WILL YER-MAAN MAKE HISTORY IN ZIMBABWE?

History awaits the St. John Gray-trained-owned-and-bred six-year-old Jam
Alley gelding Yer-Maan on Sunday at the magnificent Borrowdale racecourse
in Harare.
The gallant chestnut will attempt to become the first horse to ever land
the Zimbabwean treble of the Gr 1 Castle Tankard over 2000m, the Gr 2 Ok
Grand Challenge over 1800m and the Gr 3 Republic Cup over 1900m in the same
season.

The Republic Cup will be run on Sunday and Yer-Maan’s attempt to reach the
milestone is expected to attract a big crowd. He will also be receiving
plenty of moral support south of Limpopo as he is a South African bred and
based horse.

Gray will not be able to be there on the day as it his daughter’s 21st
birthday celebration the day before, but he said Yer-Maan’s preparation had
gone well, “It sounds as if everything is progressing nicely. I think he
has a tall task to beat Rushmore River who has very solid form, but we are
trying and hopefully he can write history.”

Yer-Maan produced strong finishes from off the pace to win both the Castle
Tankard on May 16 and the Ok Grand Challenge on June 6, both at Borrowdale.
On paper he should confirm form with all of the horses he beat in those two
races. The contestants are handicapped in the Republic Cup off a base merit
rating of 102, but a special condition limits the top weight to 61kg. This
means that off his new 106 merit rating Yer-Maan is 1kg better off than he
would have been in a true handicap. Furthermore, only four horses are
actually in the handicap in Sunday’s race, the other eight are all under
sufferance.

However, the horse that could spoil the party is the Joey Soma-trained
South African raider Rushmore River. He beat Yer-Maan at level weights the
last time they met in South Africa in the Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes over
1800m and will now be 6,5kg better off. However, Yer-Maan did hate the soft
going that day and has been relishing the fast going at Borrowdale.

Another danger could be the Zimbabwean Horse Of The Year Equina. Yer-Maan
will be 1,5kg worse off with her for a 2,5 length beating in the Ok Grand
Challenge, so there will not be much in it. Equina made a bold bid at the
historic treble last year but it failed when she was beaten into second the
Republic Cup.
Yer-Maan is 0,5kg better off with both Thrilla In Manila and Rock The
Country on Sunday, despite having beaten them into second and third by one
length and 1,75 lengths respectively in the Ok Grand Challenge. Both of
those two horses are under sufferance.

Warcraft scratched

Formgrids - The Republic Cup