Shadow Ofhis Smile is the pick of Woodruff’s duo
Trainer Geoff Woodruff stands on the verge of a glorious J&B Met victory bid with probably the collective most powerful attack in the big race. He also holds a very powerful hand in Tuesday’s topliner at Turffontein where he sends out two decent 4yo’s in Met entrant Rake’s Chestnut and Shadow Ofhis Smile.
The Woodruff duo stand out in the 1600m MR 92 Handicap on the Turffontein inside track and run off joint topweight of 61kgs.
Piere Strydom rides Rake’s Chestnut and it would seem that the son of Horse Chestnut will probably not be taking his place in the Met.
Rake’s Chestnut
“Rake’s Chestnut has not earned his Met berth and, as he is a talented horse, we will be letting him prove himself to us again and building his confidence through the handicaps,” he said.
Woodruff said that Rake’s Chestnut’s last run in the Gr3 London News Stakes on Sunday was not a bad effort in his book.
“Gavin (Lerena) hit the front 500m out and that is difficult on that track. He didn’t do badly and stayed on just three lengths behind Killua Castle – a fair effort!”
Shadow Ofhis Smile
Geoff Woodruff says Shadow Ofhis Smile is his ‘personal choice’
The form and stable preference appears to lie with Gavin Lerena’s mount, Shadow Ofhis Smile.
“He would be my personal first choice,” says the top trainer. That should surely be our cue?
While he has been less exposed than his stablemate at the higher level, Shadow Ofhis Smile has won his 3 races from 14 starts and his penultimate run , when a level-weights short head second to Sabadell, speaks volumes.
Sabadell finished a half-length ahead of Rake’s Chestnut in the London News Stakes on Sunday when giving him a half-kilo.
Woodruff Duo
The Woodruff coupling certainly looks to stand out in the eleven horse field.
Weiho Marwing’s 3yo Illuminati comes out high on our ratings and the son of Lateral has had a tough recent campaign without finishing far behind.
His penultimate run when staying on for fifth in the Gr2 Dingaains may not look that impressive on paper, but the winner did poach it with a 4,25 length victory – and the talented Harry’s Son was only 3,75 lengths in front of Illuminati.
Mike De Kock’s Archipenko gelding Kingston Mines looks to be a decent stayer in the making but the mile looks a touch on the short side for him.
Gold Standard
Of the balance, Mike Bass’ Laurie’s Gold ran a fair race on his Gauteng debut and the 6yo son of Silvano has a fair turn of foot when in the mood.
But we are going with Geoff – Shadow Ofhis Smile is selected to beat Rake’s Chestnut.
