Wow, this is a real feast for the horse racing fans in Nelson Mandela Bay.
It is not often that we have a meeting of 10 races (usually eight), but this will be the case this coming Friday, at the Fairview Turf track in Greenbushes.
The highlights are the Glenlair Trophy and the Fairview Flying Five, but there will also be a lot of interest in the Derby Plate.
The race for the Glenlair Trophy is always a crowd favourite. The spectators just love this true test of stamina over 2800m.
It is always exciting to see whether your fancy is still in with a chance, when the horses battle it out over the last 400m when those legs are all getting a bit tired.
There will again be some healthy provincial rivalry in the race as the locals will have to be at their best to beat the Cape Town mare, Flower of Saigon. Local hopes, Barak and Jaeger Moon, will have lots of local support.
Flower of Saigon is in the care of the Western Cape conditioner, Glen Kotzen, who won the same race last year with Follow the Star.
Kotzen also won last Friday’s feature race at Fairview when Virginia Sweet was way too good for the opposition, in the East Cape Oaks for three-year-old fillies.
For those who prefer speed, the Fairview Flying Five will be the race of the day on Friday. Some very good sprinters, like Cruise Control and Cliff Top, will be in action over 1 000m, in what should be a really fast and exciting race.
All eyes will be on Perfection in the Derby Plate. Perfection is trying the 2 000m for the first time. If Perfection sees out the distance, his next mission will be the WSB East Cape Derby, which will be run on May 12.
Friday’s meeting starts at 11:25. The Flying Five is the sixth race (14:05) and the runners for the Glenlair Trophy will face the starter at 14:40.
The Gqeberha racing fraternity was smiling this past week when Kyle Strydom, a former Pearson High pupil, celebrated his first win as a jockey in Britain.
The 21-year-old Strydom is a former South African champion apprentice jockey. He rode 103 winners in South Africa before leaving for Britain recently, and won on just his second mount.
“It would be good to improve as time goes on, but it’s exciting to get started with a winner,” said Strydom.
Kyle is the son of Fairview trainer Jacques. His uncle Pieré is a multiple champion jockey.
