If everyone runs true to form it is difficult to look further than Coachella, Super Good, and possibly Flanders and Road To Dubai, in Saturday’s main feature, the $15000 HRIB Gold Cup.

However, several untried runners in this company have weight on their side, and the chances are we will be shocked somewhere along the line.

It is a competitive field which always makes for good racing.

HRIB GOLD CUP SPRINT (Grade 3) Open WFA: 3yrs-4.0kgs  – No Apprentice Allowance

COACHELLA Drawn 4 – 63 kgs – MR 103 – W. Marwing – Bridget Stidolph – 5-year-old gelding by Alado (GB) – 7 wins, 6 places, 16 starts. Winner of the 2018 HRIB Gold Cup (Gr3) in 2017 carrying 61 kgs. Super Good (55kgs) was 0.10 lengths behind, while Road To Dubai (57 kgs) and 1.10 lengths back ran fourth. Sprinting is Coachella’s game, he has seldom gone beyond 1260m and did not shine when doing so. Has a bit more to do this time but should still be hard to beat.

SUPER GOOD Drawn 7 – 60kgs – MR 97 – J. Sampson – Bridget Stidolph -5-year-old gelding by Announce – 7 wins, 21 places, 36 starts. Super Good and Coachella are old rivals and Super Good may require a bit more weight on his side to turn the tables. There has been rain about and if it continues this may suit Super Good in that he can handle a bit further. He won the 1450m Breeders Sprint on July 29. In any event Super Good is likely to give a good account of himself.

KINGSTON PASSAGE – Drawn 8 – 57 kgs – MR 91 – N. Takawira – Kirk Swanson -5-year-old gelding by Western Winter (USA) – 3 wins, 3 places, 10 starts. Kingston Passage won three of his nine races in the Western Cape, all over 1000m. In fact the only time this son of Western Winter has raced further was in September when he disappointed over 1200m. This was his only start at Borrowdale Park so he is difficult to assess. He is likely to strip fitter now.

TAR HEEL – Drawn 3 – 57 kgs – MR 91 – J. Greyling – Penny Fisher – 6-year-old gelding by Var (USA) – 4 wins, 8 places, 32 starts. Another dark horse who has not raced at Borrowdale Park. Won previously in the Cape over 1000m and 1200m but failed to shine in his three starts in Gauteng – last race on September 29. Must respect on breeding.

PEGGSON – Drawn 1 – 53 kgs – MR 83 – B. McNaughton – Bridget Stidolph – 4-year-old colt by Jay Peg – 3 wins, 7 places, 16 starts. Prominent in the 2017 three-year-old Classics and second to Simona in the 1800m OK Grand Challenge. Has won a race over 1200m but not in this class of field. Usually shines over more ground but who knows?

BUTCHIE BOY – Drawn 6 – 52 kgs – MR 78 – K. Derere – Bridget Stidolph – 4-year-old gelding by Crusade (USA) – 4 wins, 9 places, 13 starts. Won the Zimbabwe Guineas and beat stable mate Flanders in the 1200m Jacaranda Free Handicap in 2017, when in receipt of 3 kgs. Has more to do in this competitive field.

EDWARD THE SEVENTH (ZIM) Drawn 5 – 52 kgs – MR 76 – *N. Klink – Kirk Swanson – 4-year-old gelding by Seventh Rock (AUS) – 4 wins, 4 places 10 starts. Three of his four wins have been over the HRIB distance but like most of his peers he is taking on the big boys here. Claiming apprentice Nathan Klink has the ride but no allowances in this feature.

FLANDERS Drawn 2 – 52 kgs – MR 81 – C. Storey +1.0 – Bridget Stidolph – 4-year-old gelding by Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) – 6 wins, 8 places, 16 starts. Has won from 1100m to 1450m. On November 3 in a 1100m MR 97 Handicap he met Coachella, Road to Dubai and Super Good, starting favourite. Coachella won followed by Flanders (receiving 9kgs), Road to Dubai (also receiving 9 kgs) and Super Good who met the winner at level weights. Either one draws a line through that or assumes that Coachella will win. On that occasion Flanders was four lengths back.

