Zebaldt Ngaruka
GOBABIS – A dusty affair is expected at Okahandja turf tomorrow when the country’s top racehorses converge for the Spring Cup .
The event is organised by Okahandja Racing (OR), which has set aside N$ 211,000 for the participating racehorses in 19 sprints.
Speaking to the New Era Sports, Otis Kotjipati, the president of OR, said the horses rested for a long time, and that is affecting the horse owners economically.
This popular sport faces difficulties as most sponsors have pulled out, which is affecting horse owners significantly.
“This situation has triggered us to fork out funds from our club to host the Spring Cup so that horse owners can survive. We started this sport with a mission, and we cannot sit idle and rely on sponsorships,” Kotjipati said.
He added that horse fanatics are important stakeholders, and they need to be entertained through hosting racing competitions.
“Despite those challenges, we have to move on and play the sport that we wholeheartedly love,” he said.Kotjipati added that the competition is also aimed at preparing horses for the upcoming Namibia Horse Racing Association event.
“Fitness is the key in any sport, and this competition will polish our horses for future competitions,” he said.The Thoroughbred horse main race will cover 2400 metres, while the Nambred’s elite plate is 1 600m.
“We add more plates to avoid mixing horses in plates, which to some extent is not fair in terms of competition. Therefore, we allocated enough plates so that horses can run in their respective categories,” he said.Kotjipati further announced that the popular OR horse, Starlile, will not participate in the event as it is nursing an injury.
“It is what it is. We cannot force Starlile to recover, and thus, we have to give it able time to recover. We are aware of the supporters’ outcry about the horse they love, but it is not wise to let it run while it is not 100% fit,” explained the president.He said that the club added a new Thoroughbred called Starlito, which will make its debut at the Spring Cup competition.
“Our fans must not be worried that much as we have other horses whom we trust can bring glory and joy to the club,” he said.
Kotjipati said the club’s two juvenile horses, a graduation horse called Isipekepeke, World in Unison, Imperial Ruby, Vang en Los, will represent the club at the event.In addition to the cash amount, the winners in the long distance and main races will take home a trophy and medals.“The prize of the man on the horse, the jockey, is included in the winner’s amount. These are the important stakeholders, and we take good care of them,” he said.Other entertainment at the field includes a live music DJ between intervals and music performances from Oviritje and Maxaisa artists.
Kotjipati then called on horse racing supporters and fans to come in numbers to support the sport they love.
“We are in this difficult time together, and we have to assist our horse owners to feed their horses with your support,” he said.
The first race on Saturday is expected to start at 9h30 after the early briefing at 08h00.