THERE is a good chance we will see a future equine star in action at Fairview race track in Greenbushes on Friday afternoon.
The main race, at a good-looking meeting, is the R200 000 Champion Juvenile Cup for two-year-old horses over 1 100m.
Many past winners of this race went on to enjoy very successful racing careers. The same can be expected of Friday’s winner.
The East Cape champion stable of trainer Gavin Smith has an excellent record in this race.
He won it with some of the biggest equine stars the province produced, like the former Durban-July winner Bold Silvano, and a former East Cape Horse of the Year, Global Drummer.
It will be an exciting and competitive race on Friday, race seven of the eight carded races, and racing enthusiasts won’t want to miss the chance of seeing a potential future thoroughbred star winning this.
Another race not to be missed is the Pinnacle Stakes over 1 100m (race 4) where a quality field of fillies and mares will face the starter.
After Friday’s action the East Cape season will end with Monday’s meeting on the Polytrack.
There are not many opportunities left to achieve the season’s goals and finish on a high.
The two remaining meetings will be ultra-competitive, as everyone will be trying to improve their numbers before the season closes.
We got a taste of that competitiveness at this past Friday’s meeting, when seven different trainers made a trip to the winners’ enclosure.
It has now become very difficult for Smith to win the East Cape trainers title for a third consecutive year.
Alan Greeff is eight winners ahead going into the last two Fairview meetings, and if all goes well should regain the title he last held in 2021.
Cape Town-based Richard Fourie has the jockey title in the bag in his record-breaking season. It will be his third East Cape title.
The award for the local jockey with the most winners behind his name at the end of the season is still in the balance. Kendall Minnie is only two winners ahead of Yuzae Ramzan.
On Sunday the Champions Season in KwaZulu-Natal will come to a close with a bumper meeting of 10 races at Greyville in Durban.
It is great to see that Nelson Mandela Bay Racing will be represented at the meeting by the Smith stable, with three promising two-year-old horses.
Family Law will contest the R1 million Champion Stakes over 1 600m (race 5); Silvonian will run in the R500 000 Twitter Stakes over 1 200m (race 3) and the filly, Happy Holy, is in the R500 000 Debutante (race 2) over 1 200m.
All three have cracked good draws which will be in their favour when they take on the best in the country.
