Two weeks on and 7-2 second favourite Rock My Soul’s proven stamina and ability to handle the soft still mark him out as a good bet in the Highlands Stud Winter Derby.

Rain yesterday and the forecast of more today looks like turning the ground testing once again and Donovan Dillon’s mount is the only horse in the field to have won over the distance and in the conditions.

Joey Ramsden, bidding for his fourth Winter Derby, cautions that a number of horses in his Milnerton yard have had dirty trachea washes recently but all his runners tomorrow are being tested beforehand.

Rock My Soul

He is also keen on 6-1 chance Ancestry, a horse in whom most punters have lost faith as he has repeatedly failed to cut the mustard this term. “He has been doing very well at home,” advises his trainer who, significantly, is taking the blinkers off. “Rock My Soul stays and seems to go in the wet. As Paddington’s second to African Night Sky last year proved, you don’t have to be a Grade 1 winner to run well in this race.”

Doublemint bids to become the third consecutive Winter Derby winner for Snaith Racing and, at 18-10, the third successful favourite in four years. He has not been further than 1 800m and has not won in the ground. However his stable does not expect problems on either front. “He is by Twice Over who loved the wet,” says Jono Snaith. “In fact the more rain that falls the better for us with horses like Red Ginger (Ladies Mile) running.”

Spring Man (4-1) has won twice over 2 000m and is bred to appreciate the extra here. “We are not worried about the rain and I think he has a good chance,” says Brett Crawford. “We are going to ride him a bit differently this time, more patiently.”

The Snaith second string Love Happens (13-2) was only just behind Spring Man in the Winter Classic and is by Silvano although he has still to prove he can handle the ground.

Helen’s Ideal could be the best bet of the day at 5-1 in the Irridescence. She was impressive on debut and fourth-placed Dirty Nelly boosted the form here on Tuesday.

Charles also did well to win first time but the talented One World looks a tough nut to crack in the Langerman and the Vaughan Marshall colt can prove a worthy 5-2 favourite despite giving weight all round.

Brave Move can extend her winning run to five in the Ladies Mile (but don’t forget Red Ginger, a big price at 18-1) while Fresnaye should land the odds in the Winter Oaks.

By Michael Clower

Handicaps are always tricky races but one of the pointers that can often lead to a winner is taking note of which horses have recently come down in the merit ratings. Another is when a horse drops in class. Combine the two and you have a fair chance of finding a winner, often at a decent price because at face value, the current form doesn’t look all that impressive until one drills down a little.

Racing is at Scottsville on Sunday and two horses that fall into the above categories are Rock Of Africa in the fourth and Cat’s Legacy in the sixth. Rock Of Africa has taken a rating drop while Cat’s Legacy has a rating drop and also takes a significant drop in class.

Rock Of Africa

Rock Of Africa has been competing in top company since arriving in KZN for Champions Season and has paid his way with a couple of placed efforts in useful company. Most recently he was just under five lengths back to Sniper Shot in the Post Merchants.

That form has obviously not impressed the handicappers as he has been dropped four points in the handicap, the equivalent of 2kg. On Sunday he lines up in a handicap lacking in big names and he can round of his Champions Season with a win.

The diminutive Hashtag Strat is an obvious contender but has the steadier of 64kg on her back and she has shown her best form over 1000m, so stable companion Gratuity with apprentice Khanya Sakayi claiming 4kg could be the pick of the Louis Goosen runners.

Apprentice Luke Ferraris has a foot injury so is unlikely to be ready to partner La Ferrari so it will be interesting to see who Tony Rivalland puts in as a replacement.

Cat’s Legacy lines up in the sixth, with Ferraris also scheduled to ride, but Alyson Wright is sure to looked for a similar four-claiming apprentice. Cat’s Legacy has dropped from a career high of 87 in the merit ratings to Sunday’s 73. If Wright stays with a four-claimer, that will be another 8 pounds off his back. Cat’s Legacy has been a touch disappointing after showing some promise early in his career against stronger than what he meets on Sunday so he could prove to be a solid bet on the day.

Internet Kid will be a popular banker in the opening leg of the Pick 6. The fifth race looks to be a difficult affair where punters would do well to load up in the exotics but Je Suis Silver and Geographe Bay could prove the pick.

