Frikkie for Fairview

IT IS trainer Jacques Strydom versus the rest in the popular Port Elizabeth Gold Cup over 3 600m at Fairview tomorrow.

Strydom, known as the king of long-distance racing in the Eastern Cape, should again dominate when he saddles three of the eight runners in South Africa’s longest race.

Strydom’s hopes rest on Desert Wisdom and Frikkie as his third runner, Don’t Let Me Down, seems unlikely to win.

Desert Wisdom won his last race against stablemate Frikkie over 3 200m. Desert Wisdom kept on well in the closing stages as Frikkie challenged him and it’s quite possible that the two will again be 1-2.

The latter finished just 0,50 lengths behind and many punters will fancy him to turn things around.

Mathew Thackeray retains the ride on Desert Wisdom, while Karl Zechner again partners Frikkie.

Desert Wisdom is a fivetime winner from 22 starts, while Frikkie has won five of his 45 outings.

The Tara Laing-trained Plano also needs a lot of respect. He finished 4,10 lengths behind Desert Wisdom last time and was hanging over the last 500m. Callan Murray takes over the reins from Chase Maujean.

Plano won three races from his 17 starts for owner Etienne Braun.

Trainer Gavin Smith could also pose a threat with The Elmo Effect. The former Gary Alexander charge made a poor debut at Fairview last month but is a lot better than that run might indicate.

The six-year-old son of Admire Main is a six-time winner from 45 outings and can bounce back with Maujean in the irons.

Western Cape conditioner Mike Stewart has entered one-time winner Zanadu, who will have Brandon May in the saddle.

Zanadu lacks experience and has never run beyond 2 500m, but Stewart obviously has a plan in place and did not enter his horse so he could enjoy the Port Elizabeth scenery.

The vote goes to Frikkie, with Desert Wisdom, The Elmo Effect and Plano next best.

The first race, off at 12:15, is a Juvenile Plate for two-year-old fillies over 1 200m. Greg Cheyne can get punters off to a flying start as he should be hard to beat on Gimme Crystals, who won well on debut for the Alan Greeff yard last month.