Here we go, chasing the elusive Borrowdale Park Pick 6, and once again Sunday’s fields are competitive. Hold your fire, if possible, in the early stages. I fear you will need plenty of ammunition for the fourth and sixth legs in particular.

Racing starts at 13 15 with an 1100m Maiden Plate where Megagram and Fierce Prestige look the pick. Shepparton may be worth following and Apprentice Lyle Hewitson has his first ride in Harare on the unraced Coachella.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is the 1200m Merit Rated 75 Handicap where one could be reckless and bank Nimble Dancer after his close second to Approval Rating at the last meeting. Gotago should however give him a go, and the rest of the field looks dangerous. Weight counts.

Next up is the 1600m Graduation Plate where I like Red Savage and Catnip, while worrying about Avaricious and the lightly weighted Jinx Johnson. Racey J is a card scratching.

Chum and In The Oven come out in the third leg, a 1700m Maiden Plate. Both were involved in a tight finish over the distance at the last meeting but Argodaba, with claiming apprentice Marshall Bikausaru in the irons, beat them. (The finish of this race appears below courtesy of Zimbabwe Equine News. In The Oven is nearest the camera).

Bikausaru rides African Love Story for Penny Fisher on Sunday, and her two other runners, Kevin Barry with Ryan Munger up, and King’s Wager (Hennie Greyling) are worth watching.

Then we come to the Merit Rated 60 Handicap over 1800m where you must have the top weights, Quick Glance, Rawedge and Wee Doch ‘ n Dorris, plus the bottom weights, Enough Said and Valmont. It will be hard to leave out Arrowfield and David’s Flower…I have ignored Ice Pack, Star Dance, Magnificent Mile and Sky. Just watch one of them win!

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…where have all the fillies gone?

The Sable Flyers, main race at Borrowdale Park on Sunday, is a listed race for fillies and mares, benchmark MR 85 equalling 60 kgs, weights to be determined at the sole discretion of the Handicapper.

In 2015 this race, run over 1300m, was won by Pegwell Bay, followed home by Iron Lady, Gentle Brook, Tallie Two and Print The Pounds, and the eight runners had clocked up 32 wins between them. On Sunday the eight carded runners will compete over 1260m.  The field is made up of four and five-year-olds, whose score to date is a total of 12 wins, with Beretta the only maiden.

Carla The Rebel, a four-time winner with a Merit Rating of 67, will carry top weight of 60 kgs, and on previous form it is difficult to look past her. At the last meeting the daughter of Rebel King was fractious in the stalls and, as the start of the 1600m MR 74 Handicap won by Comanche Brave was effected, she dislodged Andrew Fortune. Undaunted Carla The Rebel took part in the race “on her own terms”, finishing in the first three, unofficially. Watch the race at here – Lance Pagel rides on Sunday. (Photograph courtesy Zimbabwe Equine News below)

In addition to Carla The Rebel Gokhan Terzi will also saddle Uptown Gal (Ryan Munger), drawn 8, and Invincible Swan (JP van der Merwe).

Uptown Gal, by Miesque’s Approval (USA) is a lightly raced four-year-old having only had two starts.  In February she finished fourth to Domboshava over 1000m and her last race was on March 20 when she won a 1200m Maiden Plate, receiving weight but well clear of Cool Start and Go Galaxy.

Invincible Swan, also a lightly raced four-year-old, by Century Stand (AUS), won her last start over 1100m on June 19, beating Rebel Soldier. First time out on May 22 she finished third behind Comanche Brave (7.25 lengths back) in a 1200m Maiden Plate.

Bridget Stidolph sends out the remainder of this field, namely Genial (*Lyle Hewitson)), Ride Of Honour (Sherman Brown), Relampago (Fanie Chambers), Beretta (Brendon McNaughton), and Domboshava (Morgan Nyamagwete).

Your guess will be as good as mine but the facts are….Genial, drawn 7, and by Jay Peg out of a Captain Al mare, won her first two starts in KZN but hasn’t shown much in her last eight outings.  Her one and only start at Borrowdale was on July 16 when she finished 14 lengths behind Dirty Champagne in a MR 74 Handicap.  Genial could be anything and I like her breeding.

