Geoff Woodruff has reluctantly sent his SANSUI Summer Cup winner and runner up, Master Sabina and Deo Juvente, down to Cape Town earlier than intended and they arrived at the Milnerton training centre over the weekend.

Master Sabina (JC Photos)

The chief target for both is the J&B Met and Woodruff had wanted to train them out of Randjesfontein, but became “panicky” due to a recent positive African Horse Sickness case in North Pretoria, which fell only just outside a 40km radius from Randjes. If the case had been within the 40km radius they would not have been allowed to travel.

Both horses have also been nominated for the Gr 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate but Woodruff is not sure yet whether they will take their places.

He admitted both Master Sabina, as a Gr 1 winner with a 108 merit rating, and Deo Juvente, off a 104 merit rating, had tough tasks under the conditions of the Met, which is basically a weight for age race with a Gr 1 penalty. Both horses would be 6kg under sufferance with the 120 merit rated Legal Eagle if the weights were set today.

However, he added the six-year-old Jet Master gelding Master Sabina should have come on from the Summer Cup, for which he was “only just ready enough and I think he got away with it”, while the four-year-old Trippi gelding Deo Juvente was a “big strong” young horse who was improving.

Woodruff faced a dilemma when Deo Juvente’s jockey Sean Cormack objected against Master Sabina in the Summer Cup, but fortunately the stipendiary stewards allowed him to remain neutral.

It was the third time in succession Woodruff yard had achieved the Summer Cup exacta and this included doing the trifecta two years ago.

This year’s result saw the five-time championship winning yard soaring from 18^th place on the National Trainer’s log to 7^th.

The two horses will be staying at the Woodruff satellite yard in Cape Town which is run by his daughter Lucinda.

By David Thiselton

Noah From Goa has been raised just three points (1.5kg) to 111 for his win in Saturday’s Grand Parade Cape Guineas and Mike de Kock’s latest star is the only three-year-old to be entered in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate on January 9.

Same Jurisdiction, who easily won Saturday’s Grand Play Conditions Plate, is the only filly or mare among the 23 Queen’s Plate entries but she has been drawn quite wide at 17. Duncan Howells yesterday also put her in the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes on the same card but there she has been drawn wider still at 19 out of 21.

Mike Bass has resisted the temptation to put Fillies Guineas winner Silver Mountain in the Paddock – she waits for the CTS Million Dollar a fortnight later – but his four entries include Taffety Tart who was third to her in both the Fillies Guineas and the Choice Carriers.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Same Jurisdiction (Nkosi Hlophe)

The dogs are barking about Lohnromance who reappears after a 15-month absence in the Khaya Stables Handicap at Kenilworth today.

Aldo Domeyer’s mount made a huge impression when romping home over 1 400m on debut at Durbanville with Yogas Govender saying: “She is blessed with talent but she has a deformity on her off-fore pastern and runs on three legs.”

He put the bad leg continuously in ice buckets but wasn’t able to get her to the course again. Now it’s the turn of Andre Nel who says: “She has had serious problems and it’s a long time to be off but she has come back nicely.”

Rival trainers seemed to know all about her when discussing prospects on Saturday and Nel has already shown more than once that long lay-offs hold few fears for him. His Rondeberg facilities for getting a horse racing fit are much better than those of most of the Cape Town trainers who have to rely on prep runs.

Aldo Domeyer

The mare gets in with a rating of only 65 and is clearly far better than that in terms of sheer talent. She opened at 2-1 with World Sports Betting yesterday but that price soon went.  Top weight Money Surger is an obvious danger at 9-2 and is bidding for her third win off the reel after recovering her best form.

“I don’t really work her at home – she spends most of her time in a paddock,” says Piet Steyn. “Kenilworth down the straight is her track, particularly when the south-easter is blowing.”

Strictly speaking 3-1 second favourite Star Academy should reverse the placings as she is 2.5kg better with Money Surger for last time’s half a length while it is significant that Boomtown Belter (15-4) steps up in trip after six successive races over 1 000m.

“She has always been running on just too late,” explains Adam Marcus. “I’m hoping that we get a true run race.”

Five Star Rock opened evens favourite for the opening maiden but he may have been flattered by last time’s second – it was in a work riders’ race and they are notoriously unreliable – and so the vote goes to Mount Fuji (backed from 6-1 to 4-1 yesterday) even though Vaughan Marshall has decided to run him without blinkers.

Marshall and MJ Byleveld may also win race two with 12-10 favourite Tonya whose good second at the beginning of the month was her first run out of the maidens.

Marshall is using Shadlee Fortune’s valuable 4kg claim on 9-2 stable companion Dance In The Woods whereas Mike Stewart employed it to good effect on Caprice Des Dieux ( 9-2 here) when she beat Tonya half a length. “I reckon I have again got Tonya to beat,” says Stewart.

Wafiqah looks the part in race three even though she has only three-quarters of a length in hand over Malachite Sunbird. “She has always shown that she is above average and after her debut on Met day – I reckon I ran her too early – I gave her a long break,” says Darryl Hodgson.” When she reappeared she ran too free. She wanted more ground and last time she ran on very well.”

