Picture : Winchester Mansion led in by Sitembele Londile, James Crawford and Gaynor Rupert after his thrilling win in the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
The Brett Crawford-trained Hollywoodbets Durban July hero Winchester Mansion has the Gr 1 Gauteng Summer Cup as his first big target for the season.
Brett said the Trippi Gelding had had a nice break and was now back in training and “all is good.”
He returned to Randjesfontein after the July and will be prepared out of that centre for his Summer Cup campaign.
Brett was not sure yet what his route into the race will be as he was still awaiting the program to come out.
Winchester Mansion was given a 121 merit rating by the handicappers for his July win, which will likely put him near the top of the weights for the Summer Cup. However, he has a close second and two wins since gelding and could possibly still be ahead of the handicapper.
Asked what it felt like to be a July-winning trainer Brett said, “It’s obviously one of South Africa’s biggest races and a very prestigious race too. To have shared it with my son made it even more special to win. You have to have a well weighted horse and it’s not an easy race to win.”
It is definitely the race in South Africa that can be likened to a golf major i.e. a top golfer will always have a monkey on his back until winning a major and the same can probably be said of a top trainer in South Africa and the July.
The news was not so good for two other of Crawford’s SA Champions Season campaigners.
Zapatillas was well positioned in the running of the Gr 1 World Pool Champions Cup and having been fancied by many it was a surprise to see him finding nothing in the straight.
He pulled up “sore” and was found to have a chip, so has to go for surgery and is going to be out for a while.
Crimson King, an easy winner of the Gr 2 Splashout 2200 last time out, had to be scratched from the HKJC World Pool Gold Cup after injuring himself at Randjesfontein and is going to be out for a “couple of months.”
It is better news for the yard’s twice Gr 1-placed sprinter Surjay.
He is back in the Cape and is having a break at the moment. He will be brought back with the big sprints as his obvious targets.
Make It Snappy’s attempt at getting to the Breeders Cup did not materialise and she is back in training in Cape Town.
Her targets will be the defense of her Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes crown and she will then probably go for the Gr 1 Schweppes Majorca.
She should be crowned Equus Champion Three-year-old filly at the Equus Awards tonight (She didn’t get it but Winchester Mansion was surprisingly named Equus Middle Distance Champion).