Ride Of Honour, a two-time winning daughter of Horse Chestnut, has not raced at Borrowdale before. The four-year-old had 15 starts at Turffontein and the Vaal and was often thereabouts. Her last start was at the Vaal on January 7 in a Fillies and Mares MR 68 Handicap over 1200m where she finished 5.15 behind the winner La Manga.

Relampago, by Toreador (IRE) quit the maidens in her only start at Borrowdale on September 10, finishing ahead of Fierce Prestige and Nemba Beach, with Sunday’s runner, Beretta, further back. Brendon McNaughton won on Relampago but goes with Beretta on Sunday.  Is that significant?  Only time will tell but I have to admit I am reaching!

Weights have been allotted at the Handicapper’s discretion and it will be interesting to see how he fares with this one.  Relampago will receive 6 kgs from Carla The Rebel, while Beretta, Domboshava and Invincible Swan will be 8 kgs better off.

On paper Carla The Rebel looks a possible Pick 6 Banker….but it could be tricky.

The Sable Flyers is due off at 16.05.  First race on Sunday is at 13.15.

Pick 6 Punters Not So Lucky…  

Dividend R219 726.10 – Carry Over  R217 488.17

Every trainer with runners at Saturday’s Borrowdale Park race meeting saddled a winner.

The Stidolph yard scored twice -with Relampago in the first race, and Temple Run in the second.

Temple Run’s victory in the first leg surely put paid to many Pick 6’s but just when it seemed punters were in for a torrid time along came Zita (below).

The Penny Fisher trained Soar With Eagles (USA) gelding, bred in Zimbabwe, won the Merit Rated 65 Handicap over 1450m, starting price 3/1. Ryan Munger’s mount was followed across the line by Amas Amat (12/1), Bankers Blues (14/10) and Supa Wonder 7/1.

Bred by the Spotted Pig Syndicate, Zita is owned by Bruce McLauchlan, Matt Charlton, Ken Fallon, Alistair Fisher, Ken Fisher and Kevin O’Connor.

Zita with Ryan Munger up

THE CLASS ACT

Comanche Brave (12/10) and carrying 56.5 kgs, won the 1600m MR 74 Handicap, third leg of the Pick 6, by five lengths, in the time of 93.18 seconds. Noble Peer 33/10 ran second, followed by Super Good and Supa Challenge.

The Borrowdale Park Course record of 93.75 seconds was set by Earl Of Surrey (57 kgs) on  August 4, 2012. Solar Impulse (53.5) holds the Class Record, 94.32s,  set on September 8, 2013.

By Kahal (GB), Comanche Brave, a four-year-old, is trained by Amy Bronkhorst and JP van der Merwe had the ride. The gelding was bred by Summerhill Stud and is owned by Duncan Jones, Adrian Nydam and Steve Shutt.

Carla The Rebel who was fractious in the stalls, reared at the start of this race, dislodging Andrew Fortune and he was stood down for the remainder of the meeting.

Comanche Brave with Juan Paul van der Merwe in the irons

NEXT UP ARGODABA

All of In The Oven (13/10), Chum (33/10) and Bletchley Park (2/1) were prominent in the 1700m Maiden Plate but Argodaba (40/1) beat In The Oven by the narrowest of margins – 0.05 lengths. (Another blow for Pick Sixers.)

The five-year-old daughter of Argonaut, trained at one time by Corne Spies, is now owned and trained by Jannie Blignaut.  Claiming apprentice Marshal Bikausaru was aboard and the mare was bred by Hydro Stud cc.

Perseverance pays.

Apprentice Marshall Bikausaru rode Argodaba

FOLLOWED BY A KILLER PUNCH

 I knew Wee Doch ‘n Dorris would one day regain his previous form..and the Kildonan gelding came right in the fifth leg of the Pick 6, under a hard ride from Keagan de Melo, after a somewhat lackadaisical beginning.

Well done Swanson Racing and winning owners, The Dixie Chick Syndicate and Mark Wood.

Bred by Dr I.R. Heyns, the 40/1 shot swooped up to beat Valmont, Enough Said and stable mate Stirling Road in the 1700m MR 55 Handicap, carrying top weight. From 31 starts the six-year-old has now won 5 races and been placed 11 times.

Wee Doch ‘n Dorris …Keagan de Melo riding

APPROVAL RATING

Last seasons’s Champion Trainer, Gokhan Terzi, won the last leg with people pleaser Approval Rating.

