TOP jockey, Richard Fourie, reached a massive personal milestone at the last Fairview race meeting, but his job is certainly not done yet.
Fourie rode his 2 000th career winner last Friday when he won the fourth race with Path of Choice, for the stable of trainer Alan Greeff.
You definitely won’t find Path of Choice on any shortlist of best horses which Fourie has ridden in his career, but the six-year-old gelding was part of a very special moment.
There are more milestones to chase for the Cape Town-based jockey, but Greeff will want him to focus on the three upcoming Fairview meetings.
This will be the last three meetings of the Eastern Cape season, and Greeff is involved in a huge tussle with Gavin Smith for the trainers’ title.
Greeff wants Fourie to ride as many winners as possible for his stable at these meetings, to try to win the title.
At the start of the season Fourie replaced Greg Cheyne as the first choice rider for the Greeff stable. He took a break at the start of the season, but soon got into top gear. He is just six winners shy of another milestone, 100 winners for the Fairview season.
Fourie is way clear of the other riders with his 94 wins, and will be crowned the champion jockey in the Eastern Cape. He has won this title only once before, back in 2012, when his 47 winners were enough to be the champion.
One jockey that will be missed at Fairview is local boy, Teaque Gould, who is leaving for Australia today.
Gould won the Zimbabwe title last season and was at his very best when he won the Lady’s Pendant with Red Berry at Fairview in February.
The focus will shift back to the race for the trainers’ title at this Friday’s Fairview meeting.
The title will go to the trainer with the most winners behind his name after the meeting on the 28th.
At the moment Smith, the defending champion, is one winner ahead, 118 to 117. Both stables are in good form as we saw last Friday, when Greeff had four winners and Smith won the first two races of that meeting.
Sharon Kotzen is third on the trainers’ log and although not threatening the top two yards, she is also enjoying a very successful season with 59 winners.
Her stable won the big one at the last meeting when the filly, Medlers Tart, was way too good for the opposition in the Walmer Handicap.
