Gav is the Guv at Fairview right now

Gavin Smith referred to his “good run” while graciously accepting congratulations for yet another winner at Fairview on Tuesday. “Good run” is a typically modest way of putting it from the Eastern Cape’s current top trainer. Truth is, Smith is killing it, winning more than a third of the races run in the region in the past month.

On Tuesday it was four of the eight, at the previous Friday’s meeting it was three of eight. Numbers sequencing means he’ll bag five this Friday, when racing is on the turf course. Indeed, he might.

Smith send out 22 runners for the eight races and a good proportion of them will be at the top of the betting boards.

For starters, he will probably annex the first three races, with Pinnacle, Forest Spy and Legitimate. It’s as easy a Pick 3 as you’re likely to find, but don’t expect a fat pay out.

Four-in-a-row is not out of the question with the Smith yard’s recent acquisition Duke Of Orange having made an encouraging local debut at the end of February after transferring from Durban.

Championship leading jockey Warren Kennedy partners all four of these horses and the confidence he is showing on Smith runners could carry him to what would be a memorable quadruple.

Jockey Julius Mphanya is the man in the hot-seat aboard Smith’s appropriately named Masterful in Race 6 – the horse that could bring up the magic five. This young rider obviously gets on like a house on fire with Masterful, having ridden him 16 times for five wins and a clutch of places.

More? The odds are against it, but Smith has chances in Race 7, with Blue Duchess and Bold Diva.

But racing teaches us never to get ahead of ourselves. Gavin Smith knows this, so he won’t be exaggerating his claims to this meeting.

He’d suggest we stick to his runners in the first three or four races and gratefully bank the cash.

SELECTIONS

1: 10 Pinnacle, 5 Feeling Foxy, 7 Glitterfox, 12 Sugarberry

2: 1 Forest Spy, 4 Orange Red, 6 Likeable, 3 I Wanna Bamba

3: 3 Legitimate, 1 Tarantino, 2 You Know Who, 7 Red Bishop

4: 8 Duke Of Orange, 3 Vanderbilt, 7 Dawn Raider, 1 Abayyaan

5: 4 Silver Slippers, 1 Sailaway With Me, 3 Back To Formentera, 12 Nova Stella

6: 2 Masterful, 3 Born A Star, 6 The Ghan, 1 Emperors Decree

7: 6 Meercat, 9 Irish Willow, 2 Blue Duchess, 3 Bold Diva

8: 3 Paris Opera, 7 Africanroyaljewel, 5 Timkat, 6 Shield Maiden

Pick 6: 1,3 x 1,3,5,7,8,11 x 1,3,4 x 1,2,3,6,8,12 x 2,3,6,9 x 3,7 (R1728)

PA: 1,4 x 3 x 3,7,8 x 4 x 2,3,6 x 2,6,9 x 3 (R54)