While the legendary El Picha won the race in 1999, Puerto Manzano carried the flag as the second Argentinian-bred horse this century, after Eventuail in 2002, to win the R2,5 million Betway Gr1 Summer Cup at Turffontein on Saturday.
Bouncing back from a below par effort in the 2022 Hollywoodbets Durban July, the 5yo Puerto Manzano capped a fine training performance after two promising prep runs, to give trainer Johan Janse van Vuuren and the well invested Wernars family a first winner in the Highveld flagship.
The charge for the line! (Pic – JC Photos)
The high-riding national log-leading Keagan de Melo put the cherry on top of a month that saw him reach his century of winners in double quick time, when registering a career first Gr1 success.
The Winning Form rider knows Puerto Manzano well and gave the gelding a confident ride, despite bumping heads late in the race with a determined Muzi Yeni on Safe Passage.
Keagan de Melo gets Puerto Manzano home to beat Muzi Yeni and Safe Passage (Pic – JC Photos)
After Light Of The Moon had led Litigation with Safe Passage in touch for much of the 2000m trip, De Melo sent Puerto Manzano (11-2) for home and the mostly unfashionably-bred son of Seek Again rallied well in the final 100m.
At the line Puerto Manzano clocked 122,23 secs and was a half length ahead of the gallant Safe Passage (5-1), with the runner-up’s stablemate Aragosta (8-1) running a cracker for third.
The happy connections lead Keagan de Melo and Puerto Manzano in (Pic – JC Photos)
The winner’s 8yo stablemate Divine Odyssey (125-1) kicked the quartet out of the park in his return from the Eastern Cape, to produce a herculean effort and run fourth, only 1,50 lengths off the winner.
The fancied Sparkling Water (3-1) appeared to have every chance but ran out of the money and just under 6 lengths off the winner.
Registering his maiden Gr1 success, Puerto Manzano has now won 6 races with 8 places from 19 starts for stakes of R2 499 350. He was bred by Dr Ignacio Pavlovsky at Haras Carampangue and is a son of Speightstown’s Gr1 Hollywood Derby winning son Seek Again out of the two time winning Orpen mare, Poser.
Cape Racing boss Justin Vermaak was on course and was full of smiles, for good reason! He was the man who made a return trip to Argentina some years ago to buy the black-type Kay Tee Perry’s sister and needed two colts for the flight – one of which happened to be Puerto Manzano.
Owner Laurence Wernars is on record with the Sporting Post that Puerto Manzano was well priced and by a first season sire, but as a specimen he was the best yearling that Justin Vermaak felt he had seen all year. It all smacks of shades of the El Picha fairytale!
