The flying sparks are set to turn into a full scale fire at the Fairview race track in Greenbushes.
This is for certain after this past Friday’s top class, and very competitive, meeting of nine races.
The presence of some Cape Town visitors always gives the local meetings a boost and that was again the case in the big races, the Glenlair Trophy and East Cape Oaks, on Friday.
There is a healthy rivalry between the Fairview stables and the Cape visitors. It makes for quality racing that is appreciated by fans countrywide.
It was not long ago that the Cape Town visits meant no prize money for the locals, but nowadays the raiders must pull out all the stops for a victory.
The East and West Cape shared the spoils in the Glenlair Trophy and the Oaks, with the Trophy staying at Fairview but the Oaks going to Cape Town.
It was a bit of a setback that the meeting had to be switched from the turf to the Polytrack, after a little bit of rain made the underfoot conditions unsafe down the straight.
This meant the distance of the Glenlair Trophy was cut back to 2 750m but it was still a race that truly tested the stamina of the horses.
The four-year-old filly, Miss Orange, trained by the East Cape champion, Alan Greeff, came out tops.
It was the first time she raced over this distance and it seems the further the better for her.
Her previous victories were over 1 900m and 1 300m but now she will probably be aiming to win the prestigious Gold Cup over 3 200m, to be run in two months’ time.
Kendall Minnie was in the saddle, showing the visiting jockeys a thing or two. Kendall clearly enjoyed his first Glenlair Trophy victory.
Miss Orange was a clear winner, but the Oaks turned into a titanic battle down the straight to get to the winning post first.
The visiting Swazi Queen just managed to beat the consistent local filly, Colorado Springs. It was a thrilling finish, with the jockeys, Lyle Hewitson and Greg Cheyne, giving it their all to win this one.
The rivalry will continue in the coming months and the word from Cape Town is that the quality of the horses travelling to Fairview will be stepped up to secure those winning cheques.
This coming Friday’s meeting is a bit of a low key one but, on April 30, the East Cape Nursery for two-year-old horses will top the bill.
There are lots of fine races to look forward to next month. On May 7, the third and last leg of the Poly Challenge is the highlight and later on there is the Derby, the Dahlia Plate and Milkwood Stakes to be contested.
