Three to Tango takes the Derby!

We had the best week in racing, that any new owners deserve! The week began with our Easter Monday winner Baltic Danseur in Port Elizabeth and ended with Three to Tango winning the Zimbabwe Derby in Harare!

When they say "it takes a village" they're not wrong. We have shared in the ups and downs with both horses and this week was one of those weeks where everything went off perfectly.

We've been stuggling with Tango on the ground and in races after he had a small niggle in December. He had a rushed prep for the first leg of the Triple Crown, followed by a disappointing run in the Second leg. I had him on a strict programme myself and from the ground I couldn't have got him better than that for the Zimbabwe 2000m. When I saw him go to the start, I was disappointed and his run reflected my thoughts.

The day after that when I went to treat him, it was like he hadn't run! If the grooms are busy I often treat him myself, and don't even have to tie him up because he is so chilled (despite being a 3yo colt), but he was an arrogant sod the day after that race and I had to have a little giggle. At least he came out of it without any stiffness at all...

Going into the Derby, I joked about Gelding him several times and perhaps the whispers got back to him because boy did he bring it to race day! Kirk has always had a lot of faith in this little horse and it was lovely to see the hours of hard work and frustration pay off big time!

For us and for many, horseracing isn't about making millions (if it is, you'll likely be disappointed). It's about enjoying the journey of friendship. It's the pooling of talents and personalities and having to trust so many people to get your horse to a level where it can be competitive. It's about forgetting all the nonsense and for one afternoon being immersed in something like nothing else. It's exhilarating, it's competitive, it's unpredictable, it's full of curved balls... if you haven't experienced it, you need to, even just once... There is nothing else on Earth like it

So after much celebrating and acceptance of silverware we were humbled by the congratulations of friends and rivals in the MOTA bar!

I've been racing in other countries, Zim racing is like nothing else. The small community makes it a welcoming environment for newbies. Big Syndicate Initiatives make it easy for the small time owner to have the big time fun. We only have a small share in this mighty horse, that doesn't mean we only have a small amount of fun!

So more than anything, if you need a outlet (haha, who doesn't), something to make you feel alive again, somewhere to go when you need a change of scene, something to make your kids think you're cool again.... Come race with us!! There are plenty of opportunities at the moment for Syndicate shares.

For us, we began this little journey with Tango in 2016 when Kirk and I went to the 2yo sale in JHB. He came back with 5, and we convinced my parents to take a small share of this guy! We have watched him grow into a wonderful horse under Solomon's care, Kirk's training and Debbie's riding. We've had Ray ride him a few times now and it lovely to see that partnership flourish. We've had Rogers helping with the extra therapies and myself treating Tango regularly... It's been a massive accumulation of a way of life. Today, it continues. There are no days off in horses... There are only opportunities to do better!