Frank Robinson was one of three KZN domiciled trainers, along with Darryl Moore and Gareth van Zyl, to win an award at the recent KZN awards evening.
Summerveld-based Robinson’s charge Decorated, owned by Dudley Cherry, was named KZN’s Champion Stayer.
However, Robinson does not view this five-year-old Global View gelding as an out-and-out stayer and is targeting him at the Grade 1 WSB Summer Cup.
His said Decorated’s pipe-opener for the season would be in the Listed Michaelmas Handicap over 1900m on Hollywoodbets Greyville’s turf track on October 16.
He might give him one more 1600m run before the Summer Cup just to “keep him on his toes”.
He added, “He is a clean-winded horse so doesn’t need too many races.”
Robinson has been involved in the training of racehorses since the day he left school.
He could not have asked for better mentors, the outstanding horseman Johnny Nicholson being one of the earliest trainers he worked for before his long association with the legendary Herman Brown Snr and his son Herman Jnr.
He said, “Decorated has always reminded me of a horse Herman Brown Snr trained called Singing Boy. He didn’t win much in Durban, because the tighter tracks down here didn’t suit him. but he absolutely loved the Highveld’s galloping tracks with their long straights.”
The Foveros entire won four feature races, the Grade 1 Adminstrator’s Champion Stakes over 2000m, the Grade 1 First National Bank 1600, the Grade 3 Transvaal Champion Stakes over 1800m (by 7,25 lengths from the top horse Pedometer) and the Grade 3 Turffontein Centenary Stakes over 2000m. Every one of those races was on the Highveld.
Robinson said, like Singing Boy, Decorated had the conformation of a stayer, being “tall and leggy.”
He is also getting better and better as he gets older.
He is convinced he will love Turffontein Standside.
A few eyebrows were raised when Decorated was entered for the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
He was only merit rated about 84 at the time.
However, he proved a point in June when winning the Grade 3 Track And Ball Derby over 2400m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville under Muzi Yeni, albeit at odds of 14/1.
He caught the eye with that win. He ran handy the whole way without much cover and half-way down the straight looked an odds-on shot to be swamped.
However, he fought to keep himself in contention and then found extra late to propel himself to victory by a head.
Frank Robinson Leading Decorated In (Candiese Lenferna)He then ran a fine race in the MWOS Gold Cup, considering it did not pan out well.
He was caught too far back in the second group of horses.
He made up a lot of ground in the straight and was flying at the line to finish a 2,75 length sixth.
He was 0,80 lengths clear of last year’s Gold Cup winner Nebraas, although he was receiving 6kg from him, and he was 2,65 lengths clear of Grade 1 SA Derby winner Aragosta, from whom he received 3,5kg.
Robinson believes with the incentives implemented in Cape Town, the Summer Cup might not be as strong as usual this year.
He believed Aragosta might be the horse to beat.
Robinson is upbeat at the moment having enjoyed some fine recent sales, thanks chiefly to new owner Sid Moodley.
