…so – asking from the peanut gallery – will someone please explain why?

To date during the 2020/21 racing season, we have had 12 Borrowdale Park race meetings (between the 9^th August 2020 and the 7^th March 2021).

I am sure someone will correct me if I am mistaken but I have always thought 1000m was the minimum trip (discounting juvenile races), but 1000m races are now few and far between, and some unusual distances have been introduced.  

When you add up the numbers the programme seems somewhat unbalanced – and I was surprised to see a 3000m event scheduled for March 21 – when one considers the dearth of races for stayers and the fact that we have missed a couple of meetings and training has sometimes been disrupted by the heavy rains.

These are the figures for races during this period. Let’s see if anyone agrees:

1000m – 4 races – 3 on August 9, and 1 on November 14.

1100m – 11 races including the Hachiman Sprint.

1200m – 14 races including the Jacaranda Free and the National Foods Gold Cup.

1260m – 7 races including the Sable Flyers.

1450m – 6 races including the Breeders Sprint on August 28.

1500m – 2 races including an Allowance Plate on October 30 and a Graduation Plate on January 3.

1600m – 20 races, including the Zimbabwe Challenge, Breeders Fillies Mile, Tote Free, the Fillies Classic and the Ipi Tombe Stakes.

1700m – 7 races.

1800m – 9 races including the National Foods Cup and the Champion Fillies Stakes.

1900m – 2 races – a Pinnacle Plate 100 on December 20 and an MR 70 Handicap on March 7.

2000m – 2 races – MR 85 on December 11 and MR 80 on February 24.

2200m – 1 race – MR 70 on November 28.

2400m – 0 races.

2700m – 0 races.

Horses have been nominated for the meeting on Sunday March 21 and the races include the 1600m Zimbabwe Guineas, and two 1600m events (MR90 and MR65); an 1100m Graduation Plate and a 1200m MR 80 Handicap;  a Maiden Plate over 1800m and a 3000m race.

WATCH THIS SITE – THE CENTAURIAN IS GEARING UP TO EXPRESS HIS VIEWS ON RACE DISTANCES.

Photograph by Gavin MacLeod: Tandava (Deon Sampson), trained by Gokhan Terzi and based in his Borrowdale satellite yard, won the 1000m Borrowdale Handicap way back when, beating Twilight Trip (Arries), Coastal Torrent (Samuel) and Butchie Boy (Moodley) to the line.

Late scratchings due mainly to a virus sweeping through some of the yards played havoc with the 1200m Maiden Plate where Sunday’s field was reduced to three Borrowdale Park first-timers – Green Serenity, Peacable and the unraced Master Of My Fate filly, Hedwig.

Hedwig, trained by Gokhan Terzi, won the race by a staggering 8 lengths with Hennie Greyling aboard.  Definitely one for the notebook and owned by Gengiz Goksel.

Gengiz Goksel, Mike Eaton, Gary Carter and Paula Lewis own Mazikeen – also trained by Terzi and ridden by Greyling – was another runaway winner in the 1600m Novice Plate. This time the winning margin was four lengths and placings went to Seattle Swift, Magic Mike and Farm Yard Tractor. 

Mazikeen, is a three-year-old filly by Twice Over (GB), bred by Klawervlei Stud.

Congratulations to all the winning connections.

Photographs: Zimbabwe Equine News.  

The Kirk Swanson yard, with Norbert Takawira in the irons, paid two visits to the Borrowdale Park winner’s enclosure on Sunday.

First up was the Pathfork mare, Mill Creek, who narrowly held off Jardin in the 1100m MR 65 Handicap.  She is owned by Messrs C G & R Bonthrone & Mrs J B Bonthrone, Ms S P Moyo, Mr G Tafeni and Dr Ben Mugabe. Bred by Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm this was Mill Creek’s fifth victory.

Another close finish came in the 1900m MR 70 Handicap when the Swanson-trained Haga Haga came from behind to beat Tomcat Racing’s Seattle Frost by a whisker. The seven-year-old Haga Haga, by Mullins Bay (GB), has now won nine races.  He is owned by Drs Ben Mugabe and Ronald Mhizha.

Well done everyone!

Photographs: Zimbabwe Equine News.

The Bridget Stidolph yard, paired with Teaque Travis Gould, won three of the seven races at Borrowdale Park on Sunday – including the Ipi Tombe Stakes (L) with Wantage.

Earlier in the afternoon Ultra Edge scored in the 1450m Maiden Plate, soon followed by Fortuna Doro in the MR 75 Handicap, also over 1450m.

Wantage is owned by Gael and Denis Evans of Newbury Racing (Pty) Ltd. Messrs R S Dyer, S N Buchan, N Evans, M K Chant, G de Jong, A Dixon, R Morgan, R Sherwood and Bryn Russell would have been shouting for Ultra Edge, and most of them, in the very next race, would have cheered Fortuna Doro to the wire.

Congratulations everyone.

Photographs by Zimbabwe Equine News

Four-year-old Wantage defied all the odds and won the 1600m Ipi Tombe Stakes (L) at Borrowdale Park this afternoon. He took on his elders at level weights and made it look easy.

By Ato, bred by Newbury Racing and Breeding Ltd, and owned by Newbury Racing (Pty) Ltd (nominee Mr D E Evans), Wantage showed promise as a three-year-old and he has now won 6 races. Teaque Gould was in the irons and this was his third win of the afternoon, riding for the Bridget Stidolph yard.

Congratulations to all the winning connections.

The two most fancied runners fluffed the start.  Yarraman broke out of the stalls and had to be brought back from the 1400m mark and reloaded – he finished fourth.  Peggson was very slow away and was left with far too much to do, although he tried hard to catch up with the field.  

Mr Greenlight came second, and Three To Tango third.  The winning margins, when available, will be interesting.  

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