24, and all being well could record his 10th victory.
Six of Sunday’s runners finished in the first seven in the 1800m OK Grand Challenge on June 5. The OK was won by Finchatton, followed by Peggson, Holy Land, Fareeq (not in this race on Sunday), Three To Tango, Yarraman and Wantage.
All finished within 3.75 lengths of Finchatton. Mr Greenlight was also in the line-up that day but was 8.95 lengths behind.
Although Finchatton can be expected to perform well this Sunday, on paper, he has a bit more to do. On June 5 he was receiving 3.5 kgs from Peggson (only half-a-length back) but on Sunday this weight advantage will be cut to 2 kgs. Holy Land, third in the OK Grand Challenge, was receiving 7 kgs from Peggson. On Sunday he will heft 56 kgs, to Peggson’s 60, and although Holy Land has been enjoying a purple patch, he is back with the big boys here.
Wantage, could be cheeky, as he will be 1.5 kgs better off with stablemate Peggson .
HOWEVER, let’s not forget that in the OK Grand Challenge Peggson lost lengths at the start and, providing this has not become habitual, he should be home and dry.
Without doubt Sunday’s field is competitive, and there may be a change in the going as at the time of writing there has been some rain.
Photograph by Laurent Viguie – 400m out in the 2021 OK Grand Challenge.
Borrowdale Park is a very special place, steeped in history, glory, tragedy, noise, laughter, tears, heroes, villains and characters. It is the home of Mashonaland Turf Club.
For me it is one of the best racecourses in the world – and I have raced at quite a few – and it has been the crucible in which many lasting friendships have been forged. It is a very special place indeed.
In recent years the MTC has been dogged by a series of viability difficulties – as have many comparable clubs in Southern Africa. Successive Boards of Stewards – usually made up of the highly capable captains of commerce and industry – have done their very best to steady the ship with varying degrees of success.
That we are still racing today is testament to all those efforts because the Chairman and his Board of Stewards have survival as their core objective. Everything else might be important but can only be secondary to survival.
Central to the efforts of the Board has been the support and generosity of a phalanx of benefactors – they know who they are – but we are all very grateful to them and for the faith they have placed in the Board of Stewards. And it is important to stress that some of these benefactors are in fact serial benefactors. These individuals have provided the financial support needed to allow the Board sufficient time to restructure the club, and to forge a self-sufficient entity which will see the MTC continue racing in perpetuity.
Over the past three years some good things have been achieved – but at the same time, there are elements remaining which are far from satisfactory.
To survive and prosper, every business needs to balance the books, and this has been the core of Board strategy.
BETTING
Whilst you can have an argument about a number of moves made, for me it is clear that the MTC simply has not had the resources to manage anything other than the club itself for some time. In this regard, for example, I mention the string of betting outlets across the country. The MTC should have had the ability to run this business unit, as gambling is technically a very profitable area of racing – as Moors World of Sport is demonstrating – but it didn’t. It was before my time as a Steward, but my guess is that we managed to lose money, lots of money in this function and thus it was right to ditch it and find a different angle back into the gambling potential. More news of that in a future column.
Whilst we all know that racing is rarely a profitable business, the idea that owners would accept lower purses came as a big surprise to all. But cost cutting had to include lower prize money. Having said that, I would contend that the economics of owning racehorses in Zimbabwe are still better than anywhere else in the world – scroll through my previous columns to find the maths which prove this.
I will list other cost cutting successes in future columns
REVENUE
As cost cutting efforts were being driven, so too were, and are, efforts to enhance revenue streams. Central to this work is the repurposing of the club’s fixed and intangible assets. As is evident, many retail outlets are now to be found around the stands, all paying rents into the club’s coffers. It is also evident that many advertising hoardings are displaying posters – and paying the club site fees. With our return to the screens of Tellytrack, such opportunities can only become much more valuable.
For me, the repurposing of our very considerable facilities holds much potential for the future viability of the club – again, more to follow in future columns.
So, there we are, a few of the good steps which have been taken in recent years.
But there are still areas which are less than satisfactory. For example, Admin and PR. I am not going to go into the detail of these things, suffice to say that I am strongly on the case and have the full support of my fellow Stewards in tackling these important secondary objectives.
