The stables of Fairview trainers, Alan Greeff and Dean Smith, will have the full support of the Eastern Cape racing fraternity when they embark on huge challenges in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Three Greeff horses and two from Smith will make the trip from Gqeberha to Gauteng to take on the best in the country at the Summer Cup meeting at Turffontein. These are exciting times for Nelson Mandela Bay Racing to have representation in five of the 11 races at this bumper meeting.

Greeff was a winner on his only previous visit to Turffontein. The other stables will be aware of what he and Smith are capable of.

The big one is the R6 million Summer Cup, where 20 runners will compete over 2,000m. Greeff will saddle the reigning Eastern Cape Horse of the Season, My Best Shot. My Best Shot has a widish draw (12 out of 20) and will be ridden by his regular pilot Richard Fourie.

My Best Shot has won 11 races at the Fairview tracks in Greenbushes and now gets a chance to show what he can do on the Highveld. It is not going to be easy against top opposition, but the long Turffontein straight should suit his running style.

With four KwaZulu-Natal horses and two from the Western Cape also travelling to take on the Gauteng stars, it is great to see My Best Shot carrying the flag for the Eastern Cape.

For Smith, the big one will be the Dingaans. He will saddle All Systems Go, and Craig Zackey is the jockey. Smith’s other runner is Danish Dynamite. She will be contesting the Carry On Alice Stakes.

This three-year-old filly has won her last two starts at Fairview in fine style. She will be ridden by Gqeberha-born JP van der Merwe.

Silva City will be in action for the Greeff yard in the Fillies Mile. Jockey Calvin Habib has a very wide draw to contend with.

Mercantour made history earlier this year by becoming the first locally trained horse to win all three legs of the Poly Challenge. He is the third Greeff runner and will contest the Pinnacle Stakes with Fourie in the saddle.

To show their support for the Fairview runners, there will be a gathering of local racing personalities and fans at the Hear The Drums Room (Fairview 1st floor) from early on Saturday.

Patrons will be able to follow the racing and other sport (Springboks v Wales) while enjoying the food and drink specials. Don’t miss the chicken curry!

The totalisator will be open for those massive betting pools. The Pick Six pool is expected to reach R5 million.

The racing weekend will start with a Polytrack meeting at Fairview on Friday.

Last Friday’s meeting ended on a very special note when Ravilious won the last race, ridden by Kyle Strydom and trained by his dad, Jacques. What followed after this race was described by trainer Zietsman Oosthuizen as “the biggest and best lead-in for a winner I have ever seen at Fairview”.

Kyle and Ravilious struggled to get to the winners’ enclosure as they were mobbed by family and friends. Kyle is based in the United Kingdom these days and enjoyed riding this memorable winner for his dad’s stable on his holiday in South Africa.