Not only did Coachella carry 62 kgs in the Pinnacle Plate 105 at Borrowdale Park on Friday – and win – the six-year-old Alado (GB) gelding smashed the course and class records. His time over the 1100m trip was 62.39 seconds.
Life Is Good previously held the Course Record – 62.99 carrying 58kgs. In November 2013 Two Buck Chuck set the Class Record – 64.99 with 50 kgs.
Coachella is trained by Bridget Stidolph and Norbert Takawira was in the irons.
Owner John Koumides had the added distinction of having two horses in his colours duelling up the straight before Coachella pulled away to win. What A Dandy (Derere) came second, followed by Christofle (Nyamagwete) then Clash City Rocker (Sibanda). Coachella was bred by Professor I M Sanne.
Coachella has won 8 eight races from 1000 to 1260 m including the 2017 HRIB Gold Cup (carrying 61 kgs).
In the 2018 HRIB he carried 63 kgs and finished only 1.5 lengths off Twilight Trip – Road To Dubai (52 kgs) was second. The winner was also set to carry 52 but had claiming apprentice Liam Tarentaal on board that day
In the 2019 Gold Cup Coachella was just touched off by Verdier (receiving 11 kgs) and Friday’s runners Silver Coin and What A Dandy were further back.
The Gold Cup is over 1200m, but Friday’s 1100m Pinnacle Plate at Borrowdale Park should suit Coachella (62kgs) very well. He has won four times over this trip and will be back up the straight for the first time since the Gold Cup outing in December 2019. With the outside draw, I expect this six-year-old Alado (GB) gelding will be hard to beat despite carrying top weight – again.
Coachella is trained by Bridget Stidolph, and this time Norbert Takawire has the ride. Morgan Nyamagwete is on stable companion Christofle (54kgs) – also no slouch over 1100m. Silver Coin, What A Dandy and Clash City Rocker all have some claims to sprinting fame, but…
As there is no feature race at Borrowdale Park on Friday the focus is on a 1800m Allowance Plate for three-year-olds – the only available prep race, I would imagine, for the approaching 2400m Zimbabwe Derby and 2000m Zimbabwe Oaks.
When the weights were first published Bridget Stidolph’s star filly, Lily Blue, was set to carry 62 kgs but due to COVID -19 the minimum riding weight in plate races was raised to 52 kgs -and with this in play Lily Blue would have carried 64.5 kgs. Understandably this was a very tall ask so Lily Blue won’t step out this time. Fire To The Rein and Varnica also scratched, leaving a field of six.
Wantage, a colt by Ato and trained by Bridget, is now the class act and he will carry 62 kgs. He ran second to Lily Blue in the Zimbabwe Guineas on the first of March, conceding 2.5 kgs. A few weeks later Wantage won the Zimbabwe 2000, beating Friday’s runner Zambezi Rapids by 1.25 lengths at level weights.
Zambezi Rapids from the Swanson yard has won over 1200m and 1600m and considering his run in the Zimbabwe 2000, and the turnaround in weights here, this lightly raced Dynasty gelding poses a threat.
The Swansons’ other runner. Tree Of Wisdom, has the advantage of a recent run under his belt. By Softly Falling Rain, he came out on June 3 when third to Bam Bam Pebbles in a 1600m Graduation Plate.
Tomcat Racing fields two – Centre Stage a filly by Oratorio (IRE), and the Jackson gelding, Leicester Square. There is little local form to go on but Thomas Mason has surprised us before.
Last, but not least, is the ultra-consistent Ato filly, Prescott – Wantage’s stable companion, and so often the bridesmaid to Lily Blue.
So, the three-year-old star may be missing from the line-up, but this still has the makings of a good race. Apprentice allowances may be claimed.
The Allowance Plate is due off at 13.25. The First race of the day is a Maiden Juvenile Plate at 10.55 featuring 9 runners including first-timer Obscure, a half-sister to Lily Blue, and four trainers. Things are looking up.
