Mandla Moyo, Sports Reporter
AS the month of June came to an end, it is significant to take stock of the events that were witnessed at the ceremonial home of horse racing, Borrowdale Racecourse.
At the same time, to the racing community here at home as well as in the region June was a special month due to the fact that one of the most followed competitions in the calendar, the OK Grand Challenge horse race was held.
In 2021, it bounced back after not being held in 2020 as a result of the effects of the deadly pandemic the Covid-19.
The OK Grand Challenge is traditionally held on the first day of June but this time it was pushed to 5 June after the authorities took a late bold decision to run it.
However, that evidently did take away the dramas as well as spills that come along with this race.
Prior to the event, two of the best horse trainers in the country, Gokhan Terzi as well as Bridget Stidolph were in full swing showing fans a glimpse of what was in store for them by dominating in a number of races in turn taking home a haul of trophies.
During the OK Grand Challenge, Terzi proved to all and sundry that he is indeed a top-class trainer by saddling the winning horse Finchatton.
Finchatton directed by jockey Diego de Gouveia, fended off stiff competition from Peggson by Stidolph to win by half a horse length.
The last minor places were taken by two more runners saddled by Terzi which are Holy Land as well as Fareeq.
This was Finchatton’s third win at Borrowdale plus prior to this event he came out second behind Fareeq during the Independence Trophy contest before regrouping to win the OK Grand Challenge.
Apart from saddling the winner of the OK Grand Challenge Finchatton, Terzi also sent out the winners in seven of the eight races on the Borrowdale Park card.
This on its own is a rare achievement at Borrowdale Racecourse by a trainer to date, ironically it comes after he sent out six winners the previous week at the same venue.