Greg Cheyne the man to watch at Fairview
At the other end of the scale is Cliffie Miller’s six-tear-old toughie Elegant General with a mere 52kg to bear.
Will Black Thorn sprinting over the finish line at the Vaal Classic meeting. Picture: Lee Warren/Gallo Images.
East Cape champion jockey Greg Cheyne returns to his happy hunting ground of Fairview on Tuesday, after serving a suspension, and looks likely to have a big say in much of the action on the Polytrack.
Cheyne has promising bookings throughout the day but it’s the last two races on the card that promise to send him home a happy chap.
Regimental in Race 7, an MR78 Handicap over 1200m, is the standout bet at the meeting. The four-year-old sprinter has revelled in his new surroundings at trainer Alan Greeff’s Fairview base since transferring from Cape Town in the new year, performing a hat-trick in recent weeks under heavy betting support.
As he goes for four in a row, he must lug 61.5kg, but the way he strolled to victory last time under just 0.5kg less suggests he’ll handle the burden with ease. He can be considered for bankerdom.
At the other end of the scale is Cliffie Miller’s six-tear-old toughie Elegant General with a mere 52kg to bear. This guy is having his peak run and could pose the principal danger to Regimental.
Cheyne dons the Wilgerbosdrift silks for his engagement in Race 8, an FM66 Handicap over 1300m. The three-year-old Silvano filly Rimini is having her third outing for Greeff after transferring from Candice Bass-Robinson’s care and looks primed to strike from a handy draw.
Cheyne and Rimini will face challenges from various quarters, though, not least from stablemate Paris Opera and Gavin Smith-trained Nu Bell.
Earlier on the card, the top jockey has a good chance on Red White And Blue for Greeff in Race 4 and Capernaum for Zietsman Oosthuizen in Race 3.
SELECTIONS
Race 1:
7 Silent Observer, 5 Ladonna Mia, 8 Surfer Babe 2 Catch The Cat
Race 2:
2 Blue Ducess, 6 Intrepid Traveller, 1 Tarsus, 4 Wolfgang
Race 3:
3 Burnt Horizon, 2 Highway Star, 4 King’s First, 12 Cape Batis
Race 4:
6 Red White And Blue, 3 Elusive Zoe, 1 Queen Louise, 8 Wild Earth
Race 5:
2 Capernaum, 3 Mary Lee, 1 Reach For The Line, 9 Zig Zag
Race 6:
1 Lady Catherine, 7 Escape To Vegas, 8 Valeriana, 4 Talia Al Ghul
Race 7:
1 Regimental, 8 Elegant General, 2 Var’s Boy, 7 Chainsaw
Race 8:
4 Rimini, 9 Paris Opera, 3 Nu Bell, 5 Natural Jade
Pick 6:
1,2,3,4,12 x 1,3,4,6,8 x 1,2,3 x 1,7 x 1 x 1,3,4,5,6,9,15 (R1050)
PA:
2,6 x 2,3 x 1,3,6 x 2 x 1 x 1 x 3,4,9 (72)
