Woodruff trio chasing fifth cup win on the trot
In his bid to win the R2m Sansui Summer Cup for the fifth year in a row, trainer Geoff Woodruff will have three runners in the 20-horse field with Piere Strydom an eye-catching booking for Master Switch.
However, when Phumelela Gaming & Leisure revealed the runners on Wednesday there was no place for Woodruff’s talented filly Bi Pot.
The daughter of Judpot had hinted she could be a leading player in the cup when she took third place behind the Irish-bred filly, Cascapedia, in the grade3 Yellowwood Handicap at the beginning of November.
Woodruff has dominated Johannesburg’s most famous racing contest for the past four years, scoring with Yorker (2013), Louis The King (2014) and Master Sabina (2015 and 2016).
Pagoda and Banner Hill are the two other runners from the stable, with JP van der Merwe engaged for the former and Cape jockey Grant van Niekerk booked for the latter.
Gavin Lerena was originally mentioned as the likely pilot for Pagoda, but the popular highveld rider has kept faith with Brazuca, who is one of four runners from the stable of Johan Janse van Vuuren.
Despite being burdened with top weight, Van Vuuren had accepted with Australian-bred New Predator (Brandon Lerena), who ran fourth behind Wonderwall in October but is yet to win over the 2,000m cup distance.
One Van Vuuren runner who will definitely have his supporters is Crowd Pleaser, the mount of KwaZulu-Natal-based jockey, Keagan De Melo. A R400,000 son of Captain Al, the four-yearold won with the same rider when scoring over 2,200m at Greyville on July day.
Recent winner Girl On The Run completes the Van Vuuren quartet and the Silvano mare has come right at the perfect time for her owner-breeders Maine Chance Farms.
The five-year-old ran second over the cup course and distance in May, proving she has no stamina limitations.
Champion trainer Sean Tarry will also have four representatives headed by evergreen French Navy, who rates one of the best horses bought by one of the country’s leading owners, Chris van Niekerk.
Van Niekerk bought the son of Count Dubois for just R100,000 and the gelding has won six races and R5m in stakes. The gelding finished in midfield in the Durban July some three lengths adrift of the winner, Marinaresco.
Tarry will be pleased that another son of Count Dubois, Social Order, co-owned by Van Niekerk and Bernard Kantor, got a place in the line-up. This was due to the four-year-old’s excellent second behind Argentinian import Hat Puntano in the recent Charity Mile.
That was only Social Order’s sixth start of his career so he is being pitched into the deep end — yet he has a chance of giving in-form youngster Lyle Hewitson his first winner in this prestigious race.
Social Order’s stablemate Liege is under a cloud following a disappointing performance in the Victory Moon and — with Triple Crown victor Abashari — has been friendless in the antepost market.
Master Sabina, trained by Woodruff to win the last two cups but now in the care of Joe Soma, will have Durban July winning jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe in the irons in his bid to take the R1.2m first prize for the third time.