The Gareth van Zyl-trained Hollywood Syndicate-owned Kingsmeads Krystl (Visionaire) secures Richard Fourie his four-timer on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly today (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Richard Fourie is a sensible rider who doesn’t take unnecessary risks, so he might be able to get through the rest of the season without a suspension.
Hopefully, he will be able to avoid injury too.
If he is able to ride week in and week out for the rest of the season, his chances of doing what was thought to be impossible, i.e breaking Anthony Delpech’s magical 334 wins in a season record, are actually realistic.
There is more than 40% of the season still to go though, so it is still going to be a very tough ask.
Turf Talk calculated last week that after Tuesday’s meeting last week, and presuming he manages to keep up the same rides per day rate, he would need to ride at a strike rate of 23.20% for the rest of the season to break the record.
The good news is he has not only increased his strike rate significantly in the last 8 days, his rides per day rate has also gone up.
His rides per calendar day rate for the season at the conclusion of last week’s Fairview meeting was 4.183.
His rides per calendar day rate in the last 8 days, which included a non-racing day on Monday, has been 4.5.
His stirike rate for the last 8 days following his four-timer on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly today has been 30.56%.
Obviously, the four-timer is an out of the ordinary return, so might skew the statistics a tad.
However, if he does manage to keep up a 4.5 riders per calendar day rate coupled with a strike rate of 30.56%, he will end the season on a whopping 403 wins!!
Calculating it more realistically by using his rides per calendar day rate and strike rate for the whole season i.e. 4.195% and 21.16%, he will reach a figure of 325 wins.
Hollywoodbets have offered any jockey who breaks Delpech’s record a bonus prize of R1 million and Fourie is on track to going close.
It is another angle that has added a lot of intrigue to the season and it is thanks once again to the innovative Hollywoodbets.