The next Borrowdale Park race meeting is on Sunday, September 25, and features the Springvale House Sable Flyers (L).

Temple Run (below) aimed the first blow at many Borrowdale Pick 6 punters on Saturday when winning the first leg, a 1200m Merit Rated 50 Handicap.

The son of Toreador (IRE), starting at 8/1, finished ahead of Sky 10/1, Vidich 22/10 and Jinx Johnson 2/1. The six-year-old gelding is trained by Bridget Stidolph and was ridden by Fanie Chambers. He is owned by Messrs S.N. Buchan and N. Evans, R. Sherwood and M.K. Chant, and bred by The Alchemy.

The Stidolph yard also sent out the winner of the first race, a 1000m Maiden Plate, where Relampago (15/2), held off Fierce Prestige (15/10), Nemba Beach (13/2) and King/s Wager (14/1).

Relampago, also by Toreador(IRE), was bred by the Estate Mr G.J. Royden-Turner. This was the four-year-old filly’s first start in Zimbabwe and Brendon McNaughton was in the irons.She is owned by Messrs S.N. Buchan, N. Evans, Duncan Jones and S.W. Shutt.

Temple Run was ridden by Fanie Chambers.

Five fancied horse horses, Approval Rating, Nimble Dancer, Sheik’s Brashee, Newton Power and Road To Dubai, closely contested the 1000m AFZ Charity Sprint at Borrowdale Park on Saturday… but as Nimble Dancer put his nose in front top weight Approval Rating grew wings.

Only half a length separated the first five home. Neither Approval Rating nor Nimble Dancer were ridden by their carded jockeys as Andrew Fortune and Brendon McNaughton had been stood down. This resulted in some fine riding from Norbert Takawaira (Approval Rating) and Morgan Nyamagwete (Nimble Dancer) in what was certainly the most exciting finish of the afternoon.

Approval Rating  is trained by Gokhan Terzi and Norbert Takawira was in the irons.

 Jinx Johnson and Apprentice Sawere (nearest camera) team up again on Saturday.

After the lengthy racing break it would be good to win the Borrowdale Park Pick 6 on Saturday. However, although some fields are small, trying to find sure fire winners is quite stressful.

Jack English, Racing Editor at the Herald for many years, said he ignored every horse that hadn’t finished at least once in the first four, in its last four runs. It worked for Jack so I decided to try this. At the end of the exercise I had circled probably 80% of Saturday’s runners in red, which was not helpful.

So, back to the drawing board to make a case for those I fancied. Unfortunately turnovers in weight got in the way, not to mention distances. Horses in with a chance seem pretty evenly spread around the stables which is great, and should make for super racing.

Of course, if you look at the card for long enough some pennies begin to drop. Andrew Fortune, Zimbabwe’s Champion Jockey for 2015/16 has interesting rides, and trainer Amy Bronkhorst has gone for quality rather than quantity.

Her first runner is Jinx Johnson in the first leg of the Pick 6, a 1200m Merit Rated 50 Handicap. This daughter of Tamburlaine (IRE) has raced 6 times for one win and 5 good places. She is the only three-year-old in the race and set to carry 62kgs, but Apprentice Stalon Sawere will claim 4kgs. The filly is drawn 10 out of 11 which is an advantage.

Maybe a tough ask for a three-year-old, and Fortune will be aboard the Brave Tin Soldier gelding, Vidich, who won his only start over 1000m on July 16.

Another claiming apprentice, Marshal Bikausaru, may also have some influence here. He rides Touching Base who will now carry 53.5 kgs. Three runs back Touching Base, with Ryan Munger up and carrying 53.5 kgs, finished third behind Princeton Tiger and Comanche Brave, over this distance.

Comanche Brave is the second runner from the Bronkhorst yard and he steps out in the third leg of the Pick 6, a 1600m MR 74 Handicap. Using the Jack English method I circled each of the 8 runners here but Comanche Brave stands out with two wins and two seconds from his last four starts. On Saturday the son of Kahal (GB) will be ridden by JP van der Merwe. He should go close but has all of Super Good, Noble Peer, Quick Glance and Supa Challenge to deal with.

Amy’s third runner, Enough Said, has quite a lot to do in the fifth leg, a 1700m MR Handicap, with a field of 11. However the five-year-old Tiger Dance (USA) mare ran second to Standpoint over the distance at the last meeting, and Apprentice Sawere will claim 4 kgs. That said I would like to include most of this field. On their day, they could all do something.

