WITH an additional Tuesday meeting added to the regular Friday action, it will be the start of a very busy and exciting month of horse racing at the Fairview Track in Greenbushes on Friday.
The meeting on Tuesday the 13th is on the Poly surface and the other four on the grass, which is looking in fine nick.
The big question is whether the stable of champion trainer Gavin Smith will be stopped. This yard has enjoyed a golden period of non-stop winners since December.
The season is precisely at the halfway mark and with 67 winners behind his name already, Smith is well on his way to another East Cape trainer’s title. He saddled 126 winners last season and would better that mark if he keeps up his current winning rate.
Alan Greeff is his main rival as usual and is very much in the title race, just seven winners behind Smith.
Kelly Mitchley (31 winners) regularly picks up a winner, and looks safe to keep her third spot. She is followed by Sharon Kotzen (16) and Jacques Strydom (14).
Visiting Cape Town jockey, Richard Fourie, should be the first to crack 50 Fairview winners for the season. He needs just one more and is well positioned to keep his East Cape title.
There is also an award at the end of the season for the Gqeberha-based jockey who rides the most winners, and here is where things get very interesting.
Mpumelelo Mjoka was having a good season but has relocated to Cape Town with the Lunga Gila stable. This makes the battle between the local riders even more open.
Kendall Minnie, Yuzae Ramzan and Eldin Webber are all in the running, but don’t throw Charles Ndlovu away. He recently returned to the saddle after a bad injury and is making regular trips to the number one box.
He is not out of the race, as he showed with his winning ride on Slainte Whath for the Kotzen stable this past Friday.
And what a meeting it was on Friday. We saw some tremendous racing in very hot conditions, with the thrilling finish in the Merchants probably the highlight of the day.
The last race was also a close affair, won by the Mitchley-trained Fiery Duke. The stable even carried this good form into the big meeting the next day in Cape Town.
Golden Rule made his debut for the Mitchley yard in the first race in Cape Town, the Summer Juvenile Stakes for two-year-olds, and ran an absolute cracker. He finished his race off strongly to take the fourth spot.
“What a run from this little champ in his first race. It is such a proud moment for the yard and lovely to have a runner on a big day like this,” the stable commented.
