Cape raiders up stakes in Bay

Punters' Pal

THE Cape Town raiders look to be meaning real business at today's horse racing meeting at Fairview in Port Elizabeth.

The local stables will be pushed to the limit to win races, with the Cape Town trainers bringing some good sorts to the Bay. Five Cape Town stables, which include the two satellite yards in PE, will be represented at Fairview, with horses from 11 local trainers in action.

It does make for competitive and quality racing and it will probably give the betting pools a bit of a boost. With the Cape Town trainers looking more and more towards PE, it must be very difficult for the so-called smaller trainers to survive.

The satellite yard of Justin Snaith is very strong and a serious contender for the PE trainers title. The Mike Bass satellite yard looks to be picking up the pace and word is that another Cape Town trainer, Glen Kotzen, is ready to start a PE yard.

Well, don't worry too much about those smaller PE stables. The way they have responded to the challenge is close to remarkable. They will certainly survive and if I owned a hat I would have lifted it very high to them. Look out for some strong performances from them today.

The main race is the Lady's Pendant for fillies and mares, which should be a great one. Victorian Secret is back to defend her title, with Fly By Night (Bass) also one to keep an eye on. There is also some quality on display in most of the other races, which should make it one of the best PE meetings so far this year.

Last Friday we saw some brilliant riding from two of the country's leading jockeys, Richard Fourie and Muzi Yeni. They will probably fight it out for the PE jockey title this season and this battle seems to bring out the best in them.

Jockeys often get a mouthful from the trainers if they mess up, but when you see work like that you have to give them credit.

Fourie is back today but Muzi is not in action. Good to see Cape Town rider Glen Hatt in town though.

Punters' Pal tips for Fairview:

PA R288

3-5-8/1-4/1-3/1-2-5/2-4/1-4/1-3

Pick 6 R1920

1-4/1-2-3-5/1-2-4-5-6-9/1-2-4-5-6 /1-4/1-2-3-8