Richard Fourie steps up for Greeff stable. Whatever Next?

Richard Fourie deputises for regular rider Greg Cheyne on Alan Greeff’s top horses at Fairview on Friday. And the East Cape champion trainer could hardly have a better stand-in, with the visiting Cape Town ace in good form, as ever.

The pair looks set for a profitable day with good chances in most races on the turf track card.

The headline event is the Listed Dahlia Plate, a juvenile affair over 1200m, and Greeff saddles two of the seven candidates. Fourie teams up with likely favourite Whatever Next, a gutsy winner of the East Cape Nursery at the end of last month.

This colt by What A Winter was all over the shop on debut in mid-March, but still finished third. He quickly got the hang of racing and reeled off two wins thereafter and there is nothing to suggest he can’t get the hat-trick.

Greeff’s other runner is a filly, Old Glory, who has a diametrically opposite history to Whatever Next – winning well on debut but getting a bit lost in her three subsequent outings. If she regains her poise she can run into the money.

Greeff’s eternal rival Gavin Smith sends out three runners, with the stable’s principal hopes pinned to the colt Norton Sound, who’ll be piloted by Lyle Hewitson.

This guy was a 0.50-length runner up to Whatever Next in the Nursery, after kick-starting his career with two wins in a row. He was hanging towards the end of that defeat and if the champion jockey-in-waiting can keep him going in a straight line he will be a serious threat.

The Greef-Fourie team’s best winning chances might be in Races 2 and 3.

Blingking is a new arrival in PE and he brings decent Cape Town form into a 1400m Maiden Plate – including a couple of second places at Kenilworth over 1600m and 1400m. Those sort of stats are often a pointer to a good debut up the coast at Fairview.

With five placings in 10 runs, the choicely bred filly Rooibos is overdue a win and Greeff will be hoping Fourie will be the magic added ingredient in Race 3, a 1200m Maiden.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

7 Peace In Our World, 4 Jean Paul, 8 Redoute’s Secret, 3 Constellation Code

Race 2:

1 Blingking, 3 Al Qaasim, 4 Life On Mars, 5 King Of The Moment

Race 3:

3 Rooibos, 4 Shahidi, 5 Big Hello’s, 2 East Coast Star

Race 4:

4 Mifid Two, 8 Meercat, 2 Calandra, 6 Flame Tree

Race 5:

1 Atyaab, 3 American Landing, 6 Seeking Wisdom, 4 Aranjuez

Race 6:

2 Broadside, 4 Stranger Danger, 7 Winging It, 6 Bockscar

Race 7:

3 Whatever Next, 2 Norton Sound, 6 Pot Sox, 1 Cruzador

Race 8:

2 Moon Game, 5 Waldorf Astoria, 1 Dirty Martini, 6 Teofilio

Pick 6:

3,4 x 1,2,4,5,6,8 x 1 x 2,4,7 x 2,3,6 x 1,2,3,5,6,10 (R648)

PA:

1,3 x 3 x 2,4,8 x 1 x 2,4,7 x 3 x 2,5 (R36)