Sean Cormack retains the ride on Cold As Ice after winning the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m on her, while Karl Neisius, who has won four of the last ten runnings of the Sceptre, will be aboard her Joey Ramsden-trained stablemate Miss Saigon.
Ramsden last won this race in 2010 with the rank 40/1 outsider Badger’s Cove, who was ridden by Kelvin Jupp, although her odds were probably generous considering she had finished second the previous year.
Ramsden was taking care of the Gary Alexander-trained Blueridge Mountain when she won the Sceptre two years ago.
Blueridge Mountain was ridden by Glen Hatt, who unfortunately, being sidelined by a wrist problem, won’t be able to go for a hattrick, having won it last year aboard the Brett Crawford-trained Reflective Image.
Cold As Ice – Laisserfaire Stakes (Liesl King)
Ramsden and Hatt also won the Sceptre in the 2005/2006 season with the three-year-old Starlit.
Three-year-olds have won five of the last ten runnings, so a lot points to Cold As Ice on Saturday.
Cold As Ice, who provided one of the season’s disappointments when breaking through the stalls and running back to the parade ring before the Gr 1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas, is packed with natural speed and led from start to finish in the Laisserfaire. She only had to be given a couple of backhanders to keep her contemporary three-year-old Rosier at bay and beat her by 1,75 lengths despite conceding 3,5kg.
Rosier, who is by Kildonan and is trained by Glen Kotzen, is in Saturday’s race, but stable jockey Greg Cheyne has not surprisingly preferred to ride the classy three-year-old Judpot filly Double Whammy.
Kotzen and Cheyne won the Sceptre with the three-year-old Lady Windermere in 2009, who like Double Whammy was a sprint-miler, and she went on to be named Equus Champion three-year-old filly.
Double Whammy was beaten 1,25 lengths by Cold As Ice in the wfa Gr 2 Choice Carriers Championships over 1400m in November, but that was when she was still in the habit of doing the donkey work out in front. When tactics were changed in the Cape Fillies Guineas, which was her last start on December 6, she showed a blistering turn of foot from behind. In the end she was only 2,9 lengths behind the mighty Majmu and 0,4 lengths behind Inara, who went on to win the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m last Saturday.
Double Whammy will probably prefer the 1200m trip to the mile and if there is a strong headwind like there was last Saturday it will suit her down to the ground. She could offer good each/way value, considering there are only seven horses in the field and therefore two places to pay, because she could possibly cause an upset, but if failing to do so she could well finish second.
The only pure sprinters in the field are Rosier and the Justin Snaith-trained five-year-old Var mare Varikate. The latter also looks well held by Cold As Ice as she will be 3kg worse off with her despite a 3,5 length defeat in the Laisserfaire.
Miss Saigon (Nkosi Hlophe)
Varikate beat two other entries, Priceless Jewel and Lanner Falcon, narrowly in the Gr 2 wfa Southern Cross Stakes over 1000m, but both of the latter pair will much prefer the 1200m trip.
Priceless Jewel was only 3,4 lengths behind the Gr 1 winner Captain Of All in the wfa Diadem Stakes over 1200m last time out and will now be having her third run after a rest. She is classy and is merit rated eight points higher than Lanner Falcon, so looks to be the one to fill a trifecta position together with Cold As Ice and Double Whammy.
Lanner Falcon beat Miss Saigon by two lengths over 1500m last time out, although she was receiving 2kg. Before her Southern Cross Stakes effort, she finished just 1,35 lengths back in fourth in the Gr 2 Merchants over 1200m to the useful sprinter Tevez. That was a handicap and she only had to carry 53,5kg, but she is a contender for a first three spot if repeating that run.
Miss Saigon hasn’t run in a sprint since August 2013 and that makes her quite an interesting runner because on that occasion she was only 3,5 lengths in fourth behind the champion Princess Of Victoria. Neisius’ record in this race speaks for itself, so this five-year-old Captain Al mare can’t be ignored.
