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The Nelson Mandela Bay Racing Poly Challenge has once again grabbed the imagination of the South African racing public.
Since its introduction in 2016 the challenge has become very popular and has produced some breathtaking races every year.
No horse has been able to secure the bonus for his connections by winning all three legs of the challenge.
It is a big ask as the three races take place in a short period of fewer than two months over the different distances of 1 200m, 1 400m and 1 600m.
Prince of Fire is the horse aiming for the bonus this year after he won the first leg this past Friday on the Fairview Polytrack.
It was a fantastic race. Prince of Fire was pushed all the way by the favourite, Cliff Top, and the fast finishing Gallic Tribe.
The second leg over 1 400m on September 29 should be even better and racing fans already indicate that they can’t wait for this one.
Cliff Top won’t be attempting 1 400m but Prince of Fire, Gallic Tribe and the fourth-placed, Port Louis, will be back for what should be a cracking race. There could also be strong entries of horses that didn’t partake in the first leg to make things even more interesting.
This Friday the focus will be on the Jockey Club Stakes, a great race for fillies and mares to start the action for the new month at Fairview. It is exciting times for local racing as the nominations have been announced for the annual Eastern Cape Awards.
It is now a bit of a wait till September 9 to find out who the winners are.
At the upcoming ceremony at Fairview the Nelson Mandela Bay Racing human and equine stars will be rewarded for their hard work during the past season.
One of the hardest workers was El Romiachi. He is not nominated for an award but was the only East Cape horse which got a mention at last week’s Equus Awards (national awards) in Gauteng. In her opening address the CEO of 4Racing, Fundi Sithebe, said she would have liked to give El Romiachi an award as the hardest working horse for the season.
He ran 26 times for one victory and 11 places. Sithebe stated that El Romiachi is her star of the season and ended her statement by shouting Viva El Romiachi! Even if he didn’t receive an award at the glamorous occasion, El Romiachi was the first horse to get a mention on the evening, much to the delight of his Fairview trainer, Zietsman Oosthuizen.
“What a great gesture to acknowledge the gutsy old fellow on the biggest stage at the Equus Awards,” Oosthuizen said.
Fairview in September
1: Turf – Jockey Club Stakes
8: Turf – Speedsters Stakes
15: Poly
22: Turf
29: Poly Challenge Leg 2
