THE biggest horse racing weekend in South Africa starts on Friday at the Fairview track in Greenbushes.
On Saturday, it will be the 126th running of Africa’s richest and most prestigious race, the Hollywoodbets Durban-July, at Greyville in Durban. As in previous years, racing fans will use the Fairview meeting to get into the mood for July day and will try to strike some winning bets with which to attack the enormous betting pools on Saturday.
The East Cape Breeders Stakes will be the feature race at Fairview and this race will no doubt be the highlight of the day.
It is also a memorable day for Kelly Mitchley. The former Westering High learner will saddle her first runner at the meeting.
Mitchley, who celebrated her 26th birthday two days ago, is a well-known face in local racing circles. She has been shaping her skills at various stables but has now taken out her trainer’s licence. Mitchley will be the fourth lady trainer at Nelson Mandela Racing, joining Sharon Kotzen, Tara Laing and Montana Turner.
The Fairview meeting is also the first of the last month in the current South African racing season. Time is running out for those who want to make sure of the titles and awards that are up for grabs. This situation always makes for exciting racing.
Some big races will be run at Fairview this month. The Breeders Stakes will be followed by the Walmer Handicap (July 8), the Gold Cup (15th) and the Juvenile Cup (29th).
There are five Fairview meetings in July and Gavin Smith will be forgiven if he starts to plan for some celebrations.
Smith is in a very good position to become the champion trainer in the East Cape for the first time since 2013. He is 13 winners ahead (119 to 106) of defending champion, Alan Greeff.
At last Friday’s meeting, Zietsman Oosthuizen became the third trainer to reach 50 winners for the Fairview season.
The July will be a massive event, especially now with COVID-19 restrictions lifted. The main race (at 15:55) looks wide open which gives punters a chance to cash in on big pay-outs.
Two popular bets at the July are the Pick Six and the July Quartet. The pools for these bets are huge – the Pick Six expected to reach R12 million and the Quartet R10 million.
In the Pick Six one has to pick the winners in six consecutive races for a successful bet and for the Quartet one has to predict the first four horses in the July in the correct finishing order.
Those might be bets for the regular punters but those having a flutter once a year will also enjoy themselves in trying to find the July winner. Visit the Facebook page of Henk Se Wenk to help you pick a winner.
Fairview in July
1: Turf – East Cape Breeders Stakes
8: Polytrack – Walmer Handicap
15: Turf – Gold Cup
22: Turf
29: Turf – Champion Juvenile Cup
