Nathan Williamson’s race strategy worked out well yesterday in the House Of Travel Lakers Summer Cup.
Driving Franco Santino and drawing the outside of the front line he knew he had the gate speed to cross all of the inside runners and that’s what he did.
“I was quite keen to leave the gate but I had to work a lot harder than I thought to cross, so I elected to trail Bettathanfast which was good. He’s a rolling horse that was never going to hand up. He was a good target to follow,” he said.
Bettathanfast took Franco Santino to the passing lane and the two horses fought out a sterling finish, Franco Santino winning by a head.
“He was travelling that good turning for home but I struggled to get him to the inside. He flattened out when he got there. They ripped home in 27.”
The overall winning time was 2-43.7.
It’s the second time Williamson has won the Summer Cup, also winning with Costa Del Magnifico in 2017.
Owned by Neville Cleaver, Franco Santino has now won eight races. His racing has been restricted each season to a limited number of starts, as the stable waited for him to mature.
“He still needs probably another six months to develop. His hind quarters aren’t real strong yet. He’s racing really well so you can’t knock him too much.”
The rescheduled Omakau Cup at Wyndham and the Invercargill Cup the week after are two of his immediate targets.
“The Northern Southland Cup is also coming up so there’s plenty for him”
Bruce Stewart