Charity begins at Greyville Racecourse in Durban on Friday night when the annual Astrapak Charity Challenge will provide entertainment for the whole family.

The R300 000 Grade 2 Astrapak 1900 is an important qualifying and preparation race for the Vodacom Durban July, just as the Astrapak Charity Challenge is important for the Highway Hospice, the KZN Horse Care Unit and the Past Players Fund who this year will benefit from the money raised.

Astrapak has as part of its mission statement, a policy of raising funds for charity and since the Astrapak Challenge was first introduced at Greyville in 2001, the fun event has raised nearly R500 000 for local charities.

Friday night’s Astrapak Challenge will again involve the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks who have been a core element of the Challenge since its inception. They have been pitted against teams in various contests and this year it will be on Big Boy Scooters against the Pharos Legends, East Coast Radio disc jockeys and their very own mascot, Sharky.

As with all the previous challenges, this one again promises to provide a great deal of fun.

The Astrapak 1900 race itself has special significance this year in that a lone three-year-old, in the form of St John Gray’s Australian-bred colt, Jam Alley, goes against the older horses in his first race in open company. He is strongly fancied by his stable as a major contender for the top prize in the R2-million, Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July and his performance on Friday night will go a long way to determining what chance he might have of succeeding.

Among his opponents are a number of very good four-year-olds including Geoff Woodruff’s Ice Cube, Mike de Kock’s Sabina Park, Paul Denysschen’s Rusedski and Joey Ramsden’s Set To Music. With other talented older horses in the field including Stan Elley’s Red Badge who has finished third in the Vodacom Durban July for the past two years, this race is likely to be a thrilling affair.