Horse racing returns to Borrowdale Park race course today after a break with 91 horses accepted for the seven races carded for the day at the home of Zimbabwe’s racing.
By Michael Kariati
Race goers had to wait for seven weeks to give Charles Mubariki and his boys the chance to prepare the course for the new season and the horses a well-earned rest.
It is now all done and the course is now ready for the horses to gallop with small seven fields lined up, which should ensure good entertainment and big payouts for the punters.
The highlights of the afternoon are the two feature races, the Merit Rated 80 Handicap to be run over 1 600 metres and the Merit Rated Sprint to be contested over 1 200 metres.
Three horses stand out in the small field of the eight-horse Merit Rated 80 Handicap, and they are hard to separate as they have raced against each other for some time. These are the top weighted Argentina bred Orbit War which will be carrying 61,5 kg, as well as Macchiato and Menacing, both from South Africa.
However, I am giving Menacing the nod to take the race. Coming from the Lisa Harris stable, the four-year-old son of Go Deputy and Fearsome is under the best yard in the land.
Added with the services of Karl Zechner who won both the OK Grand Challenge and the Castle Tankard, that should give him a head start.
Of the rest of the field, the other horse that could mount a serious challenge to the Orbit War, Menacing, and Macchiato, is Ghokan Terzi’s filly, Got A Hold On Me, which is well-drawn in lane one and carrying only 57 kg.
The 55 Handicap features two Zimbabwean bred horses in Mica Point which is from the Harris yard as well as Delta Special from the Kirk Swanson stable which will be ridden by Francois Herholdt.
This race has a bigger field of 11 horses with Maridadi, Dawn Light, Purple Title, Little Venice, Sword of Truth, Oh My Gosh, Sparkle with Speed, Motive Mambo, and Rocket Runner, all in the run.
Big and Open fields make punters sweat to find the winners but for those looking for tips — Dawn Light, Rocket Number, and Sword of Truth — are my favourites.