With a little bit of luck Zita ( Munger) and Bankers Blues (Fortune) will get you through the second leg, a 1450m MR 65 Handicap. Bletchley Park seems the pick in the 1700m Maiden Plate (fourth leg) having beaten In The Oven, Chum and Heidi last time out, but one of these could turn the tables.

What a relief to reach the get-out stakes, the 1000m AFZ Charity Borrowdale Sprint, where Approval Rating must go close, with Road To Dubai and Newton Power in close contention!
The first race on Saturday, a 1000m Maiden Plate, is due off at 12.05. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up with everyone you haven’t seen for six weeks.

Approval Rating (nearest the camera) and Pegwell Bay involved in a tight finish over 1000m on September 6, 2015.

Finding winners after our Annual Racing break is never simple and this year there is the added complication of on course alterations, still ongoing. However Zimbabweans usually make a plan…I am sure the trainers have done so….and as everyone is stabled at the course we start with a level playing field.

Main race at Borrowdale Park on Saturday is the AFZ Charity Borrowdale Sprint which is run over 1000m. The Gokhan Terzi trained Approval Rating won this race last year and although he has not been in the Number One box since, a repeat performance would not surprise me. Andrew Fortune takes the ride again.

In 2015 Approval Rating carried 61.5 kgs, and Pegwell Bay, Picalilly and Thriller In Manila filled the minor places. On that occasion none of Saturday’s runners took part in the race, but in the interim Approval Rating has met up with main rivals Road To Dubai and Newton Power several times and has never been disgraced. The seven-year-old now meets this pair on better terms.

Kirk Swanson’s Road To Dubai, recently declared top sprinter for the 2015/16 racing season, definitely comes into the reckoning. However, the five-year-old has never raced over 1000m, although hard to beat from 1100m to 1200m. Keagan de Melo rides The Sheik’s son for the first time, as Francois Herholdt heads for Saudi.

Juan Paul van der Merwe rides Newton Power for Terzi and had they been racing over 1200m it would be hard to choose between Newton Power and Road To Dubai. Newton Power has headed Road To Dubai over this distance when in receipt of 1 kg. This time he will only receive 0.5 kg but has the advantage of an outside draw – always worth considering up the straight at Borrowdale.

Champion trainer Terzi’s third runner is The Mutineer who tends to pop into the minor money when least expected. From 13 starts at Borrowdale he has won once over 1200m, beating Porterhouse. Kevin Derere will be in the irons.

Bridget Stidolph fields Atso’s Scheme, El Gallo and Nimble Dancer, and of these Nimble Dancer has some appeal. By A P Answer (USA) he won four races up the straight in quick succession only to go off the boil. Since being gelded he has shown improvement so can’t be ignored. In October Nimble Dancer beat Road To Dubai over 1100m by 0.75 lengths, receiving 7.5 kgs. He receives 4 kgs here and his regular jockey Brendon McNaughton rides.

Atso’s Scheme will carry 59 kgs to Approval Rating’s 60 kgs, and I would really fancy his chances with less weight. He has won over 1000m and Fanie Chambers has the ride. The five-year-old gelding will jump from the number 8 stall.

Morgan Nyamagwete’s mount, El Gallo, a four-year-old Toreador (IRE) gelding, is making his Borrowdale Park debut. He shed his maiden at Greyville over 1000m. He was unplaced in his last start in KZN on November 6, but prior to that came second to Bunker Hill at Scottsville over 1200m.

Penny Fisher’s yard is represented by Sheik’s Brashee, also a bit of a dark horse. He won five races south of the Limpopo from 1000m to 1200m and I am drawing a line through his only start at Borrowdale. On July 31st this six-year-old son of The Sheik finished about 5 lengths behind Flax over 1450m. On Saturday he will be distance suited so watch out.

Zimbabwe’s Racing Awards for the 2015/16 Season were presented at a Masked Ball held in Harare on Friday evening. Congratulations to all the winners and best wishes for the 2016/17 Racing Season.

Mathematician, by Black Minnaloushe (USA) (below),trained by Bridget Stidolph, owned by Newbury Racing, and bred by Adv A P Joubert, won Horse Of The Year.

