TIME is running out very quickly to try to make sure of a successful season at the Fairview race track in Greenbushes.
There are only four Fairview meetings left before the current South African racing season ends, on July 31.
There are still some prestigious awards, titles and personal milestones up for grabs in the coming weeks.
One of the titles still to be decided is that of the champion trainer in the Eastern Cape. For decades now Gavin Smith and Alan Greeff fight it out season after season, and they are yet again involved in a very close race.
Things are going to get very interesting over the next few weeks, and this duel has captured the imagination of racing fans countrywide.
The welcome rain at Fairview recently has made it very challenging for Smith and Greeff, and all the other roleplayers, to produce the goods.
Due to the wet conditions, many of the horses could not get the work needed to perform to their best on race days.
It was also frustrating that some of the meetings scheduled for the Turf track had to be switched to the Poly surface after heavy rain made the Turf unsuitable to race on.
Horses were prepared to run on the Turf and then had to run on the Poly. Some horses don’t like the Poly at all, and had to be withdrawn for those meetings.
Everyone was in the same boat though and this has just made things more interesting in the last month of the season.
One horse in devastating form late in the season is the four-year-old filly, Phedra. She won another big race this past Friday.
Phedra destroyed the opposition in the Breeders Stakes after she also won the Milkwood Stakes in May.
The victory in the Breeders Stakes has no doubt enhanced the chances of Phedra picking up an award or two for her connections, when the Racehorse Owners Association rewards the equine stars when the season ends.
A meeting which will play a huge role in deciding some of the award winners is the very last one on July 28.
This is going to be a bumper meeting with the highlights being the running of the Champion Juvenile Cup for two-year-olds, and the Gold Cup which is the ultimate test of stamina for horses willing to take on 3 200m.
Although the rain made for challenging times at Fairview, loadshedding will hopefully not interfere with racing as it did at Africa’s biggest meeting this past Saturday.
The last three races of the Hollywoodbets Durban-July meeting had to be abandoned, after unexpected loadshedding was implemented.
This brought the meeting to a premature end, much to the disappointment of the capacity crowd.
Winchester Mansion won the 127th July in a thrilling finish.
Fairview in July
7: Poly – Walmer Handicap
14: Turf
21: Poly
28: Turf – Gold Cup & Champion Juvenile Cup
