Rain spoiled what was all set for a big meeting at Fairview Racecourse last Friday and moving from the turf to the Polytrack only lasted two races before the meeting was called off.
The two feature races due to be run last week have been added to Friday’s card for a bumper 10-race card with eight races on the Polytrack and the two feature races on the turf.
The World Sports Betting East Cape Derby is a highlight of the Eastern Cape season and it would be fitting for it to go the way of current leading trainer Gavin Smith who has two runners with a realistic winning chance.
Perfection is the class horse of the race and destroyed some decent opposition on the Polytrack in his penultimate start where he had rival in this race, Heathcliff, floundering lengths behind him.
The question he has to answer is will he stay 2400m on the turf?
One would have answered ‘yes’ to that but for his last run when Heathcliff turned the tables on him in a resounding fashion.
He will also have to see off some fair Western Cape challengers in the form of Cosmic Event and Machete Man from the Justin Snaith yard.
Both of those runners come to this race bang in form and are certain to get the distance.
Smith also sends out talented Cherry Ano who takes on his toughest task to date. Cherry Ano has done his connections proud so far having won four of his five starts.
The other feature race is the Listed Dahlia Sprint and should see a competitive finish.
There was less than a length between Luna Halo and Golden Sickle when they met in Cape Town in favour of Golden Sickle with Luna Halo having done the travelling for that race. Roles are reversed and it is Golden Sickle that has travelled and the result of that run could be reversed.
It is not a two-horse race though and Smith-trained Vision Of Wonder has made rapid improvement of late and is coming off a runaway success and will be a danger.
Punters could get the better of things early in the day as Aadehya in Race 1 should take a lot of beating.
The Smith-trained juvenile drops to maiden company after a sparkling debut. He may have been thrashed by stable companion Vision Of Wonder that day but had some decent horses behind him at the finish and should prove hard to beat unless he does not like the Polytrack which he tries for the first time
Clive Robinson
