Silver Sanctuary gets first serving of Summer Pudding

It’s been twelve years since Mike de Kock saddled Igugu to wear the champion trainer’s only SA Triple Tiara crown, reports SPORTING POST.

On Sunday we saw a spark of hope for the series from the same yard in the shape of the lightly raced Silver Sanctuary, who stepped up to win the R200 000 Listed Summer Pudding Handicap at Turffontein.

Run in previous years as the Syringa Handicap, the mile feature attracted a competitive field of mixed age fairer sex gallopers, but it was Silver Sanctuary who proved equal to the task when she courageously found her way through a tight gap to stamp herself a 2024 SA Triple Tiara candidate.

Scratched from her last start due to a mucus build-up, the 28-10 favourite showed no after effects as she benefitted from a cucumber cool ride by JP van der Merwe, to launch from the box seat inside the 200m and beat her gutsy year older stablemate Bonete (5-1) by three quarters of a length in a time of 98,62 secs.

Van der Merwe said: “Silver Sanctuary enjoyed the run, suffered some interference but put her ears back and gave me more.”

Silver Sanctuary, post-race. (JC Photos).

Mike said: “She was eight pounds out at the weights so this was a very good run from Silver Sanctuary. We wanted to see if we had a Guineas filly, I thought this was her minimum trip, but she is on the up and she will stay. Well done to Drakenstein Stud, a good breeding feat with her dam.”

“Bonete ran a good race too, with front-running tactics she should do well over further too.”

A full-sister to the 2023 Betway Summer Cup hopeful Safe Passage and, like the well-performed Gr1 Daily News 2000 winner, also raced and bred by Drakenstein Stud, Silver Sanctuary is a daughter of our late multiple champion Silvano (Lomitas) out of the four-time winning Antonius Pius mare, My Sanctuary.