David Thiselton
St. John Gray pulled off another fine breeding and training feat at Turffontein Standside on Saturday when Christopher Robin easily won the Grade 3 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m.
The sponsors of the WSB Summer Cup reacted by shortening him into 25/1.
The four-year-old colt by Damage Is Done was the second worst treated at the weights on Saturday and off his 98 merit rating was 7,5kg under sufferance with the best treated horse Victoria Paige.
He beat the runner up Astrix, with whom he was 3kg under sufferance, by 2,50 lengths and beat third-placed Victoria Paige by 3,75 lengths.
The handicappers have thus, not surprisingly, raised him eleven points to 109.
A condition of the Summer Cup is that “weights may change up to the time of declarations”, so as things stand, and presuming the topweight Queen Supreme stands her ground, he will carry 53kg in the big race.
Christopher Robin was coming in off a 4,25 length defeat to Seven Patriots over 1800m at the Vaal but Gray pointed out that the going had been fast that day and he had been interfered with on an unusually sharply constructed turn which had thrown the horses outward. Seven Patriots had got away from the field but Christopher Robin had made some late progress.
Christopher Robin’s best previous win had been in the rain in the Derby Trial over the Turffontein Standside 2000m, so the conditions were in his favour on Saturday with plenty of rain having fallen during the week.
S’Manga Khumalo did his homework and knowing Orpheus, jumping from pole, was likely to go strongly from the off to get the lead he rushed his mount from the off and was able to slot in behind the former horse on the rail. Having found this good position he relaxed and allowed Seven Patriots to slot in ahead of him.
Christopher Robin turned for home third in line on the rail in joint fourth place with the favourite Astrix from whom he was receiving 3kg.
This pair went through the 300m together but from then onward Christopher Robin steadily drew away. Gray pointed out that had it been over 2000m he would likely have gone even further clear.
Astrix was caught wide on the turn for a short while, but not as badly as he had been in the Grade 1 SA Classic last season. With a potentially good draw in the Summer Cup (7 out of the 43 still standing) he could still prove capable of staying 2000m.
Victoria Paige stayed on steadily into third but was a touch one-paced.
Astrix remains on a 110 merit rating, but Victoria Paige has been dropped three points to 105.
Victoria Paige was in 19th place on the final Summer Cup log a few days ago and Astrix, who was 20th, will leapfrog her and Christopher Robin, who didn’t feature on the log at all, will leapfrog both of them.
Dance Class finished fourth, beaten 3,85 lengths, and has been raised from a 92 to a 98 but unlikely did enough to make it into the Summer Cup field.
Imperial Ruby, who was 18th on the final log, finished fifth. However, he was beaten only 0,20 lengths by Victoria Paige on 3kg worse terms than he would have faced her in a handicap, so he is unlikely to lose his position.
The next two finishers, Seven Patriots and Dark Moon Rising, unlikely did enough to impress the final field panellists. However, it should be remembered that two years ago the field cut up so dramatically at the declaration stage that there were only 19 in the final field, so there is still hope.
Christopher Robin provided the late Damage Is Done with his first stakes winner when winning the Listed Derby Trial last year and now provides him with his first Graded winner.
Gray’s Graystone Stud operation has regularly defied conventional wisdom in thoroughbred breeding as none of the stallions he has stood over the years were superstars on the racetrack.
He said about the Rakeen stallion Damage Is Done, who won four ordinary races on the Vaal sand, “He suited my mares on lines and crosses although he wasn’t very successful.”
He continued, “My favourite saying is ‘I told God my plans and he just smiled’. We think we can work it out and play God with our thoroughbred matings but how many times does it work? It is no super science.”
However, Gray’s adherence to his philosophies has undoubtedly paid dividends and in this case Damage Is Done, despite his previous lack of success, was sent a black type mare in the Listed-winning Malhub sprinter Onehundredacrewood and Christopher Robin was the result.
Christopher Robin has a plum draw of four out of the 43 remaining entries in the Summer Cup and although his 25/1 odds reflect his chances one thing for certain is that he will be trying his heart out. Gray refers to this progressive horse as his “iron horse.”
