Horse racing in Port Elizabeth is alive and kicking!
Racing in the province has been continuing behind closed doors, at the Fairview track under level three of the COVID-19 regulations.
Of course, it is not the same, with no spectators allowed at the track, but it is business as usual for all the Fairview stables. And business has not been that bad.
It is not easy for punters to place their bets in these times (online seems to be the favourite way at this stage), but the pools for the Fairview meetings were solid.
The movement of jockeys is restricted by the National Horse Racing Authority, which means the Fairview trainers can’t make use of the services of jockeys from the other provinces.
This meant some stables had to make adjustments, but the Port Elizabeth-based jockeys are now getting more chances on the better horses and are not complaining at all!
The PE trainers have always been held in high regard in South African racing and one of the new kids on the block certainly showed what PE can do at the huge Cape Met meeting in Cape Town on Saturday.
Zietsman Oosthuizen only recently started training at Fairview.
He and his horses relocated to the Friendly City after the Flamingo Park racing centre in Kimberley closed its doors.
On Saturday, he shook the South African racing fraternity by winning one of the big races, the Western Cape Stayers, with the five-year-old gelding, Atyaab.
Oosthuizen refers to his horse as Attie, and the big man was over the moon with the biggest victory of his short career. In interviews shortly after the race, Oosthuizen was very emotional and shaking from excitement, which just underlined his passion for the sport and his star horse.
The Eastern Cape season ends on July 31, when the horse of the year will be named. It looks almost certain that Atyaab will wear that crown. There is one problem, if one can call it that, though. Atyaab is stabled at Fairview but has not yet run a race in his province.
As a top horse, he has a really high merit rating and it will be very difficult to find the right races for Atyaab in PE.
His first run here is something to look forward to and it would be wonderful to have the spectators allowed back at the track when the new PE hero does make his first local appearance.
It is believed a handful of other former Kimberley trainers are also in the process of relocating to PE. This will make it even more difficult to win a race at Fairview, but the competition can only be good for the sport and will no doubt lead to even more better horses being stabled here.
The next Fairview meeting is on Friday and there is also action on the Polytrack on Monday.
Check out the Facebook page, Henk Se Wenk, for the betting tips for those races.
Horse racing tips: Fairview 5 February
Race
1: 6-3-5-2
Race
2: 2-1-5-6
Race
3: 2-1-6-9
Race
4: 4-3-2-1
Race
5: 2-4-7-3
Race
6: 3-6-5-4
Race
7: 3-4-2-7
Race
8: 2-12-6-1
PLACE
ACCUMULATOR
1-2
1-2
2-3-4
2-3-4-7
3-6
3
1-2-6-9-12
BIPOT
3-5-6
1-2
1-2
2-3-4
2-3-4-7
3-6
