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Trainer Joey Soma upstaged some big guns to win the R2 million Sansui Summer Cup over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday with the outsider Wagner.

Ridden by S’Mango Khumalo, Wagner gave Soma his second upset win in a Highveld G1 in 18 months after the popular Gauteng trainer landed the R2 million President’s Champion Challenge with Happy Landing over the same course and distance in May last year.

Wagner left punters reeling as the four-year-old led from start to finish to win from to other unwanted runners Shogunnar, Ilsanpietro and Astro News.

With the outsiders filling the placings the quartet paid a massive dividend of close to R950 000.

It was an emotional result for Soma as he dedicated the win to his late wife Cheryl, who lost her battle with cancer earlier this year.

Wagner, like Happy Landing, races in the silks of leading owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste and has improved since being gelded in September but only just snuck into the handicap carrying 52,5kg off a merit rating of 96.

The Mike De Kock-trained Mujaarib was all the rage with his stable companions Silver Flyer and Vettel the only others in single figures but Khumalo stole the race when he took Wagner to the front from the start.

Wagner kept on finding in the straight to stave off a persistent Shogunnar by a half length. Ilsanpietro, giving the first two 5kg and 3.5kg respectively, ran the best race on handicap terms to finish third, another half length back.