Racing marches to the beat of Smith and Drummer

Gavin Smith is highly likely to extend his lead at the top of the 2021/22 national trainers’ log when racing takes place on the Fairview Polytrack on Tuesday afternoon.

The PE veteran has good chances in all eight races on the card and he could even be an exclusive choice for exotic and All To Come bets. It’s only in Races 1 and 6 where he looks less than strong.

It’s not unusual for a top Eastern Cape trainer to be leading the championship early in a new season, given the large strings of horses they command in that part of the world and the number of runners they send out. Of course, the trainers’ title is decided on aggregate prize money and the Windy City’s relatively lower purses mean Highveld and Cape Town big guns eventually rise to the top.

Nonetheless, it will be fun to see for how long Smith can set the pace. He has had 13 wins in just two weeks and more than R676,000 is in the bag – some R170,000 more than Joburg’s Paul Peter with his nine victories.

Smith’s standout on Tuesday is the prolific sprinter-miler Global Drummer in Race 7, a Pinnacle Stakes contest over 1400m. This four-year-old gelding by Global View has won 10 of his 13 starts, of which one was over this course and distance.

Last time out he breezed up in a 1200m race on the Poly with apprentice Yuzae Ramzan aboard, taking 2.5kg off the 62kg impost. Smith has opted for a repeat, with the 59.5kg making Global Drummer easily the best-weighted horse in the mix and a clear banker.

Earth Hour and Carioca are the two main rivals in terms of class, both having nine wins to their credit and having performed commendably at the top level of PE racing. But they’ll have to produce something out of the ordinary to silence the Drummer.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

Que Es Var, 4 Sovereign Supreme, 8 Siever’s Point, 1 Swingthewillow

Race 2:

1 Iron Henry, 4 Magic Blaze, 3 Kingston Rock, 6 Sonny Quin

Race 3:

1 Arctic Advance, 2 Constellation Code, 7 Grace Lightning, 3 Compare

Race 4:

2 Karen Blixen, 1 I Love Mambo, 7 Autumn Sky, 8 Dancing Girl

Race 5:

3 Imperious Duke, 7 Homer Fidget, 6 Duchess Of State, 10 At The Opera

Race 6:

5 Inherit The Rain, 9 Curious, 1 Herodotus, 3 Harlequin Jack

Race 7:

1 Global Drummer, 2 Earth Hour, 6 Aqua Delta, 7 Dubula

Race 8:

3 Life On Mars, 2 Nu Bell, 5 Timkat, 6 Better Days

Pick 6:

1,2 x 1,2,7,8,12 x 3,6,7 x 1,2,3,5,6,9 x 1 x 2,3,5,6,10 (R900)

PA:

1,3,4 x 1 x 1,2,7 x 3,7 x 5,9 x 1 x 3 (R36)