While nobody outside of government’s inner circles knows if the lockdown will indeed end next Thursday at midnight, Alan Greeff and the rest of the Port Elizabeth trainers are assuming the meeting scheduled for Friday 17 April is going ahead.
East Cape Champion Alan Greeff – ready to roll
“The weights and acceptances are both happening on Monday morning, assuming the situation doesn’t change before then” commented the big man to Tabnews on Wednesday.
“It’s been relatively much business as usual, except of course there is no racing.
“The staff are all working, as are the horses, but we’ve eased back slightly, and freshened a lot of them up, as we don’t know for sure when the next race meeting will be.”
And NHA guidelines regarding the lockdown are being adhered to.
“We have to finish by 09h30, and break into smaller strings as part of social distancing measures. And obviously we all regularly sanitise and wear masks.
“Our jockeys are also back working this week, beacause we are all assuming we will race next Friday. If so Greg Cheyne will be driving up from Cape Town” he says in an optimistic conclusion.
The Fairview card next Friday is an enticing one, with no less than four Listed events.
The Glenlair Handicap over 2800m, and the 2000m East Cape Oaks for three-year-old fillies were both already scheduled for this date, and the East Cape Guineas(1600m) and East Cape Sprint Cup(1200m) have been added from the meetings that were lost.
Under normal circumstances a few Western Cape raiders would make the trip, but obviously that will be more complicated under the present status quo.
- Tabnews
