There are some decent races on the card at Fairview on Friday 14 August and hopefully they all be contested on the turf. There are two feature races on the programme, and Race 5, the Memorial Mile (Listed), is the first of them.
Trainer Alan Greeff has a very strong record in this race, and Zinovi will be a short-priced favourite. Zinovi has won seven of his last nine starts and is the defending champion. The Heavenly Blue gelding has won five times since then, including his last four starts.
Usual pilot Richard Fourie is away again and is replaced by jockey Andrew Fortune. Fortune rode this gelding when third back in May last year and will be keen to show he is capable of winning with him.
The class act on this card is undoubtedly the Greeff-trained Golden Palm, who runs in Race 6, a Conditions Plate over 1200m. The Master Of My Fate filly returns from a break and drops back to sprinting, but she should prove hard to beat.
Race 7, the Jockey Club Stakes (Listed) over 2000m, is the other feature race and looks a very open contest. Greeff has five of the 11 runners carded, and Fortune is on the very consistent Enchanting Choice, but the Rafeef mare tries this distance for the first time. She is well drawn but may be stretched by the trip.
Stable companion Silvan Mistress may provide better value at the likely odds. This Master Of My Fate filly has shown a dislike for the Polytrack and struggled last time out. She had won two solid races before that, including over this course and distance in April, and has a decent draw in stall 4.
There are also a couple of Western Cape-trained runners in the race, and the best of them could be Beware The Bomb. Trainer Justin Snaith has an excellent record when visiting this course, and this filly tries 2000m for the first time. It is worth noting she won over 1800m, which is the furthest she has gone so far. Jockey Kabelo Matsunyane is in good form and takes the ride.
Clive Robinson
