Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Page turns up the heat

Brendan Pather
Trainer Stephen Page could not have asked for a better start to the season winning the Canon Gold Cup in week one but he has not rested on his laurels and the winners have continued to flow.
Page put the seal on a memorable month for his small Western Cape-based stable when capturing the Grade 3 Cape Summer Stayers Handicap with Mokaro at Kenilworth last Saturday. He strides purposefully into the turn of the Cape summer season having also guided Field Flower to a huge upset in the
Gr 1 Cape Fillies Guineas earlier this month. Mokaro’s win was no surprise as he was the class stayer in the Cape Summer Stayers line-up but Page was quick to point out after the race that Mokaro was far from his best for this race and was being prepared for the J&B Stayers on Met day. He also confirmed that he had intentionally left a pace setter, Cloak Of Gold, in the race to ensure a decent pace which the stout stayer Mokaro requires in order to give off his best. The plan mapped out perfectly and Mokaro looked the likely winner when moving up at the 400m mark. It took a while for him to get his head in front but his superior stamina and natural determination kicked in over the final furlong and he won a lot easier than the half-a-length winning margin suggested. Runner-up Trick Of Light deserves credit for a fantastic effort in his first start beyond 1 800m and trainer Joey Ramsden could have yet another good young stayer in his stable. But the rest were well beaten by Mokaro and it’s hard to see any of them being a threat to the six-year-old gelding in the J&B Stayers. Having a small string has its advantages and Page has close relationships with his horses and their owners.
He thanked Bridget Oppen-heimer for her support in the post race interview.
Oppenheimer bred the son of Manaloj, out of the Fort Wood mare, Matumi, and continues to send Page horses on an annual basis. Mokaro has now won seven of 27 starts for career earnings just short of R1,5million.
Remarkably, Page is currently sitting in twelfth position on the national log despite having significantly fewer runners than other trainers in the top 20.
He has an impressive 18% winners-to-runners ratio thus far this term. Racegoers should also make note of the fact that Page is one of the few trainers in the top 20 that is showing a profit for every R1 win bet on his runners - an impressive R75 to be exact.

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