THE Hassen Adams camp enjoyed a huge celebration when four-year-old Jet Master gelding Past Master won the Cape’s premier horseracing event, the R2.5-million J&B Met over 2000m at Kenilworth last Saturday. It was a first win in the big race for all of the gelding’s connections.

Past Master drifted to 16-1 from a morning call of 10s but that was no reflection of his connections’ confidence.

His trainer, Milnerton-based Darryl Hodgson who has trained horses for Adams since 1984 and now has 40 of the owners’ thoroughbred in his care, said yesterday: "Obviously his run in the Queen’s Plate (in which he finished sixth behind Mother Russia) put a bit of a damper on our enthusiasm.

"I still can’t explain what happened there, although Gerrit (Schlechter, Hodgson’s unofficial stable jockey) said he jumped a patch or sprawled going over the junction and was never balanced after that. In fact, Gerrit thought something had gone wrong.’’

Given that Past Master - "a lovely natured horse, although a bit cheeky at times’’ - had spent a year on the sidelines recovering from a suspensory injury - which is still some cause for concern - the jockey, unsurprisingly, did not push the gelding to his limits in the Queen’s Plate.

"That run did put a kernel of doubt in our minds, even though his prep went very well,’’ said Hodgson. "And going into the race I was pretty confident. I thought we only had one horse to beat, and that was Mother Russia. That’s how it worked out.’’

Alongside the favourite, as runners turned for home, Schlechter got first run on the mare, who found herself in a pocket between Tales Of Bravery and Past Master. Anton Marcus had to switch her round Past Master for a clear run and she could not make up the deficit.

"It’s unbelievable ... a huge thrill. And I’m still responding to telephone calls and sms’ from well-wishers; some of them I haven’t seen or spoken to in years!’’

Many pundits did not believe that Past Master would see out the 2000m because of the ease with which he won the 1200m Diadem Stakes in December. However, before getting injured, he had beaten top-class Noordhoek Flyer over 1600m and his connections had no doubt that he would stay every meter of the trip.

In many purists’ minds, given the slow pace of the Met, the jury is still out, but Hodgson says: "Obviously, given his speed over 1200m, the slow pace played into our hands, but I wouldn’t have minded a good pace either. We’ll see later on in the season. The proof will be in the pudding - when he runs against the top horses in the country in the Vodacom Durban July.’’

The July, a race that Hodgson has not won before although Schlechter took the trophy aboard Eyeofthetiger in 2006, is the bulls eye Past Master is targeting, although he will probably take in the Drill Hall Stakes and Gold Circle Challenge along the way.

Hodgson is no stranger to big-race success, having conditioned such good horses as I’m Taking It (won several feature races, including the 1991 Queen’s Plate), ultra-classy Vesta, 1991 Majorca Stakes winner I’m Livania, Heavyweight and Wine Of Origin.

And while he admits that none of the other horses in his care currently are "quite in Past Master’s class’’, he and his assistant, military-man Dun Katz, do rate a number of them well above average, including "my old favourite, Casey Cool, who is now seven. We call him the ATM because he’s so consistent and earns a cheque nearly every time he runs’’.

Then there are horses like Comebackanddance, "who is slightly above average’’ and finished fourth behind Gibraltar Blue in last season’s Gold Circle Fillies Guineas, 2010 Laisserfaire Stakes winner Comet Chaser and Bayard, who attracted shrewd money in Race 1 at Kenilworth last Saturday but finished third.

"Bayard will be a really nice horse once he matures,’’ says Hodgson. "He was very badly cut into on Saturday - had to have stitches and get bandaged on Sunday morning, which explains why he didn’t go on with it. He’s definitely one to watch.

"Wikipedia was also fancied in Race 9 on Saturday, but raced too freely. In hindsight, Gerrit should have tucked her in. Instead he let her bowl along and she ran herself into the ground. She’s a very nice filly.

"I’ve got a nice little string and I think all of our horses will win their fair share of races. Whether some will turn out to be of Past Master’s calibre, let’s wait and see.’’