Master Sabina back in action
COURSE SUITED: DUAL SUMMER CUP CHAMPION HAS WON FIVE TIMES ON STANDSIDE TRACK
Always in Charge looks best of previous Gold Medallion winners.
Dual Sansui Summer Cup winner Master Sabina makes his return to racing on Saturday in a Pinnacle Stakes over 1800m on the Turffontein Standside course and the sevenyear-old son of Jet Master looks all set to make a winning comeback.
His last run was in the Summer Cup last November when he flew up to beat The Conglomerate and notch up his second successive victory in the R2-million race.
After his 2015 Summer Cup victory trainer Geoff Woodruff opted to take Master Sabina to the Western Cape but it was not a successful venture. He took quite a while to overcome the trip and it wasn’t until the Summer Cup that he came right.
This time he stayed on the Highveld and presumably the plan is to get him right for the R4-million Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffontein on 6 May. It is probably the right move as this seven-year-old loves the course, having won five of his nine starts at Turffontein.
Although he is likely to be in need of the run the Champions Challenge is just three weeks away so Master Sabina cannot be far off his peak. He is very well treated under the race conditions and has to be the best bet on a difficult card. He teams up again with Gavin Lerena who has ridden him to four victories.
The race is something of a Woodruff benefit as he also saddles Deo Juvente, Master Switch and Go Direct, with the first two the most likely runners to follow Master Sabina home.
Racing returns to Turffontein on Monday when they race on the Inside track and this looks a lot more difficult. This meeting is made up of four maiden plates and four lower level handicaps, two of which are for apprentice jockeys.
However, there does look to be one prospective banker on the card, in Race 4 where trainer Candice Dawson saddles Sylvan On Fire. She has placed in both her starts and last time only found Oh My Darling too good. Gavin Lerena takes the ride.
The second leg of the WSB East Cape Poly Challenge takes place at Fairview tomorrow but there is no chance of any horses winning all three legs as Juan Two Three, winner of Leg 1 last month, is not in the field for this event.
However, there is still a consolation prize for the runner who accumulates the most points in all three races and perhaps the horse who finished second in the first leg, Sir Duke, could put himself in line for that R50,000 payment.
Tara Laing’s charge is ultraconsistent and in 32 career runs has a record of 10 wins and 17 places. As far as the Polytrack at Fairview is concerned he has won three of 10 starts and placed on all the other seven occasions. He is well suited to the distance and will be ridden by talented young jockey Callan Murray.
He is one of the better weighted runners in the field and from No 8 draw looks the likely winner.
Three past winners of the Grade 1 Gold Medallion, Guiness (2014), Seventh Plain (2015) and Always In Charge (2016) will line up in the 1100m Pinnacle Stakes at Scottsville on Sunday and the youngest could be hard to beat, writes Nicci Garner
Vaughan Marshall-trained three-year-old Always In Charge has been rested for nearly three months, since finishing a 0.50-length second to Live Life in the 1200m CTS Sprint on Sun Met Day. Two horses who finished behind Always In Charge have also come out and won. He will return fit enough to do himself justice and will have regular rider Anton Marcus up.
Dennis Drier-trained stablemates Seventh Plain and Guiness have had their problems but both are classy individuals and will make their presence felt if they return well following layoffs.