Cape Racing's Winter Series resumes at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday with a nine-race card that includes a pair of Grade 3 events and a Listed race.
Unsurprisingly, Leg 1 winners Rascallion and Princess Izzy line up in the respective Leg 2, bidding to add to the Grade 3 Variety Club Mile and 1400m Listed Sweet Chestnut Stakes successes.
The former, who bounced back to his best with blinkers refitted in the Cape Met over 2000m, confirmed the improvement of that Grade 1 second by winning Leg 1 of the Winter Series under jockey Morne Winnaar - a late replacement for big-race rider Bernard Fayd'Herbe who had tweaked his neck in an earlier riding incident.
The win was a first Graded success for the underrated 43-year-old rider whose services trainer Vaughan Marshall retains aboard well-performed Rascallion who snapped a long winless spell that lasted 15 months, in the Grade 3 Legal Eagle Stakes over 1800m.
This six-year-old Vercingeorix gelding beat re-opposing rivals Future Prince, Greeting My Master, Pacaya and Navy Strength over 1600m in Leg 1 of the Winter Series and is a confident selection to confirm his superiority with a successive Grade 3 victory over the extra 200m in Race 6. Rascallion, given the conditions of the contest, is slung in at the weights and should prove too good for the opposition - on official ratings, Marshall's charge is 4.5kg better off with Pacaya.
The 1100m Grade 3 Winter Nursery (Race 2) is the first of the day's features and is also likely to go the way of the Marshall stable that is doubly represented in the small five-horse field. Richard Fourie sticks with last-start winner Lion Rampart, having won twice and finished third in four starts aboard this One World, so that runner's chances must be taken seriously. However, stablemate One Stripe beat Lion Rampart (fourth) by 3.20 lengths when winning the Grade 3 Cape Of Good Hope Nursery over 1200m in February and Highveld rider Gavin Lerena makes the trip to Cape Town to ride the exciting two-year-old colt who is also a son of Marshall's former Met winner and stable star One World.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 11 Kinda Wonderful, 9 Symphony In White, 3 Be Merry, 5 Shipindani
Race 2: 3 One Stripe, 4 Lion Rampart, 2 Roman Agent, 5 Furious Queen
Race 3: 7 Sound Of The Sea, 6 Stated, 1 Aristotle, 8 All Out For Six
Race 4: 6 Bagatelle Flash, 5 Un Bel Di, 2 Maneki Neko, 8 Approach Shot
Race 5: 5 Sansa Stark, 2 English Mistress, 4 Lucky Thirteen, 1 Milliondollar Girl
Race 6: 5 Rascallion, 1 Future Prince, 8 Rapidash, 4 Pacaya
Race 7: 11 Red Palace, 4 Rainbow Lorikeet, 2 Princess Izzy, 13 Gold Poker Game
Race 8: 5 Allez Moris, 6 Gimme More Time, 8 Two A Penny, 3 Voorloopertjie
Race 9: 12 Dumbledore, 5 Gimmelightning, 3 All About Al, 6 Sun Dazed
BEST BET
Race 2 No 3 One Stripe
VALUE BET
Race 9 No 12 Dumbledore
BEST SWINGER
Race 5 2x5
BIPOT
R72
Leg 1: 3
Leg 2: 1, 6, 7
Leg 3: 2, 5, 6
Leg 4: 2, 5
Leg 5: 5
Leg 6: 2, 4, 11, 13
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R192
Leg 1: 6, 7
Leg 2: 5, 6
Leg 3: 2, 5
Leg 4: 5
Leg 5: 2, 4, 11
Leg 6: 5, 6
Leg 7: 3, 5, 6, 12
PICK 6
R1575
Leg 1: 2, 5, 6
Leg 2: 2, 4, 5
Leg 3: 5
Leg 4: 2, 4, 10, 11, 13
Leg 5: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Leg 6: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12
JACKPOT 1
R75
Leg 1: 2, 4, 5
Leg 2: 3: 5
Leg 3: 2, 4, 10, 11, 13
Leg 4: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
JACKPOT 2
R175
Leg 1: 5
Leg 2: 2, 4, 10, 11, 13
Leg 3: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8
Leg 4: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12