Handicappers have revealed their thinking ahead of Joburg’s premier race.
See It Again, sometimes dismissed as “yesterday’s hero” by racing fans, popped back into serious punters’ considerations when his name appeared at the top of the first 2025 Betway Summer Cup log.
Trainer Michael Roberts’s charge might have slipped from a career-high merit rating of 132 in June 2024, but his consistency and honest efforts in big races since then have kept See It Again among the best horses in the country.
Among the 42 first entries for the Summer Cup, his 125 MR is matched only by a former winner of Joburg’s biggest race, Royal Victory.
Those two names top the log of the 20 horses “most likely to be selected for the R6-million Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup, based on their position at the time the log is published”, according to National Horseracing Authority handicapper Lennon Maharaj.
Next on the list are Gold Cup victor King Pelles, defending Summer Cup champion Atticus Finch and potential raider from Cape Town Okavango.
Notable entries not making the cut include top stayer Future Pearl and the progressive four-year-old Busstopinhounslow.
Still a ‘machine’
See It Again was last seen in action in late July when he finished a brave third to Gladatorian in the 1800m HKJC Champions Cup at Greyville.
Earlier that month, Roberts scratched the gelding from the Durban July due to an abnormal blood count.
In two previous Julys, See It Again was just pipped into second by much better weighted Winchester Mansion, and then fifth, a length off Oriental Charm after a rough passage.
Even if some people think the son of Twice Over’s time has passed, Roberts and his stable jockey Rachel Venniker remain convinced their two-time Grade 1-winning star is still “a machine”.
A series of logs will be published reflecting selectors’ thinking in the lead-up to the 2000m Betway Summer Cup at Turffontein on 29 November.
The final field of 20 will be chosen by the NHA in consultation with operator 4Racing.
While it is not stipulated that winners of races such as the Allied Steelrode Onamission Charity Mile and the Betway Victory Moon Stakes enjoy automatic entry into the Betway Summer Cup, it is unlikely they would be left out of the final field if entered.
Log rankings are based on a combination of factors, including but not limited to:
● Merit ratings
● Recent race form
● Form over the distance
● Performance in key preparatory races
● Form in graded races
The first Summer Cup log (ranking, name, age and sex, merit rating, nett merit rating, runs, wins and trainer)
1 SEE IT AGAIN (6G) 125 – 125 – 26 – 7 Michael Roberts
2 ROYAL VICTORY (6G) 125 – 125 – 27 – 5 Nathan Kotzen
3 KING PELLES (5G) 122 – 122 – 23 – 7 Gareth van Zyl
4 ATTICUS FINCH (6G) 121 – 121 – 25 – 6 Alec Laird
5 OKAVANGO (4G) 120 – 119 – 10 – 3 Justin Snaith
6 CONFEDERATE (4G) 118 – 117 – 11 – 5 Fabian Habib
7 SON OF RAJ (6G) 119 – 119 – 24 – 6 Tony Peter
8 SPUMANTE DOLCE (4F) 117 – 116 – 8 – 3 Mike/Mathew de Kock
9 FIERY PEGASUS (4F) 119 – 118 – 11 – 5 Joe Soma
10 MADISON VALLEY (5G) 115 – 115 – 21 – 5 Frank Robinson
11 ON MY HONOUR (4G) 116 – 115 – 9 – 3 Glen Kotzen
12 OTTO LUYKEN (6G) 116 – 116 – 27 – 5 James Crawford
13 LEGEND OF ARTHUR (4C) 117 – 116 – 11 – 3 Sean Tarry
14 PARISIAN WALKWAY (4G) 117 – 116 – 12 – 2 Alec Laird
15 THE EQUATOR (IRE) (5H) 116 – 116 – 8 – 2 Tony Peter
16 RULE BY FORCE (6G) 117 – 117 – 13 – 3 Joe Soma
17 WILD INTENT (4G) 116 – 115 – 10 – 2 Lucky Houdalakis
18 SOLAR SAIL (4G) 115 – 114 – 12 – 2 Mark Khan
19 OLIVIA’S WAY (4F) 112 – 111 – 13 – 5 Roy Magner
20 WORLD OF ALICE (4F) 106 – 105 – 13 – 2 Sean Tarry
Other first entries in MR order
FUTURE PEARL (6G) 114 – 114 – 26 – 6 Sean Tarry
MARAUDING HORDE (5G) 112 – 112 – 18 – 5 Mike/Mathew de Kock
BUSSTOPINHOUNSLOW (4G) 112 – 111 – 16 – 4 Grant Maroun
GREETING MY MASTER (5G) 110 – 110 – 15 – 4 Alec Laird
POETS WARRIOR (6G) 110 – 110 – 14 – 6 Mike Azzie
ARISTOTLE (4G) 109 – 108 – 10 – 2 Alec Laird
HOTARUBI (5G) 106 – 106 – 27 – 3 Sean Tarry
