‘Gqeberha July’ Switch To Poly – A Good Call?

Mother Nature throws a curved ball again

Racing operators are damned if they do and damned if they don’t, and remain in an invidious position when making relatively long-term calls on racemeeting changes.

4Racing’s decision to move Friday’s Fairview racemeeting, hosting the ‘Gqeberha July’ from the turf to the polytrack, has been met with some puzzlement and questions. Does it serve racing best?

Joey Ramsden’s Disco Al (Robbie Fradd) gets the better of Storm Dancer to win the 2013 Algoa Cup, which was run on the poly (Pic – Coastal Photos)

Mother Nature has proven a fearsome foe for racing across the country in 2024.

And the decision was taken following 150mm of rain overnight into Tuesday, continued rain throughout the day, and more rain forecast for Wednesday, off a high penetrometer reading of 50-60, to switch surfaces.

The distance of the second race, the non black-type Betway Wedgewood Handicap, has been reduced from 2400m to 2200m.

In the 2023 renewal of the then Jonsson Workwear-sponsored Listed Algoa Cup, Justin Snaith maintained the visitor stranglehold and racked up his fifth victory in ten renewals of the 2000m feature, when Future Swing beat fellow Cape raider Han Solo. The race was run on a Sunday last year.

Jono Snaith – feels more thought should have gone into the decision to run the feature on the polytrack (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)

Snaith sadly won’t get an opportunity to maintain his fine record as he has already scratched his duo of Rockpool and recent Listed Settlers Trophy winner Call To Unite from Friday’s racemeeting. The Snaith pair were pulled out at 13h53 today, for reason of ‘change of surface’.

A disappointed Snaith Racing spokesman Jonathan Snaith told the Sporting Post on Tuesday that he was of the opinion that it would have been a far more prudent course of action to postpone Gqeberha’s premier race to another day to preserve the quality and integrity of the event, while keeping it on the turf.

“This is the most important race of the year in the province and upholding the (Listed) status of the race should be considered – it has already slipped from graded status to Listed and it will likely be under even further scrutiny after this decision,” suggested Snaith.

According to collateral information, the Algoa Cup was previously run in 2013 (Disco Al) and 2020 (Silver de Lange) on the polytrack.

Our thanks to Andrew Bon for the footage:

While punters are emotional creatures by nature, many suggest that the polytrack often yields inconsistent results, making it feel like a lottery at times.

“I feel for the punters – you have a greater chance at a roulette table. The short run-in often does not promote fair competition, leading to unpredictable outcomes for many horses, owners, and bettors. Additionally, this surface carries a higher risk of injuries, which isn’t an ideal situation for any horse, and more so higher rated horses, in races such as the Algoa Cup,” concluded Snaith.

R350 000 2000m 16:10 Ref-154
1st R218750, 2nd R70000, 3rd R35000, 4th R17500, 5th R8750
BETWAY ALGOA CUP (Listed)
Open
WFA: 3yrs-9kgs 4yrs-1kgs
No Apprentice / Female Sex Allowance
1 1 Joy And Peace 60 110 A Richard Fourie Alan Greeff
2 14 Street Art 58.5 105 T A Calvin Habib Alan Greeff
3 9 Rockpool Scratched 58 104 A Craig Zackey Justin Snaith
4 15 Runaway Song 58 104 T A Luyolo Mxothwa Gavin Smith
5 16 Mount Anderson 57 102 BA Eldin Webber Kelly Mitchley
6 4 FireAlley 56.5 101 A Gareth Wright Jacques Strydom
7 6 Sequoia 55.5 99 T A Chase Maujean Tara Laing
8 10 Blackberry Malt 55 98 BA Denis Schwarz Glen Kotzen
9 13 Call To Unite Scratched 54.5 99 A #Rachel Venniker Justin Snaith
10 8 Bournemouth 54 96 T A Sean Veale Alan Greeff
11 11 Holding Thumbs 52 93 BA Juan Paul v’d Merwe +1.0 Glen Kotzen
12 3 Allez Moris 52 92 A Kabelo Matsunyane Brett Crawford
13 7 Green Mandarin 52 86 A Cole Dicken Glen Kotzen
14 5 Chollima 52 83 A Yuzae Ramzan Glen Kotzen
15 12 Anatolian Silver 52 80 A Muzi Yeni Kelly Mitchley
16 2 San Quintin 52 61 A Kendall Minnie Emmanuel Kaknis
Same Trainer
(1,2,10) (3,9) (5,15) (8,11,13,14)

Longstanding racing fan Michael Jacobs agreed, and conceded up front that he was not a ‘fan of polytrack racing’.

“This decision  is not a good result to my mind for a feature raceday in a minor centre. in fact, I don’t believe it’s a great decision for all stakeholders. 4Racing, like any racing operator, need to consider punters and sponsors too. I cannot speak for trainers and owners. And the jockeys earn a living on both surfaces,” mused Jacobs, who has been punting for over forty years.

TAB have put up a R500 000 Pick 6 carryover into the racemeeting. This now seems like a genuine longshot to reach the projected R3 million total, with scratchings aplenty likely, and resultant reduced field sizes.

The Sporting Post endeavoured to contact 4Racing for a comment. There was no response at time of publication. Any information furnished by them will be published.

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