Ravi Padayachee (holding the trophy) and the connections of King Pelles at the KZN Racing Awards, where he was named Champion Stayer (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
King Pelles’ passionate part-owner Ravi Padayachee has hired out space on “The Deck” at Turffontein as he specifically wants a live view of the Betway Summer Cup and he will be occupying it with a group of about 20 friends and family, which includes the families of Gareth and Gavin van Zyl.
He does not mind the going being soft but is hoping the rain holds off to some extent.
He said, “We don’t want a washed out Summer Cup, because there have been a lot of preparations.”
He revealed, “It’s been a super, super journey being associated with KP. Being associated with him and being so long in the game as I have and then realising you’ve got a horse in a Group 1 … he’s won four Group 3s, all over staying distances, and now to come and run here with his preparation having gone so well … Gareth has done an absolutely amazing job with him. As he gets older, he just gets better and better and better. I was so happy with his two preparation runs over 1200m and 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville, they were absolutely phenomenal, so we are really, really excited. Everything’s pointing in the right direction at the moment.”
Ravi revealed how the seeds of the Summer Cup bid were sewn.
He said, “After his wins in the Derby at Pietermaritzburg and in the Gold Vase and Gold Cup, I said to Gareth this horse has got a chance in the Summer Cup, the way he quickens and he then just needs to be ridden out. So then we looked at everything and Gareth then came and said, ‘Yes Ravi that’s an excellent idea, let’s give it a shot.’”
He added, “What makes it even better is S’Manga is riding him. Obviously he knows him well and he will be celebrating his milestone 40th birthday on Summer Cup day!”
Ravi continued, “I saw S’Manga at the draw ceremony at Turffontein and he has been very disciplined. He said, ‘I’m just focusing on this race and I just want to make sure that we can pull it off.’ He’s also very, very happy and excited with the way his preparation has gone. He also came to the stables and worked KP as well. So, he’s very excited as well. The race is now left to him. No matter how much preparation goes in, that split second to make the right decision, where he goes and how he runs, it’s all left to S’Manga, so he has a very important role.”
He revealed S’Manga had asked him to go and get draw seven, eight or nine at the draw ceremony.
When Ravi went up there were only three draws left, nine; eleven and 17. He picked eleven and revealed, “When I came back S’Manga said, ‘Eleven is my birthday month’. It is also actually my son Keanu’s mother’s birthday month. S’Manga then said eleven was no worry and he’s got a plan already, so he’s happy with the draw.”
Ravi added, “We really think we can pull it off. With all due respect to the opposition, it’s nice to be positive. But in saying that, horse racing has no guarantees. If we run in the first four, I’ll be very, very excited, I won’t be disappointed anyway. But if we win, that’s the cherry on the top. It’s my first Summer Cup, so you sometimes only ever get one ticket for it, so I just want to enjoy it.”
He concluded, “I’m also so excited that I’ve been getting calls from every walk of life, phoning me to congratulate me on KP’s success and sending me well wishes for this race and wishing me all the best. It’s absolutely amazing, and I think he is becoming a people’s horse. I’ve seen over the years in my racing career, how people automatically think the champion horses are going to win, like an Eight on Eighteen for example. And you know people really love this horse King Pelles. Everyone’s just phoning me to wish me well. I’m very excited and appreciative of the well wishes. It’s amazing.”
