Monday’s race meeting at Fairview is the final event in the Eastern Cape of the 2023/2024 and it is advantage Alan Greeff for the Champion Trainer title. But rival Gavin Smith seems to have targeted this particular Monday afternoon meeting with a bucket of runners.
It will be hard for Smith to overturn the deficit but it is encouraging he is giving it a go and there are three particular runners on this card that we will pay some attention to.
Juvenile colt Nikes Ray Of Light has been unlucky a couple of times and his latest disappointing run is best ignored.
The Red Ray colt was having his second run of the week, was slowly away, over-raced and had a saddle slip so his fourth-place finish did have merit to it.
With jockey Craig Zackey not available for this meeting it is noteworthy Louie Mxothwa gets the ride.
The Smith-Mxothwa combination has not been a regular team of late but when they have joined forces they have built up a decent strike rate and Nikes Ray of Light can get Smith off to a winning start in Race 1.
Royal Mo filly Dance Mo has improved of late and she has finished third in her last two starts.
In both of those runs, she had Zackey aboard and this time his replacement will be the capable Cavin Habib.
Habib has ridden her before and the step up to 2000m should suit her.
The Inkosana, is probably Smith’s most likely winner on this competitive card and he runs in Race 5, a Classified Stakes over 2200m
This five-year-old gelding proved in need of his local debut when a never-sighted ninth in May.
Returning to the Polytrack he was a well-backed and comfortable winner over the course and distance.
He was expected to follow up and win his next start, when dropped to 1900m and he looked the winner going into the final 200m, but his stable companion fought back to beat him.
Once again Habib replaces Zackey on the gelding and having ridden him before Habib will know how to get the best out of him.
Clive Robinson
