SOMETIMES you need a bit of luck to shine in the competitive world of professional sport, especially in horse racing.
Trainer Zietsman Oosthuizen was the first to admit he had some luck on his side when he had a tremendous day last Friday, at the Fairview race track.
Oosthuizen won two of the three big races, the Fairview Mile and the Lakeside Handicap, at this meeting.
It was a really good day for his stable after a recent history lean on results. The hard work that Oosthuizen has been putting in has now paid off significantly.
Added to that, that little bit of luck helped. Both Oosthuizen’s victories were absolute nail-biters. The horses just managed to get up at the finish line to secure that first spot.
Tarantino was a gutsy winner of the Fairview Mile, and Jacob’s Ladder finished strongly to win the Lakeside Handicap.
Both winners were not among the fancied runners, as the expectation was that the big stables of trainers Gavin Smith and Alan Greeff would have the biggest showing on the day.
“What a feeling to win two big races in one day; unbelievable. Both could have run unplaced. There was just a length in it in both cases,” said Oosthuizen.
The Greeff stable did win the other big one, the Fairview Merchants, when Cliff Top produced an eye-catching run.
Cliff Top was a runaway winner with top jockey, Richard Fourie, in the saddle.
Last season Cliff Top was crowned the champion two-year-old and showed tremendous promise.
He made things difficult for himself and his riders though with his tendency to race too aggressively in the early stages.
Greeff and Fourie worked hard to rectify this problem and were very happy with the latest result.
Everything seems to be on track again and exciting times lie ahead with Cliff Top. He looks ready to take on the best in the country again, and racing fans will follow his progress with interest. Racing at Fairview is very competitive and makes for entertaining Friday afternoons. Every meeting is packed with exciting, close finishes.
The race for the respective titles is also a reason why everyone is trying their utmost to win a race. Three jockeys are in the hunt for the East Cape title and are making sure that we are seeing some masterful rides in those spectacular finishes.
Louis Mxothwa is leading on the log with the most wins for the season but Richard Fourie is closing in fast. S’manga Khumalo is also in contention. Mxothwa has never won the title and Fourie was the EC champion back in 2012, while Khumalo last won it in 2016. Smith is enjoying a wonderful run and has built up a nice lead on the trainers’ log.
- Fairview dates: February 3, February 10, February 17, February 24 and February 28.