1 5 WANTAGE (3C) 62.0 (MR81) M Nyamagwete – Bridget Stidolph Ato – Angora by Tamburlaine (IRE)
2 6 ZAMBEZI RAPIDS (3G) 57.0 (MR76) N Takawira – Kirk Swanson Dynasty – Cool River by Western Winter (USA)
3 2 LEICESTER SQUARE (3G) 54.5 (MR79) *W Shumba (4.00) – Thomas Mason Jackson – Epic Style by Spectrum (IRE)
4 4 TREE OF WISDOM (3G) 54.5 (MR63) *R Satomba (1.5) – Kirk Swanson Soft Falling Rain – Minerva by Western Winter (USA)
5 3 CENTRE STAGE (3F) 52.0 (MR68) Kevin Derere – Thomas Mason Oratorio (IRE) – Sleek Jet by Jet Master
6 1 PRESCOTT (3F) 52.0 (MR69) N Sibanda – Bridget Stidolph Ato – Taylinlee by Brave Tin Soldier (USA)
Photographs by Gavin MacLeod and Jenny Stock. Unfortunately no pic of Leicester Square available.
Newcomer to Borrowdale Park, Holy Land, came from the clouds to win the 1600m Independence Trophy at Borrowdale Park today.
The four-year-old Ideal World gelding is owned by is owned by Messrs G. Goksel, G Carter, D T Machingaidze and Mesdames P J Lewis, C M de Jong, A G Mason and S Ziehl. He is trained by Tomcat Racing and Kevin Derere was in the irons. He was bred by Wilgersbosdrift and Mauritzfontein.
Thomas Mason also saddled two winners earlier in the day – Rawedge (*Munashe Josi) and Seattle Frost (Kevin Derere).
Venessa Birkentoft, assistant trainer at Vee Racing, also had a good day, scoring with Widjaan (Norbert Takawira), Clash City Rocker (*Rodgers Satombo) and Bam Bam Pebbles (Brendon McNaughton).
Vee Racing may in fact have had four winners because the last race was too close for the commentator to call between Moxie and Flapjack – and to be honest I don’t have a clue who won. Do not worry – the full racing results will be published later.
Today was a case of too much multi-tasking from my point of view. Trying to update pages, getting the times wrong, losing my place on the online racecard, and tuning into the live feed from Borrowdale Park, while watching Tellytrack on DSTV.
Hopefully, there will be more time to get organised before the next Borrowdale race meeting. Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up at Borrowdale today.
There will be racing behind closed doors at Borrowdale Park on Wednesday, 3rd June 2020, This will be the first race meeting in Zimbabwe since March 27, due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
It is an early start -the first race is due off at 10 35.and the feature is the Independence Trophy. No spectators will be allowed on the course so tune in to DSTV, Channel 239.
The Mashonaland Turf Club has been working closely with the SRC, NHRA and the Minister of Sport in order to comply with the necessary protocols. Going forward, each race meeting will require its own separate application, and approval.
The ZimFun Racing Club Ltd is gathering steam so who are these people behind this innovative venture? They need no introduction to regular attendees at Borrowdale Park but are hoping to cast the net far wider than that. Those investing some hard-earned cash need to see some credentials.
Regular columnist and economic and political analyst,The Centaurian, aka C. John SmithMBE, came up with the idea and he will serve as Chairman of the unpaid Board of Directors. Spencer Murray is the Director of Purses, and Sandra Mehlomakhulu the Director of Celebrations.
John Smith is a successful businessman with farming (and extensive racing) interests both in the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. He has a B.Sc. in agriculture and an M.Sc. Marketing. He is a citizen of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom and currently on an extended assignment in Zimbabwe.
From Yorkshire farming stock he worked for the Agricultural Marketing Authority years ago, was a Director of Zimplugs (Pvt) Ltd – a horticultural company in Zimbabwe from 1997 to 2001 when the farm was taken over, and was Financial Director of the Mushroom Bureau UK for 13 years.
During the 1980’s Mr Smith was General Manager of Metal Box Central Africa Ltd, and Managing Director of Chubb Union Security Ltd, based in Harare. He set up two companies in the UK – Greyfriars (UK) Ltd in 1989 and Northern Produce Ltd the following year. These supplied fresh produce to major supermarket groups across Europe – growing into a multi-million-pound corporation. In 2006 he was awarded Fresh Produce Packer of the Year at the Industry Oscars – then sold out his interest in 2012.
