Raider out to make history at Fairview

Eastern Cape racing is generally overshadowed by other centres that operate on a slightly higher level and therefore attract more media coverage, bigger sponsorships and so on.

But Fairview racecourse in Gqeberha plays a critical role in the game in South Africa and deserves more attention than it gets. Its dedicated and talented band of professionals surely do, as they save many an owner’s bacon by pulling off training feats with horses that underperform elsewhere.

A chance to focus on Fairview comes on Friday this week when the third and final leg of the 2024 Nelson Mandela Bay Racing Poly Challenge takes place over 1600m.

Interest in the race comes not from its modest prize of R175,000 but from the chance for a horse to make history by being the first to land the three-part challenge.

King Regent

That horse is King Regent, a very consistent five-year-old son of famous sire Dynasty, who is trained at Paarl by Glen Kotzen. But the up-coast raider faces a tough task.

The challenge’s three legs progress from a 1200m race, to a 1400m and then a 1600m. Since the start of the challenge in 2016, no horse has won all three legs and secured the bonus of R250,000.

Jacques Strydom-trained Gogetthesheriff came closest in the first year of the challenge, securing the first two legs before finishing a 0.50-length third to Jet Explorer in a thrilling finale.

King Regent, bred by Ridgemont Highlands and raced by well-known Cape Town owners Gisela Burg and Martin Wickens, was ridden to victory in the first two legs by Joburg jockey Denis Schwarz. Underrated Schwarz will by now have a good feel for his mount’s capabilities.

The gelding overcame a wide draw and a slow start to win the first leg by a comfortable 3.25 lengths on 23 August. On 27 September, he produced an electrifying burst from the back of the field to follow up by 0.50 lengths from Luna Halo.

The step up to 1600m won’t be easy as King Regent hasn’t won over the trip in his successful career thus far. He has six wins from 16 races, with five of those starts coming over 1600m and the takeaway being two second places, a third and a fourth.

Also, he carries 62kg and a hefty weight like that becomes more and more of a factor the further the gallop.

Punters haven’t been put off by such doubts, though, and have pushed Kotzen’s charge to 5-10 favouritism.

Among the eight runners carded are local favourites Cherry Ano, trained by Eastern Cape champion Gavin Smith, and Inherit The Rain, from the yard of the region’s other titan Alan Greeff. These are classy opponents, partnered by leading jockeys, but most fans will be rooting for the history-maker.