Interview with Fabian Habib and ZEUS' chances in the Betway Summer Cup. Interview and video by Andrew Bon.
Fabian Habib called the five-year-old Soft Falling Rain gelding ZEUS the best he had ever trained in the build up to the Listed Allied Steelrode Java Stakes over 2400m on Saturday [28 October] and he didn’t let him down.
ZEUS came with an effortless finishing run from off the pace for a scintillating 5,25 length victory despite carrying joint topweight of 60kg together with ARUMUGAM.
Regular pilot Gavin Lerena was aboard and his record on this horse improved to eleven rides and eight wins.
ZEUS gave the runner up, the classy stayer, BLACK THORN, 2kg and a resounding beating.
ZEUS, who lost his way last season and dropped from a 108 merit rating to a 94, has won all three of his starts this season over 2600m, 2400m and 2400m easily and has got better with each outing.
The question now is can he drop down in distance and be a force in races like the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup over 2000m and the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m?
He was merit rated 103 in Saturday’s race and it is not clear what his new merit rating will be but it would likely have had to increase significantly for him to stand a chance of getting into the Summer Cup.