Duncan Howells hit form at Scottsville on Wednesday with a brace of winners and his pair of Barinois and Queen’s Plain could see you through in the seventh.

Copper Pot and Stand By Me should be right there in a competitive last race but beware of Don Pierro. The gelding has a hot temperament but is talented and he looks to be over his right course and distance.

By Andrew Harrison

The Sean Tarry-trained Redberry Lane provided Lammerskraal Stud with their first Grade 1 winner since Pieter and Jolanda Graaf purchased the farm from former owner Mike Rattray in 2014 when winning the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes at the Vodacom Durban July meeting on Saturday.

Lammerskraal’s great USA-bred champion stallion Western Winter is locked in a posthumous battle with Jet Master for the title of most prolific producer of individual Grade 1 winners in South African history and he moved into the lead again as Redberry Lane provided him with a 23^rd .

Lammerskraal’s stalwart stud manager Sally Jourdan shared the Graaf’s excitement, particularly as Redberry Lane is yet another success story in a burgeoning Lammerskraal-owned family which is full of class.

Redberry Lane (Candiese Marnewick)

Tarry believed the front-running filly’s best chance of beating the brilliant Justin Snaith-trained Captain Al Filly Snowdance was to “gallop her into the ground” so his hopes were dampened when she was unable to get to the front due to the good starts by both Snowdance and Folk Dance inside of her. However, she settled well on the rail behind a keen Snowdance as Final Judgement set a steady pace out in front. It panned out well for Redberry Lane from there. She was able to take the shortest way home on the rail. Meanwhile, Snowdance was carried out in the straight while overtaking the pacemaker and she then hung inward in the latter stages. Champion Jockey elect Lyle Hewitson extracted a late surge from Redberry Lane to get up on the head bob and secure his second career Grade 1 victory.

Snowdance’s defeat was a body blow to the Snaith team, who felt for the punters. As a result they were unable to elevate the meeting to their best ever day in racing, despite having earlier landed the Vodacom Durban July one-two-three as well as fifth place.

Ironically Redberry Lane is a full-sister to the Snaith-trained Grade 1 Cape Guineas and Grade 2 KRA Guineas winner Solo Traveller, who was born in 2007.

Solo Traveller was bred by Lammerskraal Stud and was the first male progeny of broodmare Strawberry Lane. The latter won third time out over 1600m and at stud is fast-becoming a matriarch. Besides the two Grade 1 winners she has produced, her first foal Strawberry Ice, also by Western Winter and born in 2006, was four-times Graded placed and at stud she has produced Flying Ice (Go Deputy), who won the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet and a Listed race and is set to make her USA debut for Barry Irwin’s Team Valor in the late Fall. Strawberry Ice has also produced five-time winner Varsity Cup (Var), two-time winner Rampant Ice (Go Deputy) and a recent winner Strawberry Fire (Silvano) from all her foals. She has a two-year-old Dynasty colt on the ground who will be trained by Singapore-based Pat Shaw. She has another Dynasty colt at foot too.

Strawberry Lane also has a Dynasty two-year-old colt on the ground and is currently in foal to Visionaire, who stands at Lammerskraal.

Redberry Lane and Solo Traveller have three other full-sisters as well as a full-brother, the four-time winner Starret City.

The three full-sisters are three-time winner Rockaberry Lane, three-time winner Strawberry Line and one-time winner Skylar Lane.

Strawberry Line has a Duke Of Marmalade two-year-old filly, a Wylie Hall yearling filly and an Act Of War weanling colt on the ground and is now owned by Summerhill Stud.

Rockaberry Lane has “a magnificent Querari filly” on the ground and is in foal to Var.

Skylar Lane has a Querari filly with the Snaiths and is in foal to Visionaire.

Strawberry Lane’s ascendants are becoming sort after and she is gaining a reputation as big as one of Lammerskraal’s other best matriarchs, Nacarat, from whom the like of Grade 1 winners Nania and Red Ray hail.

