Jack Milner
William Robertson will come into the Betway Summer Cup as one of the highest rated horses and trainer Corne Spies says his charge has come on well since his fourth place in the Grade 3 Victory Moon Stakes
The R2.5-million Betway Summer Cup (Grade 1) will be run over 2000m on the Turffontein Standside track on Saturday 26 November.
“So far, it’s all system’s go. Everything is on track for the Summer Cup and we are eagerly awaiting what the field and draws will end up looking like,” said Spies yesterday.
William Robertson had his final preparation in the 1800m Victory Moon Stakes where he finished 2.40 lengths behind Litigation.
“He came through the race nicely, running on from off them and was not stopping at the finish. Sparkling Water got first run as did some of the light weights, but he finished off the race very well although I do think he was coming up for air in the latter stages,” said Spies.
The biggest concern is the distance, which Spies admits. “We’re probably stretching his limit, but he is one of the highest rated horses in the country so we must take our chances.
“One always needs some luck in this kind of race, especially with a 20-horse field but if the dice roles for you, it can be a game changer.”
Spies points out that the weight spread is just 6kg for the Betway Summer Cup and not 10kg as was the case with the Victory Moon, so William Robertson will be meeting a number of those runners on better terms.
“Of course, we don’t know the draws yet. That’s a factor that could throw a spanner in the works. Like almost everybody else I would like to be between Nos 1 and 5.”
While the incessant rains last week did interfere slightly with his programme it was not enough to do any damage. “I’m happy with where we are right now,” Spies added.
He has the possibility of getting a second runner into the race with Imperial Ruby but Spies is not sure whether they will run him.
“Imperial Ruby might get in but it’s an expensive acceptance fee and there is a race for stayers on the day (Racehorse Owners Association Stayers over 3200m) where it looks like he can earn. It seems silly to pay all that money to get in just to be an also-ran.
“But we still have to decide.”
*There will also be two massive carryovers at the meeting for punters to bet into.
Firstly, there is a R2-million Pick 6 carryover with a likely pool of R10 million
In addition, there is a R500,000 carryover to the Quartet on the Betway Summer Cup with the pool likely to reach R2 million.
Betway’s latest betting:
22-10 Sparkling Water; 5-2 Safe Passage; 6-1 Aragosta; 11-1 Puerto Manzano; 12-1 Litigation; 14-1 William Robertson; 16-1 Red Saxon, Nebraas; 20-1 Pyromaniac; 33-1 MK's Pride, Perfect Witness, Outofthedarkness; 50-1 and upwards others.