Top KZN jockey Sean Cormack only had one ride at Turffontein’s big meeting on Saturday and came oh so close to victory in the day’s headliner, the Gr 1 R2 million SANSUI Summer Cup over 2000m, when Deo Juvente was touched off by his Geoff Woodruff-trained stablemate Master Sabina.

Cormack then objected on the grounds of interference in the concluding stages.

He explained yesterday he had come from about a length-and-a-half back and felt he was starting to get the better of Master Sabina approaching the 200m when the latter “nudged” him and carried him out. He added that, whilst there was not a lot of movement on the TV replays, had the huge Deo Juvente been smaller he would probably have been “turned around”. However, the end result instead was that the incident in his opinion “unsettled” the horse and he consequently lost momentum. However, he was then still able to get back on terms. He said he had objected not simply because he had lost but because he had grounds for objections and apparently most of his weighing room colleagues agreed there were “huge” grounds. He also felt that considering it was a R2 million race the owner Markus Jooste and his racing manager Derek Brugman would likely have questioned a decision not to object.

Master Sabina (JC Photos)

Cormack knew it would be a 50/50 call. The stipendiaries did not deliberate for long before deciding Deo Juvente would not have beaten Master Sabina and overruled, although Cormack’s deposit was refunded.

Cormack said he had not been disappointed as his mount, a four-year-old Trippi gelding, had run “an absolute blinder”. Deo Juvente had jumped from a wide draw of 18 which saw him caught two wide throughout, but this had not bothered Cormack, who said, “Yes you would prefer to be one away from the rail, but he is big striding horse and was okay where he was. He was never cramped or uncomfortable and had a smooth passage throughout and then I got a nice run down the outside.

The outside did look to possibly be the marginally better going down the straight on the day.

Deo Juvente had certainly been one of the picks of the canter past and has a bright future as one who has come into his own. He had won the Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes in his previous start to book his place in the Summer Cup.

Cormack also only had one ride on the day when he won the Gr 1 SA Classic on the Paul Lafferty-trained Lovestruck in 2013.

However, the waiting does not bother him and, as a jockey who so often brought home “the meeting banker” during his association with the great Beach Beauty, his days of being a bundle of nerves are long past.

Meanwhile, he said his guv’nor Dennis Drier’s string were doing exceptionally well down in Cape Town. He confirmed they had all needed their first runs.  They should have come on plenty for the runs and Drier is as always a yard to follow as the Cape Summer Of Champions Season enters December.

By David Thiselton