ROAD TO DUBAI Drawn 9 – 52 kgs – MR 80 – M. Thackeray – Kirk Swanson – 7-year-old gelding by The Sheik – 9 wins, 14 places, 32 starts. Road To Dubai won the HRIB Gold Cup in 2015 and 2016, and finished fourth in 2017, 1.10 lengths behind Coachella when receiving 4 kgs. Drawn near the outside which usually helps in Borrowdale Sprints and has recently shown some signs of a return to form.

TWILIGHT TRIP Drawn 10 – 52 kgs – MR 73 – *L. Tarentaal – Bridget Stidolph – 5-year-old gelding by Trippi (USA) – 3 wins, 11 places, 18 starts. Twilight Trip has the outside draw. Has raced three times at Borrowdale, finishing a close second to Bush Pilot over 1200m and fourth to Knuckleball over 1800m. Judging by previous form in the Cape this five-year-old gelding prefers and has usually run further than Saturday’s distance.

With two feature races on the Borrowdale Park card, including the prestigious $15 000 HRIB Gold Cup, Saturday’s meeting won’t lack sparkle.

The minor feature is the 1600m Tote Free Handicap for three-year-olds and Mia Finola is set to carry top weight.

Coachella (seen here) won the 2017 HRIB Gold Cup and has been nominated again. According to the Weights & Draws Coachella will shoulder 63 kgs in Borrowdale’s most important sprint.

We will find out later today if both Coachella and Mia Finola stand their ground.

Simona seems set to be all the rage in the 1800m Champion Fillies Stakes at Borrowdale Park on Sunday.

Although this is a small field it doesn’t lack interest. I wonder what the opening betting will be?

CHAMPION FILLIES STAKES due off at 15.15 pm

SIMONA – 5 -year-old mare by Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) – Drawn 3 – 60 kgs – MR 90 – Caleb Habib – Bridget Stidolph.

Simona won this race last year, beating Belle Epoque by 1.25 lengths. There were 8 runners in 2017 but of these only Simona is lining up for a repeat performance. She ran off a Merit Rating of 63, last year and carried 54 kgs. Since then a flood has passed under the bridge. Simona has now won 8 races and been placed 9 times from 23 starts. She is the reigning Spey Bridge Champion Older Horse and Horse Of The Year for the 2017/18 season. On Sunday Simona gives away oodles of weight to the other three runners but remains the horse they need to beat.

SOLINSKI – 5-year-old-mare by Fencing Master (GB) – Drawn 4 – 52kgs – MR 70 – Jarryd Penny – Kirk Swanson.

Solinski won five of her seven previous starts, including the 1800m Silver Slipper, the Bloodstock SA 2000, the Zimbabwe Derby and the Zimbabwe Oaks, but has not raced since June 2017. She is coming back from an injury which resulted in this gallant girl missing out on the whole of her four-year-old career and she has not met Simona before. It is a tall ask to expect Solinski to score in this one but…you never know.

IN THE MOOD – 4-year-old filly by Bold Silvano – Drawn 2 -50 kgs – MR 62 – Stalone Sawere – Kirk Swanson.

In The Mood recently won the 1260m Sable Flyers and is an improving sort. Dead-heated with Magical Charm in a 1600m Novice Plate, and finished third to Raven Girl in the 2000m Zimbabwe Oaks. Altogether has won three and placed six times from 9 starts. She has raced against Simona before – on the 29th July over 1600m, finishing four lengths back when in receipt of 4 kgs. Much better off in the weights this time.

MIA FINOLA – 3-year-old-filly by Var (USA) – Drawn 1 – 50 kgs – MR 81 – Brendon McNaughton – Bridget Stidolph.

Mia Finola has hardly put a foot wrong, to date, winning four and being placed four times from 8 starts. Has recently completed a hat-trick but this a different ball game. We will have to wait and see how she fares in this company.

Photograph: Champion Fillies Stakes 2017 won by Simona with Jarryd Penny in the irons.

