Rose In Bloom is hard to oppose in the Vasco Prix Du Cap at Kenilworth’s Prawn Festival meeting tomorrow and she should become the race’s third consecutive winning favourite.
Robert Khathi’s mount has an outstanding chance on her third in the Klawervlei Majorca and on adjusted ratings she has a minimum of 4kg (three and a half lengths over this trip) in hand over all bar Goodtime Gal.
Three-year-olds have only won three of the last ten runnings but, significantly, all three were trained by Joey Ramsden. The obvious danger is another of the same age group, Miss Katalin, who is on a hat-trick.
The Justin Snaith filly justified favouritism in a conditions plate last month and on her previous start she won the valuable Lanzerac Ready To Run. She could well be still on the upgrade and was 15-4 second favourite with World Sports Betting yesterday.
Elusive Heart, the third three-year-old, is an 11-2 chance and it is perhaps worth noting that she was only one place behind when Rose In Bloom ran sixth in the Fillies Guineas.
Goodtime Gal, so effective earlier in the season, seemed to have lost her edge in the Paddock and Majorca so it is far from certain that she will run up to her best and she is a 17-2 shot.
Love To Boogie (7-1) is the shorter priced of the Andre Nel pair and Captain’s Flame (11-1) has to give her a kilo but it’s worth noting that the latter would have done much better last time had she not over-raced early.
Aldo Domeyer is the only jockey in the race to have won it before (or at least since 2003) but 10-1 shot Whose That Girl has it do. Also she is drawn on the outside although, as this is the smallest Prix Du Cap field in the last 14 years, that may not be such a handicap as in previous seasons.
Brett Crawford, successful with Cuvee Brut in 2016, has each way prospects with Seattle Gold (9-1) and Louisiana (15-1) who were seventh and ninth in the Majorca.
The Kepu Trading Jet Master Stakes is pretty much a handicap with just 2.5kg separating the best from the worst on adjusted merit ratings and the betting reflects this – 9-2 favourite Summer Sky and no bigger than 8-1 any of the others with the exception of Mac De Lago (25-1).
Waiting For Rain is in form, and so are his jockey and trainer. This is a step up in class but he looks reasonable each way value at 7-1.
By Michael Clower