Lammerskraal’s other stallion Go Deputy, sire of Triple Crown hero Abashiri, continues to produce, despite being unfashionable. His progeny are also doing well in the Lammerskraal colours at present. Jourdan was asked by Graaf to pick two of Go Deputy’s fillies out of his 2014 crop and she plumped for Flichity By Farr and Insignis. The Alyson Wright-trained Flichity By Farr finished a flying second in the Grade 3 Gold Vase on VDJ day and should be a big runner in the Gold Cup. Insignis is doing well for Geoff Woodruff and finished fourth to Redberry Lane in the Listed Syringa Handicap.

The Stud has always been associated with red and white silks so when Rattray took his colours with him the Graaf’s together with Jourdan designed a set of silks using the same red and white colours.

Nick Jonsson, who part-owns the July one-two Do It Again and Made To Conquer, was on the podium to congratulate Redberry Lane’s connections as the CEO of Garden Province Stakes’ sponsor Jonsson Workwear.

By David Thiselton

Doublemint has been installed 18-10 favourite with World Sports Betting to give weight all round in the Highlands Stud Winter Derby at Kenilworth on Saturday with distance winner Rock My Soul on 7-2.

The Brett Crawford-trained Spring Man is next on 4-1 and Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount Ancestry on 11-2. Other prices are 7-1 Love Happens, 14-1 Ballad Of The Sea, 16-1 Power Tower, 18-1 Man About Town and 22-1 Pacific Chestnut.

For the most part the prices mirror those posted for the original Winter Derby meeting a fortnight ago but the record-priced Charles, who made a winning debut little more than three weeks ago, is a fascinating addition to the Langerman line-up. Corne Orffer’s mount is 3-1 second favourite with the unbeaten One World heading the market at 5-2.

–  Jeff Lloyd’s tip Asharani won in a common canter on debut at Ipswich yesterday. Unfortunately half Australia seemed to know about the filly and she was returned no better than 1-2.

By Michael Clower

It was a tough day in the trenches for punters at Scottsville yesterday with many a favourite falling by the wayside and to make things worse, not even hitting the boards.

Hot favourite Pearl Tiara returned some normality to proceedings in a sweaty finish but the damage had already been done in earlier exchanges in the exotics.

Warfarer (Candiese Marnewick)

Not that visiting jockey Sherman Brown would have cared as replacement riders won three of the eight races with Ashton Arries rounding off a tough day in the last. Callan Murray, (hip operation) and apprentice Luke Ferraris (injured foot) left Brown with two pick-up rides and he got them both home.

Euphotic and Podcast were the main fancies in the opening leg of the PA but both didn’t make the frame as Brown, replacing Ferraris, kept Marchingtogether going strongly to beat home Perpetual Flame and Stream Ahead for Gavin van Zyl.

Brown replaced Murray on Who Says for Duncan Howells and in spite of drifting right across the race course to the outside rail, won well enough, finishing ahead of stable companion Ninjinsky’s Son.

The Australian-bred is an exceptional specimen but has had a myriad of problems. A wind operation, gelding and lots of patience eventually paying off.

The Natal Carbineers Handicap was always going to be a tester for punters but 55-1 chance Warfarer was not at the top of many a punter’s list.

Down the field at his last two, Lezeanne Forbes had him in top condition over his favourite course and distance and he came home full of running ahead of Malinga and Ballymaine.

Linger Longer looked set for another upset in the fifth as she took a commanding lead inside the final furlong but Pearl Tiara and Palace Rose cut into her advantage with every stride to collar her on the line. There was a piece of paper separating Pearl Tiara and Palace Rose with the photo favouring the favourite.

The always consistent Ronnie Rocket finally got it all together for Pat Lunn in the sixth denying apprentice Jabu Jacobs his first winner as Roy’s Magic made a determined effort to challenge.

Falkland pulled off a one-two for Brett Crawford as Corne Orffer got his gelding’s nose in front ahead of stable companion Pata Pata, second, third and fourth over the line all racing in the silks of Mario Ferreira.

There is no substitute for experience when it comes to young horses and Wild Rendezvous, having his tenth outing, put the final nail in the Pick 6 coffin as replacement rider apprentice Ashton Arries got the best out of Mike Miller’s outsider to just hold the favourite Celebration Rock. This was the favourite’s first serious visit to the track and was carrying 2.44 tickets into the last leg of the Pick 6.

By Andrew Harrison