The second leg of the World Sports Betting East Cape Poly Challenge (Non-Black Type) will be run at Fairview on Friday, and all eyes will be on Viking Moon.
Alan Greeff’s charge won the first leg over 1200m last month and is now being aimed at the R250 000 bonus for any runner who can win all three legs.
Viking Moon wins the first leg (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Friday’s race is over 1400m with the third and final leg, over 1600m, to be run on Friday 7 May.
There is also a consolation bonus of R50 000 to be paid in this challenge. However, horses must participate in all three legs and win at least one leg.
There is a question as to whether Viking Moon will see out the distances of Leg 2 and Leg 3 but as winner of the first leg, he is in line for the consolation as long as he takes his place in the next two.
Points allocation for the consolation bonus are: 1st 10, 2nd 6, 3rd 4, 4th 3, 5th 2 and 6th 1.
A small but competitive field will contest Friday’s race. Although he carries 62kg, Viking Moon is the best weighted runner by at least 2kg and has been priced up as the 14-10 favourite.
1st R48000, 2nd R20000, 3rd R8000, 4th R4000
WORLD SPORTS BETTING EAST CAPE POLY CHALLENGE 1400 (Non-Blk Type)
Open (2nd Leg East Cape Poly Challenge)
WFA: 2yrs-12kgs 3yrs-2.5kgs
No Apprentice Allowance
| 1 | 1 | Viking Moon | 62 | 111 | A | Greg Cheyne | Alan Greeff | |
| 2 | 2 | Earth Hour | 62 | 107 | TCA | Luyolo Mxothwa | Juan Nel | |
| 3 | 7 | Marmara Sea | 62 | 106 | TCA | Richard Fourie | Alan Greeff | |
| 4 | 4 | The Highway Man | 59.5 | 96 | A | Marco V’Rensburg | Gavin Smith | |
| 5 | 8 | Philos | 58 | 88 | T A | Teaque Gould | Alan Greeff | |
| 6 | 3 | Dubula | 56.5 | 85 | T A | Kendall Minnie | Alan Greeff | |
| 7 | 6 | Var’s Boy | 55 | 77 | BA | Lyle Hewitson | Gavin Smith | |
| 8 | 5 | Quintay (ARG) | 53.5 | 76 | A | Stallone Naidoo | Sharon B Kotzen | |
| Same Trainer – Not Coupled on Tote | ||||||||
| (1,3,5,6) (4,7) | ||||||||
He has been unplaced in both of his starts over 1400m, but they were on the turf. His record on the Fairview Polytrack is eight runs for five wins and two places.
However, he will face a strong challenge from stable companion Marmara Sea, who arrived in Port Elizabeth as a maiden and went on to notch up eight successive wins on the Polytrack, three of them over this distance.
It is worth noting that first-choice jockey Greg Cheyne has opted to ride Viking Moon but Greeff has engaged Richard Fourie for Marmara Sea, who us quoted at 16-10.
Another horse of interest is Earth Hour. The Juan Nel-trained runner finished unplaced in the 1200m race, but he will show his true ability in the next two legs and is on offer at 9-2.
