THE final acceptance of one of the continent’s oldest horse races, Castle Tankard, will be on this Monday.
A total of 19 nominations have been submitted for the Grade One race.
Last year’s winner of the tankard, A King is Born, is part of the 19 horses nominated to take part on race day.
The race is slated for May 10 at Borrowdale Race Course.
A total of US$50 000 will be at stake while several prizes will be in store for the general public.
Castle Tankard is one of the oldest sponsored races in Africa.
This year marks 52 years of its existence.
Last year 15 horses completed the field that ran over a distance of 2 000 metres.
It was a race filled with surprises as punters tipped Kirk Swanson’s Captain’s Tiger to win the race.
This year, Captain’s Tiger will be in the starting stalls as it is part of the 19 nominations.
Argentine thorough-bred, Ginepri, from the Sebastian D’Aquino stable – who came second in last year’s race – will be another favourite in the stalls to reach the winning point in a good position.
Alula Borealis from the Lisa Harris stable is one of the horses that have been participating in the Grade One race since 2012.
Experience may help the Lisa Harris thorough-bred.
While dark horses have surprised many at the Castle Tankard, this year’s race might be no exception.
House of Wax was tipped to win the 2012 edition of the Tankard, but unheralded Code Rock broke the hearts of many.
The nominations:
1. A KING IS BORN Alyson Wright
2. ALULA BOREALIS Lisa Harris
3. APPROVAL RATING GokhanTerzi
4. CAPTAIN’S TIGER (Zim) Kirk Swanson
5. COLTRANE (ARG) Joey Ramsden
6. COPPER BAY Kirk Swanson
7. DISCO AL Joey Ramsden
8. EQUINA Amy Bronkhorst
9. ERNIE OR ELSE Kirk Swanson
10. FORTY ONE (ZIM) Lisa Harris
11. GENTLE BROOK Amy Bronkhorst
12. GINEPRI (ARG) D’Aquino S L
13. MADIGAN Kirk Swanson
14. MENACING Lisa Harris
15. ORBIT WAR (ARG) Alyson Wright
16. PLEASANT VALLEY (Z D’Aquino S L
17. ROCK THE COUNTRY GokhanTerzi
18. STAR DANCE D’Aquino S L
19. SUPER TROUPER GokhanTerzi