The only winner in the Western Cape over the past couple of weeks has been the weather. Record rains have been logged in the province since 1 June and it has played havoc with the winter racing programme.
As a result, it has created a backlog of feature races which Cape Racing are hoping to resolve at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
There is a 10-race card of which four of them are either Graded or Listed races. There are two Listed races for two-year-olds over 1200m – the Somerset 1200 and the Perfect Promise Sprint for fillies – as well as the Listed World Sports Betting Stormsvlei Stakes for fillies and mares over 1800m and the WSB Grade 3 Pocket Power Stakes over 1950m.
The last two races mentioned comprise the third and final leg of the Winter Series.
In previous years the Winter Series was open specifically to three-year-olds but that was changed because the better three-year-olds are generally in KwaZulu-Natal for the winter season fighting it out for the bigger prize money.
Justin Snaith-trained Top Quality contested this race last year when it was over 2400m and finished a 0.90-length third behind Winchester Mansions but after winning his next start, this son of Dynasty was out of action for a little over nine months. He made his return earlier this month and made it a winning one.
While he is not among the best weighted runners, having missed so much racing he could still be a lot better than his merit rating suggests and could pick up his first Graded success. Jockey JP van der Merwe rode him to victory last time and is back in the irons once again.
Stablemate Itsrainingwilliam, who is one of the best weighted runners, looks the main danger. This three-year-old gelding finished third in Leg 1 and then won the second leg, the Legal Eagle Stakes over 1800m.
Richard Fourie, who is usually Snaith’s first-choice jockey, takes the ride, but one should not read too much into that because Snaith tends to stick with jockeys who win on a runner and Van der Merwe did just that.
Gold Poker Game looks the runner to follow in the Stormsvlei Stakes for fillies and mares as she is not only the best weighted runner, but also the filly with the best form.
Trained by Candice Bass-Robinson, the three-year-old daughter of Gold Standard has a feature race win to her name and then did well to finish a 1.70-length fourth in the Grade 3 Cape Oaks in January.
She was subsequently rested and made her comeback in the Listed Ladies Mile where she finished third behind Going Up despite suffering some serious interference 150m from home.
She will enjoy the additional 200m this time and looks one of the better bets on the card.
Clive Robinson
