Castle Tankard Reborn in Zimbabwe

After a four year hiatus due to the political violence that plagued Zimbabwe in 2007 and 2008, the Castle Tankard horse race returned to Harare on May 21, 2011. One of southern Africa's oldest horse racing events, and the oldest sponsored horse race in Africa, Castle Tankard race began in 1960, and ran every year at Harare's Borrowdale Race Course until it was stopped in 2007. The May 21 event, attended by thousands of avid race fans, was won by South African thoroughbred Grisham, ridden by South African jockey Karis Teetan. Eight Street and Gracia Jones, also South African entries, took second and third. Got Personality, a Zimbabwean entry, took fourth place.


The first prize was a purse of US$20,000; second spot won $10,000. The third place horse received a purse of $6,000 and the fourth place finisher took home $3,000.


Grisham got off to a slow start, with favorite Winter's Night taking the lead. At the turn, Eight Street broke out in front, but Teetan urged Grisham forward in the home stretch, taking over and winning by a comfortable margin.


One of Zimbabwe's premier sporting events, Castle Tankard was sponsored by Delta Beverages Ltd., the main beverage company in the country. As part of the promotional package for the rebirth of Castle Tankard, Delta offered race goers chances to win a number of prizes, including a double cab pickup truck. A senior company official said, "This is just our way of giving back to the community and building customer loyalty." Delta distributes Coca Cola products, which account for 90 percent of the Zimbabwean soft drink market, and contributes nearly ten percent of the country's GDP.


In addition to nine races beginning in the morning and culminating in the big money race just after four p.m., there were concerts staged by big name Zimbabwean performers, Oliver Mtukudze, Victor Kunonga, and Sulumani Chimgetu, and horseback rides for the younger attendees.


Races are held each weekend at Borrowdale Race Course for the 298 racing thoroughbreds in the country, and the course also conducts a jockey school for professional riders, many of whom also compete in races in South Africa and other countries in the region. None of the weekly races, however, compare to Castle Tankard for prestige or purse, and Delta's leadership expressed the hope to see it come back as an annual event. Like the Zimbabwe Open Golf Tournament, which returned to the country in 2010, sponsored by southern Africa telecom giant AFRICOM, it was long among the most renown sporting events on the continent. Political violence and hyperinflation, caused by government mismanagement, put an end to these two events, as well as Zimbabwe's participation in international cricket and soccer, but with the formation of a coalition government in 2009 which restored a measure of political calm, and dollarization the same year which ended hyperinflation, they are beginning to resurface.



Reference:

http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2011-04-06-castle-tankard


http://allafrica.com/stories/201104111016.html


http://allafrica.com/stories/200105070342.html


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