Racing resumes at Borrowdale Park on Saturday, September 10, and during the annual break some people have been hard at work. This week they began replacing turf on the new back straight – Gyl…

Source: UPDATE ON BORROWDALE ‘EXCAVATIONS’

Making a start

Racing resumes at Borrowdale Park on Saturday, September 10, and during the annual break some people have been hard at work. This week they began replacing turf on the new back straight – Gyles Dorward is overseeing this operation. We will race on what remains of the old back straight until the new turf is properly rooted.

You will be able to see the work in progress when you attend the first race meeting. Expect more dust than usual, and maybe some minor hiccups, but whining and cursing won’t speed things up. A start has been made on revamping Borrowdale Park!

LET’S BE POSITIVE..for a change

Winds of change, for the better, are breezing through Borrowdale Park. Last week Christopher Peech, the Mashonaland Turf Club chairman, advised MTC members that work has already begun on repositioning part of the course. He also detailed future plans which will transform our Turf Club into a viable entity, which will contribute to employment in general, enhance the area, and ensure live racing continues into the foreseeable future.

What more could those of us who are, and always have been Borrowdale Park fans, ask? In getting there we may have to put up with things we don’t like but let’s limit muttering and gnashing of teeth to a minimum – and be positive for a change.

I recently visited the on course “construction site” and have to admit my initial reaction fell into the “OMG I hope they know what they are doing” category. However after half an hour of eavesdropping on the experts, while dodging massive top loaders and so forth, I became caught up in their enthusiasm. Something is happening at last and the MTC’S Master Plan, revealed some time ago, seems not only possible, but probable, and I hope I’m still around to see it completed.

WHAT WE CAN DO

In the meantime what can we do while we are being positive, and waiting for the MTC Management Committee to sort everything out? Well, it’s no use having a snazzy racecourse without owners and trainers, so talk about syndicates, and remind friends we still race in Harare, and it’s fun.

Right now we need more owners, horses and trainers based at Borrowdale…and don’t be in such a hurry to retire your racehorse. Quite a few improve as time passes – when given the chance.

And talking about retiring horses (when they are 10-year-olds), we need to start thinking about their retirement.

Once the Master Plan is in operation and the MTC is able to concentrate solely on running racing and Lotto, it is anticipated the club will become an important donor to charitable causes. I like that…and because charity begins at home let us start, right away, investigating what is happening, worldwide, in terms of sanctuaries and re-training facilities for ex- racehorses.More horses will mean more will be looking for a happy home, once they have given us their best, or tried to, on the course.

I heard about the Old Friends Equine Organisation some time ago http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/about-us.html   It was formed in 2003, following on news that Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, had died in a slaughterhouse. A Board of Directors was formed and it started with a leased paddock and two horses.

By 2014 Old Friends had grown into a 136-acre owned farm, additional leased acres, and a satellite facility in New York. In all, Old Friends supports over 150 rescued and retired. Thoroughbreds. They have brought back a stallion from Japan, are a registered charity, and hold open days for the public. Follow the link above for more information. Old Friends is very visible on social media and seems to raise funds very successfully that way.

It seems there are many sanctuaries for ex-racehorses in the United States and the United Kingdom. Heros in Britain http://www.heroscharity.org/ have rehomed hundreds of horses, and another rehoming and retraining centre is http://www.racehorsesanctuary.org/ . Some racecourses help out with subsidies, but most of the farms are also into fund raising themselves.

I have not completely lost it. I know everyone is currently facing difficult economic circumstances and that racing is an expensive hobby, but so are other things. While we are being positive we might as well think about doing something constructive, and good.

Wylde Style, owned and bred by Peter Moor, for the fourth time in succession showed her field a clean pair of heels, and beat the boys in the 1450m Thoroughbred Breeders Champagne Stakes Listed, at Borrowdale Park on Sunday.

Unfortunately I can’t  detail  how the daughter of West Man (USA) went about it because Tellytrack never showed Borrowdale Park’s main race on Sunday – ever.
Randall Simons was in the irons and Amy Bronkhorst’s charge finished four lengths clear of Rhythmical Reply, with Determination and Rebel Soldier following.

Amy is seen here with Randall Simons, Adrian Nydam and ZBTA Chairman Kevin Fallon. The winner started at 4/10 and duly delivered.

Photograph: Gavin Macleod