Gqeberha jockey Charles Ndlovu is unlikely to ride again this season after being injured at a wet Fairview on Friday.
Ndlovu was riding Secret Is Ours in rainy conditions in the fourth (and ultimately final race of the curtailed meeting) when his right foot slipped out of the stirrup iron inside the final 200m.
He was dislodged and fell heavily.
The Winning Form-sponsored rider was found to have broken his left foot and fractured and disclocated a collar bone. He is reportedly in a lot of pain.
Charles Ndlovu will be out for some time (photo: Pauline Herman)
As often happens, the racing authorities came in for criticism for starting the Derby meeting on the turf.
Following the running of the second race, an Executive of 4Racing approached the Stewards to request permission that the remainder of the race meeting be run on the polytrack surface as, in his opinion, the rain that had set in would prove to be an impediment to the conclusion of the race meeting if races were to continue on the turf surface.
The Stewards, after considering the amount of rain that had fallen prior to the third and the prevailing track conditions in the second, which showed soft areas in the middle of the track, in particular in the straight, and that a horse had slipped in the pull up area, approved the request to move the remainder of the race meeting to the polytrack in the interests of the continuation thereof.
Friday was a gloomy day in the Windy City (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Trainers were afforded the opportunity to withdraw their runners by 13h00 on the grounds of the change of surface and amendments were made to the distances of Races 4 and 7.
Following the running of Race 4, where Ndlovu had suffered the unfortunate accident, rider representatives approached the Stewards and lodged a protest regarding their concerns relating to poor visibility which, in their opinion, impacted on their safety.
The Stewards, in terms of Rule 5.2.3, after having heard evidence from the respective officials and licensees, determined that visibility was poor and that this could prejudice rider safety, horse welfare and the integrity of racing.
It was decided to wait a period to establish if there was an improvement in weather conditions.
This improvement did not materialize and a decision was taken to abandon the remainder of the race meeting after the first four races in the interests of rider safety and horse welfare.
4Racing have postponed the two feature races to Friday 19 May. They will be run on the turf, with the balance of the meeting on the polytrack.
