It is that time of the year when those race horses that love the Fairview synthetic surface must up their game.
There are three meetings left for the month at the Greenbushes track and all of them are on the Polytrack.
The meeting that stands out, though, is the one on Friday, August 26, as the main race on that day is also the start of the Nelson Mandela Bay Racing Poly Challenge. This challenge, run over three legs, has become a real favourite with the Fairview trainers and owners.
It gives those horses that prefer the synthetic surface, rather than the turf track, the opportunity to show what they can do. The Polytrack has not only saved many meetings from being lost due to rain since installed in 2013 but has also given a home to many horses who love the surface.
Races on the Poly became so popular that the Racing Association started rewarding those performances with special awards and the challenge was introduced in 2016.
There is a bonus, apart from the regular prize money, for the connections of the horse that wins all three legs of the challenge. The races are over 1 200, 1 400 and 1 600 metres. No horse has been able to secure the bonus yet.
Another incentive for the connections to aim at is the consolation bonus for the best performing horse over the three legs. With that much at stake the first leg on the 26th should be a real thriller and some big name horses, like Ultra Magnus and Global Drummer, have been nominated to participate.
The new East Cape season is only three meetings old, but already the indications are that it will be yet another big one for the stables of top trainers Gavin Smith and Alan Greeff. Greeff started the season brilliantly, notching up nine winners in no time but Smith was quick to respond by saddling a treble at last Friday’s meeting. They should fight it out for the trainers’ title but who will be third on the log at the end of the season is also always an interesting battle.
Sharon Kotzen is looking strong early, but Zietsman Oosthuizen and Juan Nel have also got out of the blocks well. It will be interesting following these stables in the coming weeks. The race for this season’s jockey title at Fairview has taken on a new complexion with Greg Cheyne’s departure to the United Kingdom. Cheyne, riding mostly for the Greeff stable, has been the champion since 2017 and has won 10 East Cape titles (Gavin Venter’s record is 16) overall.
It is interesting that S’manga Khumalo was the champion in 2016 as he has combined brilliantly with the Greeff-stable this season. Richard Fourie is taking a breather but is expected to do duty for Greeff soon and get involved in what should be an interesting title race.