The Zimbabwe-bred star, Solinski, last raced at Borrowdale Park on June 25, 2017, as a three-year-old, racing for the first time in open company in a 2200m Borrowdale Handicap.

The Fencing Master (GB) filly had won five of her seven previous starts, including the 1800m Silver Slipper, the Bloodstock SA 2000, the Zimbabwe Derby and the Zimbabwe Oaks.

Now a five-year-old mare, Solinski has been nominated to run in the 1800m Champion Fillies Stakes on Sunday, November 18. Final acceptances for this event are due tomorrow (Monday) – she may or may not be among the acceptors, but it really doesn’t matter. The fact that Solinski has been nominated is newsworthy, and proof that she has completed her long walk back to recovery from a serious injury.

Full marks to her patient owners, and Swanson Racing, for being with her every step of the way.

Solinsky didn’t win the last time she raced in 2017 but, carrying top weight, ran third, 1.75 lengths behind Baumgartner who was receiving 10.5 kgs. Rawedge, second, was 3.5 kgs better off with Solinski, and Ladies First, Betula Uber, Stirling Road and Viking Castle made up this field.

It was a magnificent effort and I sincerely hope Solinski will be back to her best sooner rather than later. We must remember, however, that miracles sometimes take a bit longer.

If Solinski does come out next Sunday, the most important thing is for her to enjoy the race.

Photograph by Andrew Philip Equine Photography

With the few drops of paint the Friends of Borrowdale Park have left in the paint tins, they are touching up and brightening the saddling area.

Onwards and upwards…

Visiting apprentice jockey Serino Moodley won the 1800m MR 49 Handicap on Sunrise Ruby at Borrowdale on Saturday, along with several places during the afternoon.

Sunrise Ruby, trained by Penny Fisher, also won her previous start. A daughter of King Of Kings (IRE), bred by Bosworth Farm Stud, Sunrise Ruby is owned by Dave Rosser and Gengiz Goksel.

The Fisher yard also saddled two other winners on Saturday – Hyper Jet and Innovation. Both with Hennie Greyling in the irons.

Congratulations everyone

The Stidolph stable sent out four winners at Borrowdale Park on Saturday, including Sygone, easy winner of the ZPCS Goodwill Trust Charity Jacaranda Free Handicap.

This feature event is run over 1200m and there was never much doubt that Sygone, owned by Newbury Racing (Pty) Ltd (nominee Mr D.E. Evans) would take the honours. The son of Ato won by two lengths, Three to Tango was second and then came Madonna’s Flame and Opaque.

Bred by Maine Chance Farms and with Wesley Marwing in the irons on this occasion, Sygone has now won two races.

Congratulations to the winning connections.

Saturday’s race meeting at Borrowdale Park get’s off to an early start at 11.35 am. The feature event, the ZPCS Goodwill Trust Charity Jacaranda Free Handicap for all three-year-olds, is due off at 15.10 pm.

The Jacaranda Free Handicap and the 1600m Tote Free Handicap are part of the lead up to the three-year-old Classics in 2019. Six runners will face the starter on Saturday – four of whom have been meeting and beating each other as two-year-olds.

It’s hard to say whose turn it will be on Saturday but maybe the 1200m Champion Juvenile Stakes, won by Rain Spider on June 17, is as good a pointer as any.

That race is run at set weights – colts and geldings carrying 58 kgs and fillies 55.5 kgs. Pas de Deux, who was receiving 2.5 kgs from the winner finished a quarter of a length behind him. She meets Rain Spider on similar terms this time.

Mia Finola (not racing on Saturday) was 0.50 lengths back, while Sygone (now 0.5 kgs worse off with Rain Spider) was one and a half lengths off the pace. Opaque trailed in 4.50 lengths back and now receives 8 kgs from Sygone, and 7.5 kgs from Rain Spider.

Both Three To Tango and Madonna’s Flame are lightly raced – both having had two starts for 1 win and 1 place each, in open company. It will be interesting to see how they measure up against their peers.

JACARANDA FREE RUNNERS

SYGONE (draw 2) 60 kgs (MR71) – Wesley Marwing… Bridget Stidolph
6 starts for1 win 3 places – (g) by Ato.

