Covering a distance of 1200 meters, which is the sixth on the Mashonaland Turf Club calendar, the event has all the ingredients of a classic as it brings together horses and jockeys from both Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Although the defending champion, Control Freak, is away in South Africa, a host of other competitors are set to battle it out on the day.
Horses such as Syracuse and Officer Class, from the Lisa Harris stable, will be seeking to leave a mark and claim the limelight from Control Freak.
Officer Class looks like the horse to beat, as he is good both on wet and hard turf and has finished first on two occasions.
Syracuse appears to do well on wet surfaces and has performed poorly on hard terrain.
Derreck David, the jockey who won the race last year with Control Freak, will also use the platform to prove that what he achieved last year was no fluke as he comes into the battle again, but this time with Penthouse from South Africa who has been resting for more than 110 days and is likely to be among the major contenders to win the race.
As Gail Odendaal is also a Zimbabwean trainer, it is up to him to prove to the world that Zimbabwe has indeed come of age to produce some of the best horse trainers in the world.
Racing Manager at the race course, Robson Chinamasa, said they were looking forward to a great event.
“We are confident that the race will live up to expectations. We are carrying over from where we left in the ZNA Charity race held three weeks ago,” he said.
Kirk Swanson sends out Li’l Abner (JP Van Der Merwe) and, though well beaten by Officer Class is 1.5kgs better off and should improve on that but still has more to do to win.
Burmese Cat (G Williams) from Seb D’Aquino and Penthouse (Derreck David) from Gail Odendaal both seem eager for success.
Post published in: Sport