The Lisa Harris yard announced that the horse was injured and is still recovering, making it unfit to race in the Grade Three show. The stable said the horse would be on a break for some time and resume racing as soon as it is fit enough.
That leaves the field wide open as Early of Surrey won comfortably the last time around but Harris is eager to retain the title and has fielded four horses, all of them not among the favourites when betting opened Monday.
Two of Harris’ horses Arula Borealis and Platinum Moon were unveiled at 14/1 while the other two Charro Negro and Candymancan were at 25/1 but could improve on the price as there are still two weeks to go before the race takes centre stage.
The race has a huge field of foreign horses with three Argentina-bred horses Choisir, Orbit War, and Castle Tankard runner up Ginepri from the Sebastien D Aquino yard which will once again have Francois Herholdt on the saddle.
The up and coming D’Aquino also has Royal Arrow which was bred in Australia but the stable rates Ginepri so highly that they could not rule out the possibility of the horse landing the top price. Apar from Royal Arrow and Ginepri D’Aquino also fields Burmese Cat at 25/1 as well as Final Fling and Pleasant Valley who are among the outsiders.
The Chairman of Mashonaland Turf Club, Brian Ven Black, said originally the field had attracted 22 horses but the others have fallen by the wayside leaving eight South African horse to contest the race among those from Zimbabwe, and the ones originally from Argentina and Australia.
Super Trouper, the only entrant from the Ghokan Terzi stable is the overwhelming favourite at 4-1 and even jockey Tapuwa Manxusa who is not racing in the event has predicted a top finish for the horse.
The horse was scratched from the Castle Tankard at the last minute through injury but owner, Spencer Murray, says Super Trouper is injury free and has both weight and the draw on his side.
Castle Tankard winner, A King Is Born, is also in the race and placed at 6/1 is among the favourites just below Approval Rating from the Nuno Nur. Nur who has joined the Mashonaland Turf Club family from Kenya where he has also brought with him a number of horses thinks Approval Rating will be there for the crown.
Borrowdale regular, Kirk Swanson, has two horses Madigan which has lost his way and the top weight Captain’s Tiger who ran a cracker in the longer Castle Tankard where he finished third.
Kumaran Naido’s Directorate, an eighth finisher in the Tankard, races again in the shorter Grand Challenge and will be carrying 52kgs though the draw of 16 could prove too much.
Post published in: Sport