RAIN SPIDER (draw 5) 59.5 kgs (MR70) – Brendon McNaughton… Bridget Stidolph
4 starts for 1 win 2 places – (g) by Byword (GB) out of Fort Wood (USA) mare.

PAS DE DEUX (ZIM) (draw 1) 57 kgs (MR65) – Hennie Greyling… Penny Fisher
8 starts for 2 wins 3 places – (f) by Fencing Master (GB).

THREE TO TANGO (draw 6) 56 kgs (MR63) – Deon Sampson… Kirk Swanson

2 starts for 1 win 1 place – (c) by Grey’s Inn (USA) out of a Joshua Dancer (USA) mare.
Won 1200m Maiden Plate on September 23. This is the first time she meets up with her age group.

MADONNA’S FLAME (draw 3) 53kgs (MR57) – Collen Storey… Bridget Stidolph
2 starts for 1win 1 place – (f) by Irish Flame.
Won 1200m Maiden Plate on October 6 and came fourth in the Fillies Mile at the last meeting.

OPAQUE (draw 4) 52kgs (MR55) – *S Moodley… Bridget Stidolph

7 starts for 1 win – (c) by Ato.

PHOTOGRAPH: Flashback to 2017 when Butchie Boy, with Brendon McNaughton in the irons, won the Jacaranda Free Handicap.  He went on to win the 2018 Zimbabwe Guineas.

Congratulations Craig Danckwerts, Debra Swanson, Gary Carter, Paula Lewis and Paul and Ursula Gorringe on Perfect Grace’s perfect performance on Sunday when the seven-year-old gelding won the 1800m MR 75 Handicap at Borrowdale Park.

It is always pleasing when an older horse proves to still have what it takes in a competitive field.  By Antonius Pius (USA) and bred by Highlands Farms Stud, Perfect Grace (4/1) held off Where You (AUS), the same age as the winner, by a quarter of a length, with Lava Flow (also a seven-year-old) and Designer Pot in the other placings. Francois Herhold was riding for Kirk Swanson.

Seems like some ‘youngsters’ should look to their laurels.

This was a Quartet I would not have won, being quite confident that Haga Haga and Philanthropy would finish somewhere in the money. It paid $3963.40.

Well done if you won this and as for the rest of us – better luck next time.

Gengiz Goksel and Dave Rosser are loyal supporters of racing in Zimbabwe and two of their horses, Cotton Rock and Sunrise Ruby, graced the Winners Enclosure at Borrowdale Park on Sunday.

Jarryd Penny was riding for Penny Fisher, so congratulations all around.

Cotton Rock (above) was first off the mark in a 1000m MR 50 Handicap where she was two lengths in front of Switchblade. Then came Penny’s other charge, Adrenalina, and Supa Memories. Cotton Rock (11/10) is a five-year-old mare by Rock of Rochelle (USA) out of an Al Mufti (USA) mare, and seems a consistent sort, winning twice and being placed in her four runs in Harare. She was bred by Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud and has been lightly raced having only raced 12 times to date.

Sunrise Ruby (nearest the camera), by King of Kings (IRE), has been knocking on the door for a while and came right in a 1600m Maiden Plate, finishing 1.50 lengths ahead of stablemate Innovation. She is a four-year-old filly bred by Bosworth Farm Stud and has now won once and been placed 6 times in 14 starts.

Wolves Among Sheep was another impressive winner from the Stidolph stable on Sunday, and this time Calvin Habib was aboard.

The son of Philanthropist (USA) finished four lengths clear of Borrowdale first-timer Double Tap, in the 1800m Novice Handicap. Then came Bomber Pilot and Kye Kelly.

Wolves Among Sheep is owned by Gary Carter, Paula Lewis, Scott Buchan, Neil Evans, Merlyn Chant, Ash Dixon, Richard Morgan and Ryan Sherwood, and has now won two of his four outings in Harare. Bred by Drakenstein Stud. He was giving weight to the rest of the field so add this four-year-old gelding to the notebook. There’s sure to be more to come.