By Michael Clower

Anton Marcus has called for the Maine Chance Paddock Stakes and the Klawervlei Majorca to be switched in future years.

The four-time champion made his plea after leaving the opposition for dead on Same Jurisdiction in the final 100m of the Grand Play Conditions Plate. Duncan Howells is going to run the 11-10 favourite in both races.

Marcus said: “You want to go a natural progression from a mile to nine furlongs. That’s self-explanatory and common sense should prevail. It was [originally] a pretty poor decision from the powers-that-be.”

Anton Marcus

Tar Heel, who has lost races he should have won in the past by refusing to settle, may be entered for the Betting World Cape Flying Championship after coming good under Marcus in the Racing Association Need For Speed Sprint. He really stretched away in the final 200m although his rider warned: “I think six furlongs is his absolute ceiling.”

Joey Ramsden added: “I have been trying to teach him to settle. He could well have a go at the Cape Flying although I don’t think he is quite good enough.”

Brutal Force is the stable’s main hope for the Met-day sprint and he is to return from Johannesburg in the next few days despite earlier plans to leave him there until a week before the race.

Ramsden explained: “We have had to give up on that idea because you just don’t know what the state vet could do with AHS travel restrictions.”

Captain Chaos, who started joint favourite with Tar Heel, was hardly at the races by comparison and will step up in trip with Ronnie Sheehan observing: “They took him off his feet.”

Heartland, who battled hard under Bernard Fayd’Herbe for a narrow win in the Cape Premier Sales Jet Master, is likely to be entered for the Queen’s Plate this morning.

Justin Snaith said: “I don’t know what sort of chance he would have but off 102 what else could he do? I will talk to the owners.”

The former champion trainer sent out the 2 000^th winner of his hugely successful career when The Merry Widow kicked off the stable’s four-timer. This was the first of three winners in the Drakenstein blue.

Current Event, who showed a fine turn of foot at 20-1 under S’Manga Khumalo in the Grandwest Cape Summer Stayers, looks a natural for the J & B Jet Stayers on January 30 although he would meet runner-up Kingston Mines (who won last season’s race) on 4kg worse terms.

Quote of the day: “We’ve got 1 000 kids here today and I will spend any amount of money to see them happy.” Hassen Adams.

By Michael Clower

A crack at Futura, Act Of War and Captain America could be on the cards for Noah From Goa after the gutsy way he won the Grand Parade Cape Guineas at Kenilworth on Saturday

The 5-1 Tiger Ridge gelding, part-owned by breeder Mary Slack, gave Mike de Kock his first win in this race since Domino Man 12 years ago and his fourth in all.

Noah From Goa (Liesl King)

Son and assistant Matthew said: “Noah has had a hard season and we will see how he pulls up but the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate would be one of the options. We’ve got to expose these three-year-olds to the older horses and see how good they are.”

A Kenilworth Grade 1 could also be on the agenda for Brazuca (8-1) who was only beaten three-quarters of a length. “If Weichong thinks he will stay 2 000m we will leave him here for the Investec Cape Derby,” said a clearly pleased Johan Janse van Vuuren.

But Nassa, backed from 20-1 to 11-1 and only a short head further back, goes to Hong Kong and Tony Millard, who will train him, said: “We already have a very nice horse for the Cape Derby with Brett Crawford in Nebula.”

Silver Mountain, who briefly looked a furlong out as if she might justify all the money that poured on her – she started at 8-10, was less than a length behind the winner. She came back with a cut on her right hind but nobody was offering that as an excuse.

“She had a bit much to make up on them,” said Mike Bass who was wheel-chaired through a sea of well-wishers by son Mark to get into the parade ring. “But Aldo gave her a good ride and she had every chance. I thought she ran a good race.”

Daughter Candice pointed out that the filly has five weeks – compared with only two this time- before the lucrative chips are down in the CTS Million Dollar. Victorius Jay, 40-1 but beaten only 1.2 lengths into fifth, also goes for the big money.

Sean Tarry reported that Liege (14^th) was coughing and the disappointing Budapest (last) was blowing hard after the race.

What the jockeys said:

Anthony Delpech (Noah From Goa):  “He struggled the whole way round the turn as he was on the wrong leg but he is a small horse with a big heart and he doesn’t know how to lie down.”

Weichong Marwing (Brazuca, 2^nd): “He ran very well and he loomed up. I thought it was a great run.”

Corne Orffer (Nassa, 3^rd): “It was always going to be difficult from that 16 draw and I didn’t want to be three wide. I made up ten lengths in the straight – if only I’d had a decent draw.”

Aldo Domeyer (Silver Mountain, 4^th): “I would have preferred a harder pace but I was happy with the way she was making up ground and I thought she might do it. I got to the winner’s hindquarters but then he went on again. Had she had another week it might have been different. She will beat these horses in time.”

Anton Marcus (Hard Day’s Night, 10^th): “He got to the front easier than he had done in the Selangor but there was no kick – he just faded very quickly.  It was a flat run.”

By Michael Clower

Picture: Noah From Goa (Liesl King)