ONE of the biggest weekends of South African horse racing starts right here in Gqeberha on Friday afternoon.
The meeting on the Fairview Turf track in Greenbushes will be followed the next day by Cape Town’s premier race day when the R2 million WSB Met will be the main event.
Friday’s meeting has been specially structured to do the weekend justice, quality wise, and give punters opportunities to get started with huge bets going into Met Day.
The Fairview meeting of eight races is full of quality and variety. It is difficult to pick the highlight, because there are three feature races to look forward to.
I will go with the Fairview Mile as the race not to be missed, but the lovers of sprint races can’t wait for the Fairview Merchants.
The Lakeside Handicap over 2 400m will cater for those who want to see horses who have the stamina to win over a longer distance.
Don’t forget the Breeders’ Guineas Plate for three-year-old fillies. This race is always a good pointer of what can be expected of them in bigger races later in the year.
Punters countrywide will be looking at Fairview to make money to spend on Met Day, which will have enormous pools to bet in.
The Pick Six is an attractive and challenging bet for punters. This pool is expected to reach R10 million.
In the Met, two Gqeberha born-and-bred jockeys, Pieré Strydom and JP van der Merwe, will be bidding for glory (race 9 at 16:45). Both have won this race before.
The 57-year-old Strydom has a very good chance to win on Saturday. He will be riding the favourite, See It Again. The 33-year-old Van der Merwe will be on Pacaya, one of the main challengers.
There will be 11 races on Saturday, and it is good to see two Fairview stables will be represented in the first race (at 11:55).
Veteran trainer Cliffie Miller will be saddling Play Act, and young Kelly Mitchley has Golden Rule in the Summer Juvenile Stakes for two-year-old horses.
Gauteng-based jockey, S’manga Khumalo, a regular Fairview visitor, will be riding for the Mitchley stable, and it is great to see local rider, Eldin Webber, getting a chance to experience the big race day atmosphere. He takes the ride on Play Act.
The Mitchley stable won the first race at the last Fairview meeting. It was the Work Riders Maiden Plate, where amateur riders got a chance to show what they can do.
This event is always a huge crowd favourite, and what a moment it was for the 24-year-old Odwa “Doc” Moyake who won the race in his first attempt with Miraculous Man.
You can watch all the races on the DStv Channel 240.
