The Summer Cup master!

DESPITE Geoff Woodruff telling anybody who would listen that Master Sabina was flying at home and working even better than last year, the 2015 Sansui Summer Cup winner was easy to back before finally going off at 5-1.

But Woodruff had won this R2-million race for the last three years and many felt the odds were against him making it four from four. How wrong the sceptics were! Teaming up with Gavin Lerena once again Master Sabina ran on from off the pace, avoided being the filling in a Mayfair Speculators sandwich with about 100m from home, and went on to record his second successive victory in this Grade 1 race, beating Durban July winner The Conglomerate by 1,30 lengths with Master Switch another 0,30-lengths back in third.

That gave Woodruff his fourth Summer Cup win in a row, his sixth overall, and is now only three victories behind Mike de Kock’s record of nine.

As Carol Woodruff, Geoff’s wife, commented after the race: “It’s fitting that we have a new champion, especially as we lost El Picha (Woodruff’s first Summer Cup winner in 1999) recently.”

This was Lerena’s third victory in this event – two on Master Sabina and his first on Dancewiththedevil in 2011.

While Master Sabina started favourite with the bookmakers, it was stable companion De Juvente who started TAB favourite but could only manage seventh spot, 7.30 lengths off the winner.

Most of the money on Saturday was for The Conglomerate and Ten Gun Salute, both of whom shortened from 16-1 to 9-1. There was a delay to the start when a couple of horses played up and Master Switch, also trained by Woodruff, came through the front of the stalls. Fortunately there was no damage done and the horse, with Anthony Delpech up, was soon under control.

Champion trainer Sean Tarry had three runners and it came as no surprise it was the roughie of the trio, Stonehenge, who went to the front ahead of stablemate Liege. Delpech managed to get Master Switch well placed from No 18 draw followed by Deo Juvente with The Conglomerate and Piere Strydom some five lengths off the pace. Lerena, meanwhile, kept Master Sabina near the rear.

Liege took over once in the straight and he was soon tackled by Master Switch, Deo Juvente and The Conglomerate, while Master Sabina seemed to take a while to get going. Eventually the horse decided it was time to go and he closed in quickly. “I had a big opening to go through but The Conglomerate started to hang in and Master Switch hung out and it suddenly got very tight,” said Lerena.

“Fortunately we were already in the gap and Master Sabina showed a lot of courage and just burst through.”

Liege stayed on for fourth, a further 3,30 lengths back, while Juxtapose, the lone filly in the race, finished fifth with Saratoga Dancer in sixth.

Commenting on the win Woodruff said: “It’s a handicap and I suppose history was against us too. We could all see that the horse was a lot better this time around than last year. But it’s a handicap, you need luck. It’s a horse race with 20 horses and you need space. He nearly got cleaned up, actually by my other horse.”

But do not be surprised to see Master Sabina back next year in an attempt to equal Elevation’s record of three successive wins. The George Azzie-trained runner won in 1972, 73 and 74. “He’s happy so we’ll carry on with him. He will tell us when he’s had enough,” said Woodruff.

The stable had earlier claimed victory in the Grade 2 Investec Dingaans over 1 600m when 13-1 shot Singapore Sling fought off 11-10 favourite Heavenly Blue to win by 1,10 lengths.

When Bold Rex hit the front early in the straight he looked a possible winner for the Mike de Kock yard but Muzi Yeni might have pressed the button a little too early and his mount faded to finish third, 4,35 lengths behind the winner.

De Kock was disappointed with Heavenly Blue’s defeat but felt his charge was still immature and was still learning. He could well go down to Cape Town now and go for the Grade 1 Cape Guineas. “I think I will try him in blinkers. They could make a difference,” said De Kock.

While Tarry did not win the big one, he had a great day and came away with five winners. He won the first two Maiden Plates and then picked up the Grade 2 Merchants over 1 160m in which Trip To Heaven with S’manga Khumalo up, held off stablemate Bull Valley, the Grade 3 Fillies Mile with 22-1 shot Smiling Blue Eyes and then the Ipi Tombe Stakes with Intergalactic. -