He was awarded an MBE in the 1995 Queen’s Birthday Honours list for work and contributions to the Disability Discrimination Act promulgated in that year. A polio victim, John survived a bad car accident in 1981 which left him “with a gammy leg”.
Finally, we come to John’s racing interests. A former Chairman of the Mashonaland Owners & Trainers Association, he has raced in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Zimbabwe and had about 170 winners – some people have all the luck. He is a Founder Member and Chairman of the Centaur Syndicate which has existed for 40 years. Initially Earl Of Surrey raced in John’s colours when this great horse made his name, winning the Group 1 Golden Horse Casino, RSA, carrying top weight.
John Smith describes himself as “outspoken, opinionated, driven, professional, a grafter, pain in the arse, fearless, a jester and general piss taker”. That apart I would say he is reliable and very efficient.
Lisa Harris has known John since way back when and says “I met John many years ago when I used to accompany my parents to the races as a schoolgirl. John used to be the “gate guard” at the Members Bar and we used to sit and study the form together as I was not permitted into the bar! So, my friendship with him has spanned many, many years.
“He joined my stable when Noelene left for Durban and the Centaur horses came to me for training. I was soon to learn that John was one of the owners that every trainer sought! Aside from his success as a businessman, he is a genuine, extremely kind and honest person, amusing, strong in times of adversity, but above all a loyal and trustworthy friend who always remains true to his word”.
There will be no racing at Borrowdale Park on Friday. Maybe next week.
The Mashonaland Turf Club have issued the followingPress Release:
The MTC has been working closely with the Ministry for Youth, Sports, Art and Recreation in their efforts to safely allow the resumption of Sport in Zimbabwe during this COVID-19 pandemic. We would like to thank the Minister for taking the initiative and categorizing the various sports into risk categories which at least manages the expectations of the various sporting organisations as to when their respective sports may recommence.
The MTC fully supports the Minister and her team to bring clarity to this process where none existed before and whilst we are of course disappointed that we are unable to race at the moment we are confident the Minister has heard our case and arguments for as early resumption as is possible.
During this time of National Crisis, we urge other sports, whether they are professionally based such as Horse racing or for purely recreational purposes to support our Minister in her efforts to convince her colleagues in Government to allow sports and recreation to open up in a safe and time-appropriate manner. We can do this by following the guidance that the Ministry and SRC may publish and to not try to circumnavigate such guidance for their own parochial self-interest. Such circumnavigation will only be seized upon by other interest groups as proof that Sports cannot be trusted with an early release from the ‘lockdown’ and we believe that will be counter-productive for all sports in the medium term.
This morning I feel sick to the bottom of my soul. I don’t want to hear about past champions, the good old days, or anything else about racing or Covid-19 for that matter.
Yesterday, to quote Sporting Post, the plight of horse racing in South Africa hit mainstream media. I saw the article in KZN’s Mercury yesterday morning and ran away from it. Impossible to do that forever, and today facing stark reality seems more than I can handle. This cannot be dismissed as fake news – this is where racing in Southern Africa is at present.
The prospect of euthanising 400 horses a month is a nightmare. Is this how we deal with defenceless, innocent animals we profess to love? The trainers are not to blame – if owners walk away for whatever economic reasons – they have no option. It is not their fault race meetings are put on hold – usually for no good reason. Social distancing is all very well and is easily achieved on courses racing without spectators. How sad that the fate of an industry and sport, which has survived for hundreds of years, can be determined by the ill-informed.
Borrowdale Park is closely aligned with, but not really part of racing in South Africa. Racing in Zimbabwe has battled to hold on for years and continues to do so despite not being allowed to race since March 27. I have heard a whisper that the Mashonaland Turf Club is doing what it can to assist owners and trainers during this difficult period. I hope this is true and, if it is, it is commendable. We have had some locally based white knights over the years, but they are few and far between – and we have never been in line for any other bailouts.
Perhaps next week will be better. We can only hope.
