Gavin Smith created what is believed to be an East Cape record last Friday at Fairview when winning seven races at one meeting and although he did not match Justin Snaith’s eight wins, achieved at the Met meeting of 2016, he did it with just nine races available as opposed to 12.

Asked what he had expected before the day, he said, “I expected to have some winning chances and other chances of running in the money …  what a blessing!”

He confirmed, “It was the best day of my career.”

The fact the record happened on Algoa Cup day, which is traditionally Gqeberha’s biggest race meeting, made it all the more special. 

Gavin said, “It was a lovely day’s racing and very well organised. There were plenty of raiders and all commented on how wonderful it was to come racing in Gqeberha. Kudos to 4Racing.”

This meeting used to be held on a Sunday and Gavin, asked to compare the old slot to the Friday one, said, “People used to make a weekend of it (there was also usually a meeting on the Friday), but it worked out well this year too. There were a lot of people on course, many of them came dressed to the theme (“Over The Top)”, and there was a good atmosphere.”

Gavin was one of the many who dressed up for the occasion.

To add to the satisfaction of his achievement, he finished second and third in the big one, the Listed Algoa Cup over 2000m. 

Furthermore, he won the other feature on the day, the Listed RA Stakes over 1600m, with the exciting prospect Khaya’s Hope (Master Of My Fate).

The RA Stakes at one stage had a huge reputation because, amazingly enough, it has produced two July winners, Big City Life and Bold Silvano, as well as the Dubai World Cup short-head runner up Lizard’s Desire and the Dubai World Cup third-placed Paris Perfect.

Smith trained Bold Silvano himself before he was bought in to the Mike de Kock yard.

He said he did not think Khaya’s Hope was quite as good as Bold Silvano, but added, “He is definitely progressive and you can pencil him in a bit later.”

He reckoned once this gelding by The United States had matured physically and mentally he might even be able to compete in the Champions Season in KZN. 

Lady Laidlaw’s Khaya Stables bred Khaya’s Hope and sent him to Gavin, who has had him from “day dot.”

The RA Stakes means a lot to Glen Kotzen too, because he of course trained Big City Life.

He had three raiders in this race last Friday, Famous And Rich, Dowser and Grinkov, and holds them all in good regard.

However, they were no match in the level weights race for Khaya’s Hope.

The impressive part about the latter’s win was that after jumping well he ended up in a one out and one back position on the flank of the pacemaker Famous And Rich. This can spell the end of the chances of a horse who does not have either a class temperament or a big engine, because most horses will take a bit of a stronger hold with fresh air in front of them.

However, in the straight Khaya’s Hope just kept on rolling and no other horse ever really threatened him. He finished three-quarters-of-a-length ahead of Famous And RIch and did not look to be under any pressure.

The promising Brett Crawford-trained Dynasty colt Allez Moris finished third with the Andre Nel-trained hard-knocker Iconic Destination fourth and Dowser and Grinkov next best.

The Algoa Cup was the next race

Gavin said the chief hopes among his team of five, Never Ending Rain (Soft Falling Rain) and Jaeger Moon (Capetown Noir), had enjoyed good preps and he had  expected them to be thereabouts.

However, Kotzen exacted quick revenge.

Smith’s pair were out in front going well, when Han Solo burst through down the inside in the closing stages.

He denied Jaeger Moon by three-quarters-of-a-length with Never Ending Rain a close up third.

Gavin then won the last two races to claim the seven.

He spent most of the day upstairs with clients and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

He said the extent of his  achievement did not really sink in until the following day.

He was on a high this week for more reasons than one.

He believes East Cape Racing to be in a good place.

He said, “It is competitive and there are nice sized fields. It is also good to see new blood in the training ranks.”

He also spoke of the Gqeberha population, who have a culture of racing similar to that of Durban’s. Although not many go to the course there are plenty who have a flutter and plenty of others who take an interest in the sport.

Gavin is the reigning East Cape champion trainer and the seven wins saw him roaring past his perennial rival Alan Greeff in the current standings.

Gavin took over from his father in 1996 and has now won nine East Cape championships in his own right. 

He never thinks about the championship, unless he is in contention in the last couple of months.

He praised his hard working team including his assistants, his son Dean and Fransie Jacobs, and all of the grooms.

He won’t rest on his laurels after the seven-timer and concluded, “There are so many up and downs in this game. We will just crack on!”