Trainer Candice Bass-Robinson and Drakenstein Stud supremo Gaynor Rupert have established a formidable partnership not only in the Western Cape, but across South Africa.
They have achieved success at the highest level with star fillies such as Inara and Clouds Unfolds and have, more recently, added to their Grade 1 tally as a combination with Trip Of Fortune and star colt Charles Dickens.
Their success when combining is likely to roll on at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday 14 June when a nine-race card features the two Listed juvenile events that had to be rescheduled after the second half of last Sunday’s Cape Town meeting succumbed to inclement weather.
After three consecutive seconds to begin her career, Drakenstein-bred Distant Winter has followed up with back-to-back wins for Bass-Robinson over 1200m and 1100m. She is held in high regard by her connections and went some way to justifying that reputation by taking out the Grade 3 Fillies Winter Nursery last time out.
This daughter of What A Winter has been rerouted to the Somerset 1200m (Race 6), having initially been engaged to run against her own sex in the Listed Perfect Promise Sprint (Race 5). As the only multiple race-winner in the nine-runner line-up, Distant Winter has to shoulder 60kg but should, as a result, represent good value under Aldo Domeyer and can be backed to give weight and a beating to her two-year-old male rivals.
Drakenstein’s leading lady is represented in the fillies’ equivalent by promising Justin Snaith-trained debut winner Summer Lily. This daughter of Gimmethegreenlight looked a potential star in the making when drawing right away from her rivals over 1200m six weeks ago and her return to the course and distance in Race 5, with Richard Fourie again in the irons, could bring further success. She will, however, need to have improved with that experience given that stablemate Siddeley and Bass-Robinson’s October Morn are likely to mount a serious challenge.
Bass-Robinson can also count on Diamond Rock to deliver success for the yard in Race 1 over 1400m, as the two-year-old son of Erupt needn’t improve a great deal – if at all – to open his account. He has progressed with each outing and was a fast-finishing second in his last start, when going over this trip for the first time, and a repeat of that effort should get the job done under Domeyer.
Elsewhere on the card, Glen Kotzen sends out a pair of two-year-old Gold Standard fillies who it could pay to follow. Analytic just failed to reel in the winner over 1400m last time and is likely to go close again when she returns to the same course and distance in Race 2. Stablemate Royals steps into open company for the first time come Race 8, also over 1400m, but appears to have been placed by her conditioner. She has improved in her two starts over this distance and wasn’t winning out of turn last time when going start to finish from a wide draw.
Kotzen’s youngster needs to take another step forward in her development to be competitive but is more than likely to do so, given she has most scope for improvement of the 11 runners, so is probably worth a good eachway bet.
Clive Robinson
