“It was one of those make or break moments. Piere Strydom was shifting in and Anthony Delpech was rolling out. But I wasn’t alone – the Master was with me and we so wanted the Summer Cup again.”
In an exclusive chat with the Sporting Post, Sansui Summer Cup winning rider Gavin Lerena described the heartstopping moment when the gates to glory were closing on his Cup double dreams.
Watch the dramatic gap taker…
He says that the situation was a lot more dramatic on the ground in real time than it appeared on television.
“I watched the replay last night. It didn’t do what really happened justice. It was a lot more dramatic while it was unfolding!”
Asked how the race worked out, he was complimentary of his mount and the preparation he had enjoyed.
“It wasn’t the greatest of races in terms of early luck. Master Sabina hasn’t got the pace to secure a good early position and they kept us out. But I knew that if we were close enough in the run for home, then we would have a massive chance of winning. He is a horse that will grind away and give his all for the full 700m run home. He came in fit and beautifully prepped. It made all the difference in the end,” said Gavin of a horse he described as a lionhearted warrior who loved to win.
The former SA champion says that there was little doubt in his mind that he would win it over the final 400m.
“Master Sabina was full of running and when the gap closed, the fact that he was going faster than the scrum was the clincher. Many horses of lesser character would have shirked – thrown their heads up or dug their toes in. Not him. He has no fear and is hungry to win!”
Gavin Lerena salutes as Master Sabina has July winner The Conglomerate (Piere Strydom) chasing
We asked Gavin if doubt or alternatives ever crossed his mind at that crucial climax.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I considered my options. But that is something that is second nature when race-riding. We always have to be looking to get out of trouble if it finds us – and then to make that split second call. I will say it again – having the right horse on my side made this battle winable,” he said.
And what did he say to his colleagues ahead of him?
“Look, that’s not printable. That’s also race-riding,” he laughed
Gavin Lerena – with the 2015 title he is set to defend next week
We posed the question of what would have happened if he hadn’t got there in time.
“’That’s speculation, but I may have had grounds to object. But we don’t need boardroom intervention in Gr1’s. I had that last year. It spoils the occasion for the public and the connections,” he quipped.
Did he hear the roar of the crowd?
“It is like the twilight zone. The crowd is there. But we are all focus and concentration. At the pull-up it is a different story though.”
Did runner-up Piere Strydom congratulate him?
“Nope. Why would he? We are all in it to win it.”
As for his other rides on the day, Gavin suggests we don’t write off Doosra as not having stayed the mile in the Dingaans.
“In view of the rain at the Vaal, he didn’t get as much work as he probably needed and I ideally would have preferred to have had him two or three lengths further back than he was. Don’t write him off!”
Gavin donates R1000 for each group winner to the Highveld Horse Care Unit – and the total for November is R5000!
He leaves for Hong Kong on 5 December, where he will defend his title at the Longines International Jockeys’ Challenge at the Happy Valley Racecourse.
“I am looking forward to riding again in Hong Kong. There is plenty of luck in drawing the right horses but let’s see what happens. It’s a great competition and I am honoured to be part of it,” he added, saying that his ‘Manager Dad’ Tex would be accompanying him.
Just 48 hours before his departure for the East, Gavin rides Starling Stakes winner She’s A Giver in Saturday’s Cape Fillies Guineas.
Gavin wins the Starling Stakes on New Predator
“I worked her at Kenilworth last Wednesday. She was very green but she is fit and well. I would have preferred a better draw, but she is a top-class filly.”
He added that New Predator was up against some stiff opposition of the ilk of Marinaresco and Legal Eagle on the same afternoon in the Green Point Stakes, but that the Charity Mile winner had also worked at Kenilworth.
“New Predator worked like a pro on the left-handed turn on Wednesday He is an intelligent horse and took to the new surroundings in his stride,” said Gavin.
