Chronicle EditorAugustine Hwata Sports Reporter
DEFENDING champion, A King is Born, is expected back into the starting stalls after he was entered as one of the 19 horses for the Castle Tankard 2 000m event at Borrowdale next month.
The final acceptances for the most prestigious horse race in Zimbabwe will be held on Monday with all the 19 horses set to be confirmed for the sprint.
Last year the South African-bred A King is Born by Alyson Wright, partnered jockey Deon Simpson, won the US$50 000 race, some five lens ahead of Genepri.
Wright will also be in the saddle of Qrbit War, who finished third last year, and has a merit-rating of 85 while leading trainer Kirk Swanson has a strong hand in the field with four runners.
Leading the pack for the Swanson yard could be the stayer Captain’s Tiger who has a good draw of two while previous Triple Crown Winner, Madigan, is also in the race.
One of the top three-year-olds at Borrowdale this year, Ernie of Else, and Copper Bay complete the line-up from Swanson. Lisa Harris brings in three runners — the highly-rated Approval Rating, Forty One and Menacing while Gorkhan Terzi also brings the same number of horses.
Castle Tankard (Grade 1)
-19 horses nominated
Horse Trainer – Rating
A King is Born Alyson Wright 84
Alula Borealis Lisa Harris 100
Approval Rating Gokhan Terzi 95
Captain’s tiger (Z) Kirk Swanson 95
Coltrane (Arg) Joey Ramsden 97
Copper Bay Kirk Swanson 82
Disco Al Joey Ramsden 92
Equina Amy Bronkhorst 83
Ernie Or Else Kirk Swanson 94
Forty One (Zim) Lisa Harris 79
Gentle Brook Amy Bronkhorst 80
Ginepri (Arg) D’Aquino S l 90
Madigan Kirk Swanson 98
Menacing Lisa Harris 88
Orbit War (Arg) Alyson Wright 85
Pleasant Valley D’Aquino Seb 80
Rock The Country Gokhan Terzi 83
Star Dance D’Aquino S L 81
Super Trouper Gokhan Terzi 84
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