Tarry could have another Summer Cup ace up his sleeve in Nebraas
The six-year-old is available at 25-1 and 9-2 a place
In the past five years Sean Tarry’s success in the Summer Cup is on a par with Manchester City in the English Premier League.
The former champion trainer won Sunday’s Victory Moon Stakes with Litigation, but the eye-catching performance was that of his six-year-old, Nebraas. Amazingly, Tarry has won four of the last five runnings of the Summer Cup — his winner in 2021 was the long-shot, Flying Carpet.
With his merit-rating likely to go up to 105, Litigation will need a few horses to drop out if he’s to get a run in the Betway-sponsored R2.5m race on November 26. That’s not the case with seven-time winner, Nebraas, who is guaranteed a run and finished just two and a half lengths behind his stablemate in the Victory Moon. That was the gelding’s second run after a break so he’ll be cherryripe for the big race at the end of the month.
Considering Sparkling Water had a wide draw and hadn’t run since the Durban July, trainer Mike de Kock will be satisfied with the mare’s performance on Sunday and the outing will have blown away the cobwebs ahead of the Cup.
The same cannot be said about another female who ran in the grade 3 race, Perfect Witness. The daughter of Flower Alley looked to have a number of factors in her favour but performed about as well as a wet firework on Guy Fawkes night. She beat just two rivals home.
Quite correctly, the stipendiary stewards asked the veterinary surgeon to examine Perfect Witness but he couldn’t find anything amiss.
The latest Summer Cup log was released last week and — as a result of his Charity Mile win — Bingwa has shot up to second place after previously being in 11th position.
Little wonder pundits ignored Litigation in the Victory Moon as Bingwa beat him seven lengths in the Charity Mile.
Another Cup entry who improved his position is Charity Mile runner-up Puerto Manzano, who moved from eighth position to fifth. One place in front of the Argentinian-bred gelding is Red Saxon, now up four places to fourth.
In the latest Summer Cup market, two De Kock inmates, Safe Passage and Sparkling Water, top the betting at 5-2 and 3-1 respectively. Litigation has shortened to 14-1 with Bingwa quoted a point longer at 15-1. Surprisingly, Nebraas is available at 25-1 and 9-2 a place.
The Vaal hosts a Work Riders meeting on Tuesday and Ashley Fortune’s three-year-old, Prime Example, is the banker bet in the fourth race.
VAAL SELECTIONS
1st Race: (13) War Empress (5) Wow (10) Pompom Queen (9) Kabuki Mo
2nd Race: (10) Southern Style (9) Inventrix (7) Mandalay (2) Last Survivor
3rd Race: (1) Corvette Captain (3) Integrate (8) After Hours (2) In Cahoots
4th Race: (4) Prime Example (7) Ballycotton (1) Harold The Duke (3) Twice In Camden
5th Race: (3) Ponderosa Pine (8) Broadlands (4) Sassy (1) Batik
6th Race: (3) Future Pearl (4) Break Point (1) Spring Will Come (5) Black Lightning
7th Race: (3) Warbonnet Creek (1) Robert Burns (6) What Say You (5) Thermopylae
8th Race: (4) National Star (6) Rowins Dream (5) I Am Who I Am (1) Queen Theodora