Sisters set for Champions Fillies battle

SISTER horses, Equina and Sin Latigo will compete in the 2014 Champions Fillies Stakes set for Borrowdale Race Course on November 16. The daughters of Silvingo of German will set a record by becoming the first sisters to face each other in a competitive event which will be run over 1 800 metres.

Four year old Equina, has become the most dominant force in Zimbabwe’s long distance races since she started competing at Borrowdale Race Course last season. She has been campaigning in races between 1 600 to 2 000 metres while Sin Latigo has been more suited to events between 1 000 to 1 300 metres. However, the two sisters who hail from South Africa are campaigning from different yards with Equina being trained by Amy Bronkhorst while Sin Latigo is coming from the Conie Spies stable.

They also have different owners with Peter Moor for Equina and the Flavour Stud for Sin Latigo. Equina had only one race this season winning the season opener-the Zimbabwe National Army Charity race. Last season, Equina won the Castle Tankard and the OK Grand Challenge as well as finishing second in the Republic Cup. By doing so, she made history by becoming the first filly ever in racing history to win both the Castle Tankard and the OK Grand Challenge in the same year.
Equina is also the fifth horse in history after a King’s Threat in 1989, Gold Flame in 2002, Winter’s Night in 2010 and Grisham in 2012 to achieve that feat.

On the same day Equina took the OK Grand Challenge, the three year old Sin Latigo, won the 1 600 metre Maiden Plate.
Equina and Sin Latigo will however be under pressure as this year’s Champions Fillies Stakes has attracted the best female horses, with analysts saying the two sisters are unlikely to have it their own way.

Apart from Equina, Bronkhorst will also field little Venice and Supa Dupa. Spies will also send out Felani and Olympic Goal, making the two trainers the biggest contributors at Sunday’s event. Also challenging for honours will be Peter Moor’s Gentle Brook. The four year old brown filly which is well groomed by Innocent Mahwata has had a bright start to the season. The daughter of Windrush and Powerful Parrish had an impressive record of five wins and three placings in 16 runs when she relocated to Zimbabwe this year from South Africa.

Ironically, Gentle Brook also comes from the same stable as Equina as she falls under Bronkhorst.So far this season, Gentle Brook came second in both the Sable Flyers Stakes, and the Zimbabwe Republic Police Charity race which was won by Tallie Two. Trainer Alyson Wright has also nominated Tallie Two for the Champions Fillies Stakes. This is Wright’s only contribution in the race while champion trainer Lisa Harris has nominated Zimbabwean bred horse, Demitasse, to participate in the race. Apart from Equina and Gentle Brook, most of the horses in the field have just turned three years. – Michael Kariati

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