Other Sports of Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

Wings, Ginger dominate in Horce racing at Accra Turf Club

A scene from the Whitsun races held at the Accra Turf Club A scene from the Whitsun races held at the Accra Turf Club

Mr Harold Awuah Darko’s stable continue to dominate the race course when Wings and Ginger recorded impressive wins in the last day of the Horse Owners Association (HOA) sponsored meetings at the Accra Turf Club on Saturday.

Though all the four race events were meant to be cup races, presentation of the cups were suspended since the sponsors failed to make available the cash prizes for the winners.

However, Mr Nii Armah Turkson, Secretary to the Board of Stewards assured the winners that the prizes would be presented at a later date.

He said a maiden division would be created in addition to the Novice division to ensure better classification of the horses to address the developing trend where thoroughbred horses mixed with those bred-in-Ghana.

The Board Secretary hinted that a new division would be created for superior horses outside the 3A division as Awuah Darko’s superior horses seem to dominate the track.

These sentiments were expressed due to the manner Wings and Ginger swept past the other horses before the last bending despite giving the others a 50-yard head start.

However this time Wings won comfortably from stable mate Ginger, with Die Hard Owned by Ahmed Tijani in the 3rd position in a time of two minutes over eight furlong.

In the 3rd race of the day, the entry of ‘Best Owned’ by Nana Kwame Dua caused a bit of consternation among horse owners in the Novice division because it was seen as a thoroughbred horse.

When reasons prevailed and the horse came under the starter’s order, ‘Best Owned’ did not disappoint punters with doubts of its heritage when it out paced the division champion, ‘I-spirit’ to clinch victory in a time of 2.05 minutes over seven furlong.

‘Simply Great’, simply emphasised its dominance in 3B division when it romp home to victory over eight furlongs in a time of 2:18 minutes with ‘Sea Never Dry’ and ‘Sly Mongoose’ following in that order.

When the 4A and the 4C divisions were merged, King of Kings, the champion in the 4A division showed its class among the lot when it clinched victory over an eight furlong outing. ‘AKAIDA’ and ‘Sweet Mornus’ also followed in that order.

Meanwhile the Board of Stewards has announced a two-week break to the racing calendar to help put the place in order, Mr Turkson said after the break.