Back In Business is led in after winning the Listed Betway Spring Spree Stakes back in August (JC Photos)
Back In Business was back at the training track this morning (Thursday) for the first time since the nasty incident in the Allied Steelrode Onamission Charity Mile, in which he unseated Muzi Yeni.
Meanwhile, his talented stablemates Rule By Force and Fiery Pegasus are rated as contenders by the yard in their respective engagements on Betway Summer Cup day.
Trainer Joe Soma said from his Turffontein base today, “Back In Business came back with a bit of a swollen joint, just slightly swollen, and from then until now we’ve done a lot of work on it, icing him and wrapping him up, and it’s looking quite good at the moment. He went to the track this morning for the first time since the race, which was 12 days ago.”
He said about the progressive William Longsword gelding’s furture program, “I don’t know where we are going to go, I’ll have to look at it very seriously. I will have to make a serious decision about the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, because he’s not a horse who I think will handle the long trip to Cape Town. But you never know. I would love to go, but he’s not a horse who stands in the pens for a long time, but on the other hand if you go down with Choice Carriers they give him such a big berth, so it might feel comfortable.”
He said about the big horse’s options if the King’s Plate was avoided, “We would probably go for the Hawaii Stakes and then the Horse Chestnut.”
Joe was not at all happy with the riding in the Charity Mile that led to Back In Business clipping heels and stumbling badly and he said, “Very poor riding from a lot of the jockeys in the R1 million event. Thankfully the horse is alright and we are hoping and praying Muzi will be back as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, Rule By Force put up a scintillating display on Monday when winning a MR 106 Handicap over 1800m by two lengths, despite carrying 59,5kg and jumping at odds of 25/1.
Joe said about the now 112 merit rated five-year-old Pomodoro gelding, “I’m hoping he gets into the Summer Cup. Firstly I can’t believe he was that price in Monday’s race, if that race had been run on Saturday he would have started 3/1. But when the rains came and it was changed to Monday I chickened out because he had had a knock on the tendon before, which we battled with, he didn’t bow the tendon but just knocked and it took a long time to settle. But the way he had been working and his class – if you look at his Triple Crown form he ran horses like Royal Victory to two lengths and he then ran third in the SA Derby – he was in a MR106 off a 105 against horses who shouldn’t be 106 and he won accordingly, so I was impressed with that and I think if he does get in he will be a very nice outsider for the once a year punter for a win and place. I think he could be the dark, dark horse of the Summer Cup. He is now 112 so he’s got a good chance of getting in, but we will leave it to the handicappers.”
Fiery’s Pegasus’s form speaks for itself and she will be a big runner in the Gr 3 Fillies Mile as she will go into the race without any penalties.
