Low pickings in season opener

There were low financial pickings for punters in the Commander Air Force of Zimbabwe Borrowdale Sprint, the first major feature race of the 2015/16 horse racing season, won by Approval Rating.

Andrew Fortune

Andrew Fortune

The horse, bred by Scott Brothers, carried a heavy 61.5 kilogrammes, but still finished like an Express train to justify his 13/20 starting price and add another title to his nine previous wins. The track was fast and Approval Rating’s time of 56.62 seconds was not too far off the course record of 56.01 seconds, set by the then 55kg-carrying Sports Hero in July 2013.

The six-year-old son of Mistique Approval  (USA), who has returned to Zimbabwe after racing in South Africa for a year, won the 1,000-metre race ahead of Pegwell (6), Picalilly (3) and Thriller in Manila (4), but did not pay much to the punters who had expected a financial harvest on the opening day of racing, paying out a low $1.60 in totalisator win, closing betting at 13/20, having opened at 7/10.

The swingers were also at a low with Approval Rating and Pegwell paying out $2.40 while Approval Rating and Picallily were even lower at $1.90. Pegwell and Picalilly were better at $3.10. Even the trifecta was at a low $20.10 while the quartet paid out only $59.80.
The Ghokan Terzi-trained winner, ridden by former South African champion jockey Andrew Fortune, received $4,000.

There was $1,600 for Pegwell while Picalilly took home $1,000 and Thriller in Manila received $600. Pre-race favourite, Super Trooper, did not take part in the race after being scratched at the last minute.
The next major race is the Sables Flyers Handicap which will take centre stage at Borrowdale Park on September 20, with punters looking forward to better financial pickings.

Post published in: Sport

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