Follow the summertime Master

25 November 2016 - 02:21 By Mike Moon

In the Geoff Woodruff stables at Randjesfontein there are many Masters - but only one boss.The sometime champion trainer might be the nicest guy you could meet, but when it comes to running a complicated operation involving dangerous beasts there are few sharper generals.It's no surprise he's already won five Summer Cups - the last three in a row - and has four runners in tomorrow's renewal of Joburg's biggest horse race.That's where the Masters come in: the names of those four horses are Master Sabina, Master Switch, Master 'N Commander and.Deo Juvente. The latter's name means "with God's help", so has a masterful flavour to it.On the gallops they are known as "Sabina", "Switch", "Commander" and "Deo". The first two are sons of the great Jet Master, who Woodruff trained to some of the most famous victories on South African turf, while "Commander" is a grandson.Luckily "Deo" doesn't know all this and doesn't feel like the odd bloke out.Master Sabina won the Summer Cup last year, pipping Deo Juvente, after which Woodruff revealed that his ever-game gelding was not in best shape and was carrying a bit of lard that day. This time around, the seven-year-old has had a much smoother preparation and the conditioner - a great believer in blood testing - has proclaimed him fit as a fiddle.If advancing age hasn't taken the edge off him, Master Sabina and jockey Gavin Lerena are sure to be in the mix when the whips are cracking.Deo Juvente is two years younger and, in Anton Marcus, has a significant power booster in the saddle. He also has had two preparatory runs to Master Sabina's one. But I can't shake the feeling that the older horse has a smidgen more natural talent and willingness of spirit.These two are currently weak joint favourites at 11-2, with another pair of stablemates, Samurai Blade and Liege, next on the boards at 13-2. Sean Tarry's charges are both promising four-year-olds and you can never discount anything from the champion trainer's yard.Yet another coupling, The Conglomerate and St Tropez, are also at the forefront of calculations for the Grade 1, R2-million contest.Of course, the former was a shock winner of this year's Durban July, overcoming the widest draw to land the biggest prize in racing. He'll start at a disadvantage here, too, from somewhere in Eloff Street Extension, but will have the wily Piere Strydom to help him swing into action at the opportune moment.Cape trainer Joey Ramsden has had a good year and one would not be surprised to see The Conglomerate perform one of the rarest doubles in racing.However, I prefer the chances of his pal St Tropez, who is in pole position with a featherweight and the up-and-coming Callan Murray on his back. His acclimatising runs in Joburg suggest that everything is about to click into place for the son of Silvano.There is a bounty of seven graded races on tomorrow's card, so even if you don't back the winner of the Summer Cup, you'll have no shortage of other high-class racing to enjoy.The Grade 2 Ipi Tombi Challenge, named after Zimbabwe's finest export, sees some useful miler fillies squaring up. Tarry saddles three of the 11 and riding arrangements suggest that Intergalactic is the stable pick.But Johan Janse van Vuuren's current form impels the punter towards his charge Negroamaro.The venerable old Dingaans will once again throw up a candidate for the top three-year-old of the generation.Van Vuuren's Doosra is likely to start favourite, but Mike de Kock brings serious firepower to the gunfight in the shape of Bold Rex, Janoobi and Heavenly Blue. De Kock's old partner in big-day plunder, Weichong Marwing, throws a leg across the latter. They'll carry my money...

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