Jockeys are often severely criticised when they mess up, but one must also appreciate their talent and skills when they do get things spot on.
At Friday’s meeting at the Fairview Turf Track in Greenbushes we saw some brilliant riding from some of the country’s best jockeys.
Gauteng jockey, S’manga Khumalo, was the star when he won four of the eight races for the stable of the East Cape champion trainer, Gavin Smith.
The Khumalo ride that stood out was when he won the third race of the day on the three-year-old gelding, Ubisika.
Khumalo displayed wonderful vision as he waited for a gap late in the race to secure the victory.
Top Cape Town jockey, Richard Fourie, often takes the initiative in races to catch his opponents off guard with an unexpected move, but a different approach paid off with two winners last Friday.
In these races Fourie found a good position, and then waited patiently for the other riders to make mistakes and run into trouble. That was all he needed to pounce and make sure of winning those races.
Fourie also tried very hard to win the feature race of the day with the local champion filly, Luna Halo.
Luna Halo carried five kilograms less than the Cape Town visitor, Gold Poker Game, and it was the correct tactic to take the lead early and try to hold on for glory in the Lady’s Bracelet over 1 600m.
The Cape Town visitor was just too good, and produced a strong late run to catch Luna Halo just before the winning post. This was a very well-timed ride by another Cape Town jockey, Gareth Wright.
There was also a Fairview Poly meeting last week Tuesday, which was a significant one for Gqeberha-based jockey, Charles Ndlovu.
Ndlovu rode his first winner of the year after a long layoff to recover from injuries sustained in a bad fall in May 2023, when he suffered a broken left foot and broken collarbone.
He says the win helped him regain his confidence and he will be back to his best now.
There will be more breathtaking moves by the jockeys at this coming Friday’s meeting at Fairview. The Sophomore Plate for three-year-old horses over 1 400m should be a very interesting race.
The action on the 26th will be even bigger and better when the Fairview Mile, Merchants, and Lakeside Handicap will all be part of a high quality meeting.
