THERE is no place to hide anymore if you are a horse racing trainer in Port Elizabeth.
The news that the strong stable of Cape Town trainer Mike Bass is setting up a satellite yard at Fairview means it will be even more difficult to win races at Fairview and Arlington.
The competition is already tough and Bass will place even more pressure on the smaller Port Elizabeth stables to survive.
But one cannot hide from competition and hopefully everyone will benefit in the long run with another strong satellite yard in PE.
Cape Town trainer Justin Snaith's yard is going from strength to strength.
Bass will no doubt fill his allocated 20 boxes with quality horses. That could lead to bigger turnovers and stakes money, but one has to feel for the smaller trainer. That Bass is interested in making his mark in Port Elizabeth racing is a compliment for this centre.
He uses words like "very competitive and lucrative" to describe PE racing, and is impressed with the number of meetings and the type of races available. The Bass stable is, of course, no stranger to PE race-goers as he has been raiding the centre regularly with top horses. He was also the trainer of the legendary Pocket Power which had PE couple Arthur and Rina Webber as co-owners with Marsh Shirtliff, of Cape Town.
While we await the arrival of the Bass yard, the Snaith satellite yard looks ready for a big day at today's Fairview meeting. Top Cape Town jockeys Bernard Fayd'Herbe and Glen Hatt will be in the Friendly City to help secure the wins for Snaith.
The main race is the Lady's Pendant, a race Snaith has won the last two years. He can make it a hat-trick of wins, with Victorian Secret and Hurricane Katrina huge runners. The Lady's Pendant starts off an exciting month, with the Ibhayi Stakes, Breeders Guineas, EC Fillies Nursery and EC Sprint Cup still to come.
Henk's tips for Fairview today 01/03/2013:
PA R72
1-7-9/1-15/1-9/1-2-7/1-7/12/2
Pick 6 R576
1-2-15-20/1-9-11/1-2-5/1/1-3-12-14/1-2-4-7
Sport
| Sport
