Atticus Finch mocks the Summer Cup favourites

Atticus Finch produced a storming finish to win the R6-million Betway Summer Cup at Turffontein over 2000m on Saturday.

Trained by Alec Laird and ridden by Calvin Habib, the five-year-old gelding started at odds of 20-1 – continuing a modern trend of outsiders winning Joburg’s premier horse race.

Long-time race leader Purple Pitcher (14-1) stayed on to finish second, with 35-1 chance Rule By Force and 100-1 longshot Madison Valley finishing strongly to grab third and fourth places.

The Quartet bet on the Summer Cup, predicting the first four past the post, paid a whopping R224,438.

The 4-1 favourite See It Again – carrying 6kg more than the winner – was well placed throughout the race but couldn’t match the finishing speed of the placers and ended up fifth.

Defending champion Royal Victory (also 4-1) finished sixth after travelling well back for most of the journey.

The filly France Ethel, partnered by visiting UK champion jockey Oisin Murphy, finished ninth without ever threatening.

Six wins from 18 starts

An emotional Laird said afterwards that Atticus Finch’s victory had come at a perfect time for the stable, which had been “a bit slow lately”.

Habib said he and the trainer had been quietly confident, with the horse working well and having a copybook preparation.

It was the gelding’s sixth win from 18 starts and his first at the highest level.

Interestingly, Atticus Finch started at a shorter price (11-2) for last year’s Summer Cup when he finished unplaced.

Jumping from gate No 2, Atticus Finch – named after a fictional character in Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill A Mockingbird – was placed a few lengths off the early pace by Habib.

Purple Pitcher stretched the field out with a brisk gallop, with Litigation, Frances Ethel, Beating Wings and See It Again in attendance. In the straight, Purple Pitcher kept rolling at a dangerous rate, with See It Again and Main Defender showing intent. But Atticus Finch came swooping by and went on to win by more than a length.