With regard to Public Relations, I would say that I am doing my best to keep members informed either through this column or through specific WhatsApp groups. I would also say that I am available to hear any representations from interested parties on any subject – and to this end, I have held many meetings in the past months. Moreover, if anyone has a particular issue, they can write to me on cjohnsmith1@aol.com – but in addition to the issue you wish to raise, I would require to be given one or more solutions to that issue. I am not an “agony aunt” – nor do I want to hear of these issues on race day – such days are for fun only.
Overall, I can report that the efforts of the Board of Stewards are taking the club in the right direction and – as might be expected – whilst we may not always see eye to eye with each other, I do believe we have a common cause – survival, then prosperity – and that is all that matters.
Finally, I would ask all MTC members to make sure they bring their annual subs with them on Sunday 24th October – prompt payment of a modest $150 per annum will help us at many levels.
C John Smith, aka The Centaurian, posts regularly on this site… this time he writes as an MTC Steward.
Peter Cawood, a former chairman of the Mashonaland Turf Club, kept a low profile but achieved a great deal.
He died peacefully in Harare on Thursday after a long illness, bravely borne, and will be sorely missed by friends and colleagues. Paul Rugg, who succeeded Mr Cawood in 2009 as MTC chairman, said, “Peter Cawood was an amazing and intelligent gentleman. He loved to have a bet and knew everything about form and punting. He understood the operations of the Tote better than anyone in Zimbabwe and was aware of exactly what a punter and the Racing Operator needed.
“His commitment to the Turf Club was second to none, and its continued existence was due in many ways to his knowledge. All round he was a magnificent man to work with – never stressed – and if things went wrong, he simply said ‘Stop – just let’s apply ourselves to the problem.’”
Peter was MTC Chairman from 2004-2007, having been brought on board as a steward in the early 2000’s, mainly to sort out the TOTE, introduce commingling, and deal with LOTTO. Off the course he was a senior partner and tax consultant at Price Waterhouse.
Henk Leyenaar says it was an honour and privilege to have known Peter. “He was my mate, through racing, for over 50 years – a boffin with figures and a shrewd and successful punter who only bet when it was worthwhile. Strangely he never owned a horse, and when I offered him a share in a syndicate, for free, he said ‘No’.
“Peter was a dedicated family man – he lived for them – and he was the kindest person.”
Rest in peace, Peter Cawood. You were an integral part of racing in Zimbabwe, and we will remember.
Ultra Edge, the 2021 Sable Flyers (L} winner, was ridden by Jarryd Penny and followed across the line by Heart Of A Legend, Widjaan, and Seven Seas.Winning margin 2.50 lengths.
The Master Of My Fate filly is trained by Bridget Stidolph and was bred by Varsfontein Stud. She 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 Russell.
Eight fillies and mares are due to run in the 1260m Sable Flyers (L) at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, so let’s remember some of those who have been victorious in this race before.
In 2016 the race was won by Invincible Swan (J P van der Merwe), trained by Gokhan Terzi.
Belle Epoque won in 2018 with Apprentice M Mjoko in the irons, trained by Kirk Swanson.
The Swanson yard also won the Sable Flyers in 2018 and 2019 with In The Mood. Francois Herholdt was aboard in 2018, and the following year Norbert Takawira was up.
White Winter, trained by Gokhan Terzi and ridden by Nicky Sibanda, scored in 2020.
FINALFields for the Borrowdale Park race meeting on Sunday, October 10, should be available later today, and the feature race is the Sable Flyers for fillies and mares.
The Bridget Stidolph yard was off to a good start to the 2021/22 season, winning four of the seven races on the Borrowdale card on Sunday, 26 September. Port Elizabeth based jockey, Teaque Gould, won with Tradition, Magic Vision, Magic Mike and Love To Bluff.
Love To Bluff scored in the 1000m Borrowdale Plate and has now won 12 races. By Judport (USA), this five-year-old gelding was bred by Millstream Farm and is owned by Messrs R S Dyer, S N Buchan, N Evans, M K Chant, G de Jong, A Dixon, R Morgan, A Sherwood, G Carter and Mr J P Lewis.
The Debra Swanson yard had two winners – Bold Idyll (Herholdt) and Tulip Way (*Shumba), and Wijdaan (Matsunyane) won for Vanessa Birketoft of V Racing.
Racing at Borrowdale Park in Harare - Zimbabwe 