Frank receives the Summer Cup trophy from Betway’s Jonathan Blumberg (JC Photos)
In racing, fairy tales rarely arrive on cue, but trainer Frank Robinson wrote his own in last Saturday’s R6-million Betway Summer Cup, WRITES CHARL PRETORIUS ON HIS OFF THE RECORD COLUMN. A loner by nature and a horseman by instinct, Robinson watched his 100-1 outsider Mocha Blend (Ideal World) deliver a victory as sweet as its name, giving him his first Grade 1 success, achieved in Africa’s hitherto richest race, and with his first runner trained for the storied Oppenheimer family.
There is an old adage in racing: “You don’t find a good horse, it finds you!”
Robinson had met Jessica Jell (then Slack) at his Summerveld stables when he was caretaker trainer for Cape-based Brett Crawford in 2015 and Jessica owned a share of Crawford’s classic prospect, Maybe Yes. “Jessica came around to see her filly and we had a chat. We saw each other just a few times after that. Nine years later, Steven Jell phoned me out of the blue to ask if I’d be interested in training Mocha Blend. Wow, as if I was ever going to say, no! I felt very privileged, even more so when Mocha Blend arrived at the yard. She was smashing, I liked her from the day I first laid eyes on her.”
Having worked with dozens of high-quality fillies in his long career, including Bold West, Jungle Class, Fanciful, Olma and Chocolicious, Robinson suspected that Mocha Blend was not an ordinary specimen, and told his new patrons as much. “She turned out a bit in front but was otherwise perfect, with a beautiful temperament.”
Mocha Blend finished third, first-up, and then won two races off the bat late in 2024. After that she placed in three features during the KZN Summer Season, performing with much promise. But Robinson raced her sparingly and explained: “The tracks are hard in winter. Mocha Blend had some issues with her legs, so I took it easy with her. She was a bit light too, had some maturing to do. But when spring came around, she started blossoming and filled out. She has been sound as a bell this season. Every time I feel her knees after a gallop they are cold as a fridge. No heat, no trouble.”
