East Cape champion trainer Alan Greeff has a difficult task to continue his winning ways in the two feature races at the Fairview Turf track in Greenbushes, Gqeberha, on Friday.
Greeff has dominated the R175,000 Listed Ibhayi Stakes for three-year-olds over 1,400m and the R150,000 Listed Lady’s Pendant for fillies and mares over 1,200m in recent times.
The maestro will be looking at a third consecutive victory in the Ibhayi Stakes and is aiming to make it four victories in a row in the Lady’s Pendant.
This time the Greeff stable will not only be challenged by the locals but also very capable Western Cape visitors.
The Ibhayi Stakes is the first leg of the East Cape Sophomore Challenge. Last season My Best Shot became the first horse to win all three legs of the challenge in a great training feat by Greeff.
He will saddle three of the five runners in Friday’s race, but it is the other two runners who have drawn the most attention.
Pomp It Up, from the visiting Justin Snaith stable, and Buffalo Bill, who will be attempting to make it three wins in a row for the Tara Laing yard, look set to fight it out for the win.
Buffalo Bill’s last race was the Sophomore Plate, when he showed an exciting turn of foot.
He is a promising sort, and this is his chance to prove he is the best three-year-old in the Eastern Cape. He is a huge runner with Wayne Agrella in the saddle.
Pomp It Up has shown in Cape Town he has the ability to win this race. He can’t be ignored with JP van der Merwe taking the ride.
Royal Kingdom and the only filly in the race, Silva City, should run well for Greeff.
They will be ready to strike if the top two in the betting don’t fire. Greeff was optimistic about Silva City’s chances in his TurfTrack interview.
Greeff will saddle four of the 12 runners in the Lady’s Pendant, when he will be going for a fourth consecutive victory, but it is the visitor Symphony In White who tops the betting boards.
Symphony In White is trained by Candice Bass, who was the last trainer to win this race in 2022 (with Santa Maria) before Greeff notched up three victories.
The daughter of What A Winter has been running against strong opposition recently and wasn’t disgraced in the Grade 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes last time out.
Van der Merwe will be doing duty in the saddle, and will have to keep an eye on the runners of his brother-in-law Dean Smith.
Smith is alive in the race with Danish Dynamite and Song Of Myself. Both are in fine form, and Smith feels they will finish in the top three.
Symphony In White is not the only raider in the race. Her stablemate October Fest and the Snaith runner Wild Applause should also be in the mix.
And Greeff?
Princess Hannah seems to be the stable elect. She makes her debut for the Greeff stable after relocating from KwaZulu-Natal.
She is working well and is another who is difficult to ignore when Pick Six selections are made.
Those are the two very exciting features to look forward to at the meeting of eight races, which starts with a Juvenile Plate for fillies at 12.30pm.
This is the first leg of the Bipot and Daffodil Delight (Greeff) shouldn’t miss, though there has been betting support for the stablemate Rock Me Mama.
The Ibhayi Stakes is race two at 1.05pm and the Lady’s Pendant is race seven at 4pm.
The Pick Six gets under way with the third race, a Maiden Plate at 1.40pm, where Rachettu (Snaith) is a possible banker.
Zinovi (Greeff) runs in a strong Pinnacle Stakes over 1,800m (race 5), but is also a possible banker after his last impressive victory
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