A lot has happened since Willem Ackerman and Advocate Nigel Riley bought The Equator at the Tattersalls Sale at Newmarket almost exactly one year ago, including a win by his half-sister Lake Victoria (Frankel) in the Grade 1 Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf just three weeks after the sale was concluded.
The Equator (Galileo) truly has the world’s most exclusive thoroughbred blood flowing in his veins and the partnership would have thanked their lucky stars they were able to come home with this handsome entire. His pedigree guarantees a promising career at stud whatever happens at Turffontein on Saturday when he has his final prep run for the 2025 Betway Summer Cup, or in the Cup itself.
The Equator flopped on his Greyville debut, a run on Durban July day that came too soon after he arrived on South African soil, but trainer Tony Peter and his team have handled him with extra patience since. He won a Pinnacle Stakes in early August in impressive style, was given another break and Peter said: “He has only now fully settled down and as a result is improving and looking very well. He won impressively on hard ground, will be better suited to the sting out of the ground so we gave him time off after his win.”
The import put up a good piece of fast work at his home track earlier this week and Peter commented: “The Equator is doing well and if he wins his prep run his merit rating won’t be affected. He’ll enjoy the sting out of the ground after the rain we’ve had and should go close, but our aim has always been the big race and we want to have him spot-on for that.”
Peter said that jockey Gavin Lerena had helped him to find Saturday’s Graduation Plate, but that Lerena has not yet been confirmed as his Cup rider. In the reigning Champion jockey’s absence, a very able replacement has been found in Richard Fourie, whose feedback will be most valuable, post-race.
Peter felt that Parisian Walkway (rated a point higher and at his best course and distance) would be The Equator’s main rival on Saturday.
BELOW: VIDEO REPLAY OF THE EQUATOR’S EXERCISE GALLOP THIS WEEK
