Woodruff makes winning return..by Leon Setaro

Earl of Surrey (pic Gold Circle) bolted away at the top of the
Greyville stretch to win the Drill Hall Stakes on Friday night from
a fast finishing Tropical Empire and River Jetez.

Trainer Geoff Woodruff has been a stranger to these parts for ages now and one has to look as far back as August last year to find when he last had a runner in KZN.

The 2008 winter season proved to be a drawn out and forgettable experience for the stable producing only 7 winners from 78 attempts in KZN (May to July) and more importantly, not a listed/graded feature victory in sight!

This year however they've bounced right back for immediate pay-dirt, bagging the R350k Drill Hall Stakes with the first Woodruff runner of the KZN season - Earl of Surrey. Over the last 12 days the stable has found a rich vein of form to reel off 13 wins from 32 runners, a strike rate of 41% and perfect timing for the 2009 KZN season of champions!

Strydom and woody are a deadly team.