The rivalry between East and West is making sure that we see tremendous horse racing at the Fairview track in Greenbushes this season.
There have been visitors from the Western Cape challenging the locals in the recent feature races at Fairview, and that has produced very interesting and exciting racing.
Last week it was one for the locals, when Slim Jannie won the Speedsters Stakes over 100m in fine style for the champion stable of Gavin Smith.
Slim Jannie formerly campaigned in KwaZulu-Natal but has really blossomed in the Eastern Cape.
Since he joined the Smith stable, Slim Jannie has won four times from six starts. Not only is Slim Jannie showing tremendous speed in his victories, but also a fighting spirit to get to the line first.
The action returns to the Polytrack this Friday, but the next big race where East and West will clash is the Friendly City Stakes.
The runners for this race, over 1 800m on September 22 on the Turf track, have not been announced yet but there are some very strong entries, locally and from the Western Cape.
The big announcement this past weekend was the crowning of the Horse of the Year at the Eastern Cape Regional Awards.
It was a glamorous event on Saturday evening in the Bold Silvano Room at Fairview, when the equine and human achievements of the past season were honoured.
The Horse of the Year Award is the one everyone wants, and Phedra was a popular and very deserving winner.
As a four-year-old filly last season, Phedra was brilliant in winning the Milkwood Stakes and the East Cape Breeders Stakes.
The Horse of the Year is a prestigious award for everyone involved with the winner, and although the stables of the top trainers Smith and Alan Greeff have dominated proceedings for decades, they haven’t had as many Horse of the Year Awards as one expects, proving that it is a very difficult award to win.
Phedra is trained by Sharon Kotzen, and joins legendary names on the roll of honour. Although she was the unanimous choice of the judging panel, there was stiff opposition from horses like Khaya’s Hope and Grazinginthegrass in a very competitive season.
Luna Halo and Questor were the standout performers amongst the younger horses.
There were two special awards, and one went to Smith for saddling seven winners at the Algoa Cup meeting.
The biggest cheer of the evening was when the legendary Hekkie Strydom was awarded a lifetime achievement award.
Strydom started his racing career as a jockey in 1964 and began training in 1978. He retired at the end of last season.
