Mike Azzie will rest his Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Stakes winner Rabada and give him his African Horse Sickness (AHS) vaccinations before aiming him at the R2 million Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein on October 31. He will then possibly send the Summerhill Stud Brave Tin Soldier colt to Cape Town for two big Gr 1 events, the Grand Parade Cape Guineas and the Investec Cape Derby.

His Premier’s Champions Stake third-placed Go Deputy colt Abashiri will also be rested and given his AHS vaccinations. He will then be aimed at next Autumn’s Triple Crown.

Azzie also has big race hopes for Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes runner up Melliflora and his older horse Deputy Jud.

His Summerveld Champions Season string were on their way back home to Randjesfontein yesterday.

Azzie has no doubt the unbeaten Rabada will stay the 2000m trip of the Cape Derby and said, “Anton (Marcus) has always maintained that is the trip he is looking for and that he would be best on a galloping track. We didn’t give him any stamina work at Summerveld, we kept his work short and sharp, because of the nature of the 1400m and 1600m races he ran in at Greyville. We haven’t seen the best of Abashiri yet. He is one very serious horse and is a very exciting prospect for the future. If you analyse the way the race panned out on Saturday, when he wanted to make his run he had to be switched out and come eight or nine wide into the straight. It could otherwise easily have been a different result. He was not as sharp as Rabada because the penny hasn’t dropped with him yet and when it does the sky could be the limit.”

Azzie didn’t allow the one week postponement of Super Saturday to add any pressure and simply took the view that everybody was in the same boat.

He said about the Querari filly Melliflora, who ran on well from midfield for a 0,25 length second in the Thekwini, “She is gangly and immature and I have not let up on her, so now that I can give her some down time I think she will do some developing and blossom. I think she will also prefer a galloping track and the way she cruised to victory at Scottsville in her previous start has made me quite excited about her.”

He was also pleased by the Judpot colt Deputy Jud’s 6,5 length eighth in the Gr 1 Champions Cup over 1800m and said, “It was an improved performance and I have been given permission to do what I have wanted to do for a year, geld him. I think he will now keep his mind on the job and do what he’s supposed to do.”

Azzie said he had left Summerved with “heavy feet”.

He elaborated, “It is the best training centre in South Africa. It is away from the humdrum of racing and the fact that my unsound horses came sound there speaks volumes for the tracks. I love KZN, the staff and people are so friendly and always make our visit pleasurable.”

Azzie became emotional in the winner’s enclosure on Saturday when talking about his own staff and this includes his younger son Ryan who has recently joined older son Adam as part of “The Azzman” team. Yesterday he could not help drawing a parallel between his two sons and the Snaith brothers Justin and Jonathan, whose results as a team speak for themselves.

He said, “Ryan was always the one who spent most time at the stables with me as a kid, but is business orientated and always has his finger on the pulse. Adam is laid back and will not allow the silly things that have sometimes worried me to get to him. I will one day be more in the background offering advice because together I think they will make a formidable team.”

By David Thiselton