Vodacom Durban July winner The Conglomerate is one of the 47 nominations for the R2-million SANSUI Summer Cup (Grade 1) over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday 26 November.
He is one of four horses trained by Cape-based Joey Ramsden. He overcame the widest draw in the 18-horse field to beat Marinaresco in the country’s premier race in July and will only have to carry 2.5kg more, relatively speaking, if he lines up in the Summer Cup.
Ramsen’s other horses are smart stayer minor feature-race winner Macduff, Coltrane and St Tropez, a close sixth behind Marinaresco in the Champions Cup last season.
Triple Crown winner Abashiri was widely expected to win the Durban July but a tough season told at the 12th hour and he finished unplaced. He has had a good break and trainer Mike Azzie will be keen for the Go Deputy gelding to set the record straight if he lines up in the Summer Cup.
First entries for the race were taken on Friday and trainer Azzie entered another three horses –Amsterdam, Arctica and Deputy Jud.
Deputy Jud won the 2015 Supreme Cup and more recently finished second behind Dean Kannemeyer-trained entry Cape Speed in the Track and Ball Derby at Scottsville, while Amsterdam is lightly raced five-year-old who showed great promise in finishing second to French Navy in the SA Classic last year but only ran twice as a four-year-old. Arctica has good form in much lesser company.
Champion trainer Sean Tarry has five horses entered but ruling Horse Of The Year Legal Eagle is not one of them. At this early stage his hopes of Summer Cup glory rest on Algoa Cup hero Stonehenge, Samurai Blade, who placed in both the SA Classic and SA Derby, Grade 3 Jubilee Handicap winner Liege, seven-year-old Cagiva and five-year-old Fort Meyers.
Trainer Johan Janse van Vuuren has entered both New Predator and Negroamaro, one of the leading three-year-old fillies last season. New Predator was not well ridden when third behind Legal Eagle in the Horse Chestnut Stakes last season and went on to win the Drill Hall Stakes and finish fourth in the 1600m Gold Challenge.
Two other horses from the stable, Crowd Pleaser and Irish Pride, are also on the list of entries.
Second entries close on 31 October when the weights will be announced, with final entries on Monday 14 November. Final acceptances fall due on Tuesday 15 November and the final field will be announced on Wednesday 16 November.
The entries with trainers for the SANSUI Summer Cup:
ABASHIRI (M G Azzie); AMSTERDAM (M G Azzie); ARCTICA (M G Azzie); BANKABLE TEDDY (B O Wiid); BROOKLYN BRAWLER (G H Van Zyl); CAGIVA (S G Tarry); CAPE SPEED (D Kannemeyer); COLTRANE (J Ramsden); CROWD PLEASER (J A Janse van Vuuren); DEO JUVENTE (G V Woodruff); DEPUTY JUD (M G Azzie); ENAAD (M F De Kock); FLYING ICE (O A Ferraris); FORT EMBER (P A Peter); FORT MEYERS (S G Tarry); FORTISSIMA (J A Soma); HIDDEN AGENDA (S W Kenny); HIGH DRAMA (J A Soma); IRISH PRIDE (J A Janse van Vuuren); JUDICIAL (T Zackey); JUXTAPOSE (S M Ferreira); KILLUA CASTLE (D A McKenzie); KINAAN (M F De Kock); LIEGE (S G Tarry); MAC DE LAGO (W H Marwing); MACDUFF (J Ramsden); MASTER ‘N COMMANDER (G V Woodruff); MASTER SABINA (G V Woodruff); MASTER SWITCH (G V Woodruff); MOGOK MASTER (J A Soma); NEGROAMARO (J A Janse van Vuuren); NEW PREDATOR (J A Janse van Vuuren); NO WORRIES (G H Van Zyl); OLMA (F Robinson); POLYPHONIC (A G Laird); PUNTA ARENAS (D R Drier); RABADA (B Crawford); ROCKETBALL (G H Van Zyl); ROMANY PRINCE (O A Ferraris); RUNALONG (P A Peter); SAMURAI BLADE (S G Tarry); SARATOGA DANCER (D C Howells); ST TROPEZ (J Ramsden); STONEHENGE (S G Tarry); TEN GUN SALUTE (D C Howells); THE CENTENARY (M F De Kock); THE CONGLOMERATE (J Ramsden); YER-MAAN (S J Gray)
