Mathew Gives Drumnadrochit a Pass Mark

Mathew de Kock said on Monday that punters and supporters of De Kock Racing’s four-year-old Drumnadrochit (Rafeef) should not lose confidence in the filly following her fifth place in Sunday’s TAB Grade 3 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at TAB Turffontein.

Drumnadrochit (5-2) was the second favourite for this important Betway Summer Cup pointer and Mat commented: “Considering the challenges she faced, we gave her a pass mark. We won’t be panicking.

“She had to start from the widest draw, settled at the back and then stayed on, beaten just 4.80 lengths on a wet track. Her form on soft going is not great, but she stuck it out and ran an honest race. It was always going to be difficult for her, given the shape of the race and the conditions. She actually still had some mud and dirt coming from her nose this morning as a result of the kickback.”

Drumnadrochit shortened from 25-1 to 14-1 for Johannesburg’s flagship race following her runaway win in a Pinnacle Plate on 19 September. She has since eased marginally on the Lucky Fish boards to 16-1.