THE Patrick Payne and Steven Pateman combination continued to dominate the Victorian jumping scene at Sandown yesterday, with the pair taking their shared wins for the season to 11 after a winning double with Capecover and Kerdem, reports The Age.It says: Capecover is unbeaten after four starts over hurdles and will face his biggest test at Warrnambool on July 31 in the $100,000 Kevin Lafferty Hurdle, where he will have to take on arguably the best jumper in the country, Black And Bent, as well

THE Patrick Payne and Steven Pateman combination continued to dominate the Victorian jumping scene at Sandown yesterday, with the pair taking their shared wins for the season to 11 after a winning double with Capecover and Kerdem, reports The Age.

It says: Capecover is unbeaten after four starts over hurdles and will face his biggest test at Warrnambool on July 31 in the $100,000 Kevin Lafferty Hurdle, where he will have to take on arguably the best jumper in the country, Black And Bent, as well as last week's impressive Sandown winner Cats Fun. Pateman will have to give up the ride on Capecover at Warrnambool after committing to ride Black And Bent in whatever jumps races he contests. ''He's the best jumper in Australia,'' he said of the Robert Smerdon-trained galloper.

Capecover ($1.35 favourite) again raced keenly yesterday and after taking the front climbing the hill, got very tired over the final stages, despite winning by three lengths.

''The chink in his armour is that he refuses to settle, but he's a very exciting horse,'' Pateman said. ''As he gets more experience he'll learn that he has to do it at both ends.''

Payne said after the race that Capecover had shown signs that he might have had enough, and would assess how the former Adelaide Cup winner pulled up before confirming his immediate future.

''He's getting up in the weights and meeting better fields, so it's going to get harder from now on,'' Payne said. ''Hopefully we'll get to Warrnambool and then the Grand National, but I won't be too bullish about his chances against Black And Bent, because he is a good old horse and is coming good at the right time.''