The Mashonaland Turf Club Board this morning issued the following statement:
‘Please be advised that Borrowdale Park will not be racing on Friday the 8th of May due to government-issued instructions and limits imposed due to Covid 19.
‘The MTC would like to thank both the Ministry of Sport and the Honourable Minister herself, for her continued commitment, support and dedication to our industry.’
All going well Borrowdale Park will be racing on Friday – with the first race mid-morning I understand. There are seven races on the card featuring the 1600m Independence Trophy.
With racing in South Africa on hold for the time being Borrowdale Park should be centre stage – a distinction we don’t get very often – so here’s hoping.
At the final acceptance stage, the Independence field dropped to four – very disappointing under the circumstances – and only Fareeq, Three To Tango, What A Dandy and Pampas have picked up the gauntlet.
Last year the Independence Trophy was won by Amsterdam, followed across the line by Knuckleball, Roman Discent and Fareeq, Friday’s runner Pampas ran down the field then but is set to try and do better now.
The 2018 Independence trophy was won by Ashton Park and as a matter of interest Friday’s runner, What A Dandy, won the following race, a 1260m MR 55 Handicap. However, in his last outing on March 27 What A Dandy triumphed in a 1800m MR 75 Handicap, and he won over 1600m in September, beating Bugatti Blue. So, do not assume this successful sprinter cannot also stay.
Fareeq is another with winning form from 1260m to 1800m. His most recent victory was in a 1260m MR 88 Handicap on February 2, where he finished in front of stable companion Silver Coin. In October 2019 he beat Yarraman over 1800m by five lengths, but finished way back in the 1600m Ipi Tombe Stakes (L), won by Yarraman, on February 19. One should draw a line through that I would expect.
Three To Tango won the 2019 Zimbabwe Derby (2400m) thereby denying Sygone a Triple Crown, but earlier won the 1600m Tote Free Handicap. Although he may prefer further, Three To Tango is no slouch over a mile and In the 2020 Ipi Tombe he was 1.50 lengths off Yarraman at level weights. That day Fareeq, also carrying 60 kgs, ran 9 lengths behind Three To Tango.
Pampas returned to racing in March after almost a year’s layoff – and certainly didn’t distinguish himself on that occasion when finishing a distance behind Christofle over 1260m. However, he has previously won from 1600m to 2000m. He is trained by Bridget Stidolph and will be ridden by Morgen Nyamagwete – weighted to receive 3 kgs from the rest of the field.
Although training at Borrowdale Park has continued much the same as usual there has been no racing since March 27 so we must assume the horses will be fresh and ready to run. For old times’ sake, I fancy Three to Tango and What A Dandy, but Fareeq is sure to have plenty of support.
And…Apprentice Rodgers Satombo, who won on his mount, What A Dandy, last time out, can claim 4 kgs.
2020 INDEPENDENCE TROPHY 1600m
1 (2) FAREEQ (AUS) 57.0 (MR91) A B McNaughton – Gokhan Terzi Nadeem (AUS) – Azwa (AUS) by Haafhd (IRE)
2 (1) THREE TO TANGO 57.0 (MR85) A N Takawira – Kirk Swanson Greys Inn (USA) – Danseuse by Joshua Dancer (USA)
3 (3) WHAT A DANDY 57.0 (MR83) S *R Satombo (4.0) – Kirk Swanson Just As Well (USA) – Leba (IRE) by King’s Best (USA)
4 (4) PAMPAS 54.0 (MR77) A M Nyamagwete – Bridget Stidolph Silvano (GER) – Peru (SNL) by Candy Stripes (USA)
Thanks to Murray Smith for supplying this very welcome flashback to the late 1980’s when we were all so young.
BACK ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Gordon Whyte. Noel Riddle. Eddie De Klerk. Reid Paterson. Robert Moore. Tony Araujo. Roddy England. Stanley Eyden. Paul Marrin. Kevin Wright.
BOTTOM ROW LEFT TO RIGHT: Doug Whitehead. Rael Zieve. Cuthbert Takawira. Glen French. Glen Naude. John Kiersten. Shaun Payne. Martin Malosi. Raymond Dorans. Ebriam Abdul (Roots).
Racing at Borrowdale Park in Harare - Zimbabwe 