After getting through a challenging meeting, Friday the 13th will hold no fear for Nelson Mandela Bay Racing.
This past Friday was a difficult meeting of nine races at a cold, windy and wet Fairview track.
The meeting was scheduled for the turf, but fewer than four hours before the first race was supposed to start a change of surface was announced.
Overnight rain, and rain on race day rendered the turf unusable, so action switched to the Polytrack.
Technical issues then delayed the start by more than 30 minutes, but in the end all the problems were solved.
Cliff Top delivered the highlight of the day, with a classy victory for the Alan Greeff stable in the Cradock Place Stakes.
After all these hiccups and still able to produce the goods, Nelson Mandela Racing will feel that the bad luck is a thing of a past, and won’t be superstitious at all about the upcoming meeting on Friday the 13th.
In fact, racing people usually love the action on Friday the 13th. It could pay to keep an eye on those horses wearing saddle cloth number 13!
October is always a great month for racing in the Bay and there is plenty to look forward to, including the third and final leg of the Poly Challenge on the 20th. There is even a bonus meeting on Tuesday, along with the regular Friday meetings.
The big change is that there is no Algoa Cup meeting in October, but don’t fear, it is actually good news.
The Algoa Cup will return to its former regular Sunday slot and the first weekend in November will be a massive one for local racing.
Top fashion and all sorts of entertainment will combine with quality racing at Fairview on Friday and Sunday, November 3 and 5, in the Algoa Festival.
The Racehorse Owners Association Stakes will be the feature race on the 3rd at the Sunshine Coast Eventing Club race day. The Algoa Cup is on the 5th.
In 2019 the Algoa Cup was still run on a Sunday but since the arrival of COVID-19, this event became part of the regular Friday meetings.
That this year’s renewal will be on a Sunday is good news for those stuck at work on a Friday and further details about hospitality options will be announced soon.
