High flying Cape Town jockey Richard Fourie believes he is finally back to his “old self”. Ironically it was a horrendous fall which appears to have done the trick.

He also spoke forthrightly on the end to his “first call rider” status for the Justin Snaith yard. The latter gave his views on the matter too.

Fourie fell off the ill-fated Rock Stewart on October 12 at Durbanville.

Richard Fourie (Liesl King)

However, rather than speaking of any adverse effects, he said, “I had been experiencing a pinched feeling in the Thoracic (chest) area for a while and the fall appears to have released it.”

Fourie had been blossoming into a truly world class jockey at the time of his horrific fall on Jet Explorer in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge at Clairwood in June 2014.

A lot of the niggles he has felt since then could well have been an after effect.

It is exciting news he now feels back to his very peak and he is definitely a jockey to follow.

Fourie believed he was within his rights to take the ride on the highly regarded Michael Robinson-trained Smokey Affair in a handicap on October 5 at the expense of a Snaith-trained horse. He said, “I was not being paid a retainer by the Snaith yard.”

Justin Snaith agreed the jockey was within his rights, but added, retainer or not, “we need a jockey who is fully committed to the yard for both the sake of the yard and all of our owners.”

Earlier in October Snaith said, “If we have a horse that we think will suit Richard then he will ride it.”

Justin Snaith

Fourie did in fact ride the Snaith-trained three-year-old Zodiac Ruler on Saturday in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m and was highly impressed with his 1,9 length fifth.

Snaith was also over the moon with the run and said, “He does not have a sprinting bone in his body and to finish heads up and heads down with Marinaresco in his preparation for three-year-old features was very impressive.”

If most pundits are to believed the Gr 1 Cape Guineas on December 17 is a foregone conclusion, so impressive was the Joey Ramsden-trained Table Bay on Saturday.

However, Snaith is of the opinion Zodiac Ruler’s performance was just as impressive.

Fourie rode Smokey Affair on Saturday in the Gr 2 Choice Carriers Championship, where she finished a 2,05 length fourth over 1400m.

He said, “She is still a contender for the Cape Fillies Guineas, it didn’t go my way.”

The Elusive Fort filly looks likely to enjoy a mile as she was doing her best work late.

Meanwhile, Snaith, who had smashed his own fastest 50 winners in a season record by October 2, admitted he had a very powerful string this season.

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

His chief headache is the program for champion filly Bela-Bela.

“Our three options are to run her against the boys, run her carrying 64kg, or run her over 1000m.” He added he had in the past sent fillies straight into features with success and this would also be an option. Her chief target is the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes.

Bela-Bela has been doing “very well” at home, as has Black Arthur, who will take the WSB Green Point Stakes, L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and Sun Met route.

It’s My Turn’s chief aim would be the Met.

Snaith said the smart Bishops Bounty would be perfectly suited to 1400m and would go for the R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes on November 19, where he will attempt to go one better than both of his full brothers, Red Ray and Brutal Force, respectively.

The unbeaten Dynasty gelding African Night Sky would be aimed at the Selangor Cup and the CTS US$500,000 race in January.

By David Thiselton

Brett Crawford will take it one step at a time with Nebula, who won Port Elizabeth’s biggest race, the Gr 3 Algoa Cup over 2000m at Fairview on Sunday under Richard Fourie.

The four-year-old Wilgerbosdrift Stud-bred Silvano gelding is owned by Hong Kong-based Edmond Siu.

Richard Fourie (Nkosi Hlope)

There is a possibility the gelding, who is a full brother to J&B Met winner Martial Eagle, might be exported to race on the South East Asian island one day and if he does he will likely be trained by South African ex-patriot Tony Millard, who signed for him at the 2014 BSA National Yearling Sales for a massive R3,75 million.

However, his immediate aims are likely to be races like the Gr 2 Premier Trophy and the Gr 2 Peninsula Handicap, both over 1800m at Kenilworth.

“We will take it from there,” said Crawford.

On Sunday he snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight of 52kg off only a 90 merit rating.

However, he won cosily, so it would be no surprise to see him make the further step-up necessary to win a Cape Summer Of Champions feature.

He started well on Sunday from a good draw and was handy throughout in a race run at a fair pace.

He was full of running throughout the straight and the first time the whip was used was at about the 50m mark.

Nebula (Nkosi Hlope)

He finished 0,75 lengths clear of a flying Justin Snaith-trained Captain Splendid, from whom he received 1,5kg.

Fourie said, “He won very comfortably, he has a nice stride on him and is a lovely horse who being by Silvano will get better with time.”

Fourie believes the gelding’s best trip at this stage would be 1800m, so regards him as one who would be “a big danger” in the Premier Trophy and/or the Peninsula Handicap.

Nebula was the first runner Crawford had ever had in the Algoa Cup.

The Algoa Cup trophy has now returned to Cape Town for seven years in succession.

By David Thiselton

Former stalwart Cape jockey Karl Neisius said he had not seen a three-year-old performance as good as Table Bay’s on Saturday for “a long time.”

Table Bay (Liesl King)

“To carry that weight and do what he did was a special achievement,” he said about the Joey Ramsden-trained Australian-bred colt’s exhilarating victory in the Gr 3 Drakenstein Vet Clinic Cape Classic over 1400m at Kenilworth under Anton Marcus.Neisius was sort after as a jockey not only for his race riding skills, but also due to his gifted judgement on the training tracks.

The latter asset included a good eye for a horse. Proof of this is that he is currently involved in a pin-hooking syndicate, which is enjoying success to date. The horses are usually bought at early year sales and then pin-hooked on the Ready To Run Sales.

Otherwise, Neisius is “enjoying his retirement”, although he is staying as close to the game as possible.

“I go racing, and to the track in the morning now and again, to keep my eye in. I will be going more now because this is the time of the year you can enjoy watching the good horses come out. I saw the Guineas winner on Saturday (Table Bay).”

He is currently cautious about ever becoming a trainer.

By David Thiselton

Craven, so disappointing when starting odds-on for his handicap debut at Kenilworth six days ago, will wait a bit longer before trying again.

Brett Crawford said: “He was fine afterwards but he is definitely better than that run. I now think that three races inside six weeks may have been stretching it a bit and I will freshen him up before he runs again.”

The colt, bought to join Tony Millard in Hong Kong is he proves good enough, was so impressive in his Durbanville maiden win that Andrew Fortune committed himself to riding the horse in the Cape Guineas and the Investec Cape Derby.

By Michael Clower