Richard Fourie won races 2, 3, 4 and 5 at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday, including a double for Tony Rivalland, and he then dead-heated in the seventh. The Glen Kotzen-trained Fairy Tripp (Trippi), pictured above, made it four in a row for Fourie. (Picture: Candiese Lenferna).
Richard Fourie passed the 100 wins for the season mark at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today after a fine five-timer.
Today was the 121st day of the season and Fourie has had an average of just over four rides per day and is riding at a 20.61% wins to rides strike rate.
If he keeps up that riding rate for the rest of the season as well as that same strike rate, he will end the season on about 305 wins.
He said at the beginning of the season a feasible target would be 300 wins.
Last season proved that as the season goes on it becomes tougher to keep up both the riding rate and the strike rate.
At this stage last year Keagan de Melo had had 513 rides for 108 wins at a strike rate of 21.05%, compared to Fourie’s 490 rides, 101 wins at a strike rate of 20,61%.
De Melo’s projected season mark at this stage last season if he had kept it up would have been 326. Yet he ended the season nearly 50 less on 277.
When the racing becomes more competitive, such as during the Cape Summer Festival Of Champions, the Jo’Burg Autumn season and the KZN Champions Season, it becomes tougher to ride multiple winners and the chances of landing a suspension probably increase too with no quarter being given.
Nevertheless, if Fourie is able to increase his number of rides rate to that of Muzi Yeni and ride to his current strike rate of 20,61%, he would then end the season on 325 wins if able to keep it up.
That is just ten short of the ultimate target of 335 wins.
If he breaks the 334 wins in one season record of Anthony Delpech he will receive a bonus of R1 million from Hollywoodbets.
It is still within the realms of reason that he can achieve it, although it would have to be considered a longshot.
