Henk Steenkamp
Jockey Luyolo Mxothwa will have many supporters at Fairview on Friday after he dominated the last two meetings at this venue.
Mxothwa rode four winners at the last East Cape meeting of the past season and followed up with a treble this past Monday at the first Fairview meeting of the new season.
He is in tremendous form and will be full of confidence to strike again at Friday’s Polytrack meeting of eight races.
Mxothwa won’t be riding in the first race which gets the Bipot underway at 12:25. In this race Brigham makes his East Cape debut with Muzi Yeni in the saddle.
Yeni combined with the Kelly Mitchley stable to win the first race at Monday’s meeting and can certainly start Friday’s action in the same manner.
Mxothwa can resume his winning ways in the second race when he rides Pibe De Oro for the Zietsman Oosthuizen yard. This will be Pibe De Oro’s third run after a layoff and he looks ready to win the first leg of the Place Accumulator at 13:00.
Desert Cloud (Oosthuizen) is the horse to beat in the first leg of the Pick Six, race three at 13:35, but is drawn widest of all. Midnight Music (Tara Laing) and Buddleja (Gavin Smith) should challenge strongly.
Mxothwa rides Penny’s World for the Lunga Gila stable and might be worth including in wider bets.
The first Jackpot starts with a competitive sprint race at 14:10. The filly Kings Again (Alan Greeff) makes her Fairview debut and has been priced up as the favourite.
Swiss Walt (Oosthuizen) must be included after he won his last start a month ago. Mxothwa will be in the saddle again.
The second Jackpot also starts with a sprint and also looks very competitive although the Greeff stable predicts a huge run from Articuno.
The race is off at 14:45 and Mxothwa rides Bomber Girl for the Oosthuizen stable which is capable of getting involved in the finish.
It doesn’t get any easier for punters in race six. This is a MR 70 Handicap over 1600m and not a race to go light in.
Mxothwa rides one of the biggest outsiders in the race but knows Oliver Twist (Smith) very well. Oliver Twist prefers the poly surface and could certainly pop up in an open affair.
Pas De Nom made a stunning debut recently for the Jacques Strydom yard. If his second run after a layoff doesn’t catch him out, he should win the Middle Stakes over 1600m, race 7 at 15:58. Calvin Habib rides.
If Pas De Nom struggles, Mxothwa will be ready to strike with Dowser which is in good form for the Oosthuizen stable. Master Forester (Greeff) and Waz Wouter (Smith) will also be in the mix.
The last race of a Fairview meeting is usually a tricky affair. Wordsworth (Cliffie Miller) is in fine form and a big run is expected.
There are others to keep an eye on, including the honest Guarding The Wall (Sharon Kotzen) with Mxothwa aboard from a wide draw.
It looks like a competitive card on Friday which is all the more reason to, as always, give it a go!
This article was originally published on TAB and is reposted here with permission.
