David Thiselton
ON Friday on the Fairview turf top jockey Richard Fourie not only won the day’s feature event, the Listed Dahlia Plate over 1200m, but also made the frame in all eight races at the meeting and was very nearly in the first three in every race.
There were also two Winter Series features at Kenilworth on Saturday and both were won by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud-bred horses.
Fourie’s win in the Dahlia Plate for two-year-olds was aboard the Alan Greeff-trained Whatever Next. The What A Winter colt got up in the last stride to pip his market rival Norton Sound. Both colts were seeking hattricks.
Fourie had a finishing position sequence of 2nd (Arctic Advance 25/1), 1st (Blingking 4/10 favourite), 1st (Rooibos 10/7 favourite), 4th (Calandra 100/33), 3rd (Rock Aloe 91/20), 2nd (Broadside (20/11), 1st (Whatever Next 4/3) and 2nd (Teofilia 17/2) in his full card.
The last person to place in the top three in every race on the card in a KZN meeting was Anthony Delpech.
In an eight race Greyville polytrack meeting on the 25th of February 2018 his mounts finished 2nd (Falkland 21/20 favourite), 2nd (Rose Hill 61/20), 3rd (Cat’s Legacy 4/1), 1st (Savuti 27/4), 2nd (Savuti 71/20) , 3rd (Go With Flo 9/2), 1st (Gadget Man 2/1 favourite) and 2nd (Palace Mystery 41/10).
Stuart Randolph also achieved the feat in a Greyville turf meeting on 29 April 2011, riding two winners, three seconds and three thirds.
This season S’manga Khumalo made the frame in all nine races at a Vaal Classic track meeting on 16 February this year and was out of the first three only once. On that momentous day he rode six winners and two thirds in the first eight races and finished fourth in the last race.
Khumalo also had eight first three finishes on Classic Day at Turffontein Standside in 2017. In a 12 race program he had ten rides and had four winners, three seconds and a third as well as a sixth and a seventh.
Weichong Marwing had eight first three finishes on Summer Cup day 2015. On a twelve race program he had nine mounts and rode two winners, four seconds, two thirds and a fifth.
The late Alec Forbes was in the frame ten times and had nine first three places finishes in eleven rides on Daily News 2000 day in 2010, riding two winners, three seconds, four thirds as well as a fourth and a ninth.
Meanwhile, at Kenilworth on Saturday the Justin Snaith-trained Hoedspruit became the first Graded winner for former Vodacom Durban July winner Legislate. The Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud-bred gelding won the second leg of the Winter Series, the Grade 3 WSB Legal Eagle Stakes over 1800m, under Luyolo Mxothwa. Hoedspruit thus became the fourth stakes winner from Legislate’s first crop.
The second leg of the Winter Series for fillies, the Listed WSB Stormsvlei Stakes over 1800m, was won easily by the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained and Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud-bred Silvano filly Marina under Keagan de Melo.
