Jack Milner
Inane, insane or inspired?
That is possibly the best way to describe this writer’s decision to make The Equator a banker in all bets at Turffontein on Saturday.
Sired in Ireland, this five-year-old entire is impeccably bred and trainer Tony Peter has prepared him perfectly to win the R6-million Betway Summer Cup over 2000m at Turffontein tomorrow.
Many pundits have pointed to the fact that this son of Galileo has only had three races since arriving in South Africa. He failed on his debut appearance at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Durban July day but since then has gone on to win both his races on the Turffontein Standside track.
The first was a Pinnacle Stakes over 1800m in August and the second came in a Graduation Plate over 1600m last month.
Warren Kennedy rode the horse at Greyville and after that run, despite the disappointment, the former champion jockey was positive about The Equator. He said the horse was hanging badly throughout the race which made him difficult to ride and added that as a long-striding individual he was unsuited to Greyville.
His advice – fit him in blinkers and run him at Turffontein. From that point on a strategy was developed for The Equator with the Betway Summer Cup as his mission. More important was to get him into the race with as low a weight as possible.
As time went on and Peter got to know more about his charge, he realised he had an extremely talented individual in the yard.
Champion jockey Gavin Lerena then became involved and as time went on this entire got better and better.
When Lerena was suspended Richard Fourie came up to Joburg to ride The Equator in that Graduation Plate and was full of praise for his mount. So much so, that he kept trying to get the ride for the Summer Cup.
When the final field was revealed and the draws were made, Peter could not have been happier to pull barrier No 3 for his charge.
So, to quote the favourite phrase of Hannibal Smith, leader of the A team, “I love it when a plan comes together”.
Well, this one has come together very nicely and now it’s in the hands of Lerena.
“I think he’s packed with ability,” said Peter on Wednesday. “He’s doing nicely, I’m happy with him and he is as fit as he can be. So far, so good.
“We had him on the grass last Wednesday (19 November) but had to go back on the grass on Tuesday because the sand tracks are unusable owing to all the rain.
“I can tell that he has not lost a gallop, whether it’s against a sprinter or any other horse.”
A perfect prep is something every trainer hopes for and it could not have gone better for The Equator.
Tony’s father, Paul, has already trained a Summer Cup winner and that was Summer Pudding in 2020. He is full of praise for The Equator and feels he is better than Summer Pudding who won the race with 58.5kg on her back from draw No 15.
The Equator has just 55kg to carry and the likes of last year’s champion Atticus Finch, 2023 champion Royal Victory as well as second favourite King Pelles, all have to give him weight while many of those below him are under sufferance. Of even of more relevance, he has run well in the wet.
One also should ask oneself why Fourie was so keen to get the ride.
So, that is the case for The Equator.
There are other runners with proven form and of course, one can never discount them. This is a horse race, after all, and strangely enough, the biggest threat could come from Nathan Kotzen-trained Royal Victory.
This gelding has had four races over the course a distance for two wins – the 2023 Summer Cup and 2024 Premier’s Champions Challenge – a narrow second when touched off by well-weighted Fire Attack in the 2025 Champions Challenge, and a three-length sixth in last year’s Summer Cup after suffering interference late in the race.
This six-year-old son of Pathfork loves this track and even when he has come into a race with mediocre form, at Turffontein he rises to the occasion.
There was a lot to like about his warm-up run last time and one would be ill-advised to leave Royal Victory out of Trifectas and Quartets.
There are many pundits confident of a huge run from Gold Cup winner King Pelles, but he too has questions to answer. Gareth van Zyl’s charge has his best form in stayers’ races and they are not particularly strong.
He has had two excellent warm-up races but his best runs have come at Greyville with a short run-in. He has the ability to turn it on quickly but will that style of running work for him on the long Turffontein straight?
In fairness, he too has had a perfect prep and Van Zyl believes his charge has improved since the Gold Cup and will enjoy racing over 2000m.
Atticus Finch is in the best form of his career but he did win this race carrying 54kg last year and now he has 6kg more to carry. There are some runners weighted to reverse their past defeats.
Calvin Habib loves this Alec Laird-trained gelding but does admit “he will have to have improved to win at the weights”.
There are a number of tough races but the Grade 2 Jackpot City Dingaans for three-year-olds is always a significant event. There is a strong field but Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Jan Van Goyen looks the runner to beat if he can repeat his performance in the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes at Greyville in July.
He has not raced since, but at the draw function Mathew de Kock pointed out that this son of Master Of My Fate is very good, was working well and had beaten Tin Pan Alley by 3.70 lengths in Durban.
However, Sean Tarry’s charge has improved with gelding and will be more of a threat on this occasion.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 11 Turn It Up, 4 Heath House, 10 Theodore Rooseveld, 16 Northern European
Race 2: 1 Tintin, 9 Splittheeights, 8 Rockabilly, 7 Proper
Race 3: 2 William Robertson, 3 Cats Pajamas, 7 Choisaanada, 8 Minogue
Race 4: 5 Almond Sea, 7 Rodeo Drive, 9 Elegantrix, 10 Rachel Wall
Race 5: 11 African Pride, 12 Nyaka Nyaka, 2 Truth, 10 Charming Cheetah
Race 6: 5 Pretty Persuasive, 3 Littlemissmillion, 1 Valentina Balducci, 6 Mamlambo
Race 7: 1 Jan Van Goyen, 2 Tin Pan Alley, 11 Trust, 3 Chronicle King
Race 8: 5 The Equator, 2 Royal Victory, 3 King Pelles, 1 Atticus Finch
Race 9: 11 Aladdin's Lamp, 2 Cape Eagle, 5 Field Marshal, 3 Money Heist
Race 10: 4 Nebraas, 9 Corrupt, 2 Shoot The Rapids, 6 Daimyo
Race 11: 1 Open Highway, 4 The Playboy Bomber, 11 Never Never Land, 7 Harun Al Rashid
BEST BET
Race 8: 5 The Equator
VALUE BET
Race 10: 4 Nebraas
BEST SWINGER
Race 7 1x2
BIPOT 1
R480
Leg 1: 1, 4, 7, 8, 9
Leg 2: 2, 3
Leg 3: 5, 7
Leg 4: 2, 11, 12
Leg 5: 1, 3, 5, 6
Leg 6: 1, 2
BIPOT 2
R432
Leg 1: 1, 3, 5, 6
Leg 2: 1, 2, 11
Leg 3: 5
Leg 4: 2, 5, 11
Leg 5: 2, 4, 6, 9
Leg 6: 1, 4, 11
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R288
Leg 1: 2, 3
Leg 2: 5, 7
Leg 3: 2, 11, 12
Leg 4: 1, 3, 5, 6
Leg 5: 1, 2
Leg 6: 5
Leg 7: 2, 5, 11
PICK 6
R2160
Leg 1: 5, 7, 9, 10, 15
Leg 2: 2, 4, 5, 6
Leg 3: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 13
Leg 4: 1, 2, 11
Leg 5: 5
Leg 6: 2, 5, 11
JACKPOT 1
R450
Leg 1: 4, 8, 10, 11, 16
Leg 2: 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12
Leg 3: 2, 3, 7
Leg 4: 5, 7, 9, 10, 15
JACKPOT 2
R144
Leg 1: 2, 4, 5, 6
Leg 2: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 13
Leg 3: 1, 2, 11
Leg 4: 5
JACKPOT 3
R90
Leg 1: 5
Leg 2: 2, 5, 11
Leg 3: 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 13
Leg 4: 1, 2, 4, 7, 11