Racing is back on the Polytrack for the third successive meeting at Fairview on Friday and the best advice for bettors is to get in early.
Life has been tough for punters recently in the Eastern Cape but that is because the weather has been abysmal over the past few weeks and it has made life tough for trainers and jockeys.
Heavy rain last week forced last Friday’s meeting to be transferred from the turf to the Polytrack while gale force winds made riding tricky for jockeys at the meeting on Monday.
In addition, the constant rain meant trainers were battling to work their horses and their fitness going into those two meetings was questionable.
If the weathermen have got it right the clouds will clear by Wednesday and the sun will come out which will improve the conditions significantly.
Race 1 is a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m and only six runners are carded to go to post and of them, only half have raced.
However, while two of them have done little to give them any hope of winning, Say A Prayer from the Alan Greeff yard had a really promising debut outing in which she finished third. There was no money for her and she drifted out to go off at 14-1 but showed good pace and only faded late to go down 4.75 lengths to stable companion This Or That who was ridden by Kyle Strydom.
Richard Fourie now takes the ride on Say A Prayer and in what looks a weak field, the daughter of Real Gone Kid could prove hard to beat. That first race was over 1200m in soft going on the turf but she now drops back to 1000m on the Polytrack.
The three unraced runners could provide a threat but one would need to keep an eye on the betting.
Of particular interest is River View who is owned by Tony Millard who was a leading trainer in both South Africa and Hong Kong. Greeff trains the daughter of Visionaire who has engaged log-leading jockey Craig Zackey for the ride.
While Fourie is the first-jockey jockey for the stable the horse he rides, Say A Prayer, is owned by Ridgemont for whom Fourie is contracted to ride.
Zackey is first-choice jockey for Dean Smith in the Eastern Cape, and that trainer has engaged Gareth Wright to ride his first-timer, Carnival, who is also owned by Ridgemont.
So, keep a close eye on any betting moves.
Clive Robinson
