But when he heard Jason Rulz's winning time of 3.11.4, it all made sense. The Greg and Nina Hope-trained 6yr-old eclipsed Lady Toddy's 10-year-old track record by 0.2sec in an extremely competitive cup which had a host of chances in the straight.
''He had nothing up his sleeve but no wonder,'' May said.
''I was three-wide cover, but he had nothing up his sleeve - he was all out today which is unusual for him really.''
''I had to drive him as hard as I ever have. But he pricked his ears 100m out - he thought he was going to win easy.''
The 2014-15 season did not begin well for Jason Rulz. He was nominated for the New Zealand Cup, but sub-par runs in the Hannon Memorial and the Canterbury Classic had his Woodend Beach trainers, Greg and Nina Hope, scratching their heads.
''We couldn't get his blood right before the [New Zealand] cup meeting, so we pulled the pin on the cup and ever since we pulled the pin, he's slowly improved,'' Greg Hope said.
A fourth in the junior free-for-all on New Zealand Cup day was followed up by a second in the Green Mile at Methven and a fourth in the Ashburton Cup on Boxing Day when he ended up parked.''
Even the Ashburton Cup was a good run,'' Hope said.''
He's a follow-the-speed type of horse, not a parked horse. It's not his cup of tea.''
Hope indicated Jason Rulz was likely to head to the Summer Cup at Addington at the end of the month for his next start, after he ruled out starts in the Northern Southland and Invercargill Cups.
Jason Rulz did not make himself known in the group 3 feature until late in the piece, and his part-owner Richard Dellaca appeared to be following his horse's mantra.
Not even a call over the PA system encouraged Dellaca to appear in the birdcage for the cup presentation, despite having made an appearance after Jason Rulz's win in last year's cup.
''I think he's scared about having to make a speech,'' Hope said.
