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He may have missed out in last season’s John Letts Medal but premier jockey Jake Toeroek added another John Letts Cup to his resume at Morphettville on Saturday.
It was Jake Toeroek's third successive win in the race formerly known as the Tokyo City Cup, now named after an icon of Australian racing, having won the 2021 edition with Regalo Di Gaetano, Morty in 2022 before Pudding turned around his luckless form at the weekend. This was Toeroek's best ride of the lot though, having run a time of 1:48:18, the fastest time run in the race since it lengthened to 1800m in 2010.
"It's been a good race to me,'' Toeroek, who leads the SA Metro Jockey's Premiership by three, said.
Ridden just off the speed, the Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Pudding joining in strongly on the home turn before fighting off a dive from Victorian visitor Captain Envious and the race favourite Party Princess.
"He showed his resilience,'' Toeroek said.
"He's a horse when he hits the front, he's hard to get past, he showed how tough he is.
"I was pretty confident a long way out. It was just a matter of him holding them off late,'' he said.
It was the second leg of a riding double for Toeroek who was in the winner's stall a tick under 30 minutes earlier aboard Ghetto Supastar for Michael Shepherdson.
Talented filly Kinetic Jewel put herself into Rebel Raider Series contention on TAB Finals Day with a dominant heat win earlier in the day.
Kinetic Jewel was the first leg of a riding treble for Kayla Crowther who also scored aboard Sir Kingsford for the Searle/Callanan stable before making it three wins in five races when the talented Sghirripa made it two wins from as many start this time in with a soft two length win, booking a trip to Caulfield in two weeks' time.
"He was just super, he just jogged past them…. He's flying,'' Crowther said.
"He's got such a long stride, he's not at his top yet,'' he said.
Todd Pannell also scored himself a riding double winning with Superior Sam who made it three wins in succession before claiming the last aboard Ocean Reward, a Victorian galloper with a genuine love for Adelaide who now heads to the Gytrash Series Final last this month.
