Klawervlei Stud will therefore be in a good position as they have six Western Winters on the forthcoming Cape Thoroughbred Sales (CTS) Cape Premier Yearling sale, which takes place next week on Thursday and Friday at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Included among them are a half-sister to the Equus Champion Three-year-old colt Vercingetorix, a half-brother to the dual Gr 1 winner Thunder Dance and a half-brother to the useful Paterfamilias.

Maine Chance Farms Stud are consigning a Western Winter colt out of the Gr 1 Cape Fillies Guineas winner Field Flower.

Avontuur Estate consign a Western Winter colt out of In Camera, who is a four-time winning half-sister to the Gr 1 winner Give Me Five.

There are a total of eleven Western Winters at the sale, six colts and five fillies.

Western Winter, who stood at Lammerskraal Stud, was champion sire three times and has sired 20 Gr 1 winners to date.

The (CTS) Cape Premier Yearling Sale next week is considered to have an extremely strong catalogue and a good turn out of international buyers is expected.

Picture: VERCINGETORIX – A half-sister to Equus Champion 3-year-old colt Vercingetorix by Western Winter will be available at the forthcoming Cape Thoroughbred Sales (CTS) Cape Premier Yearling sale (Nkosi Hlophe)

Red Ray, a top class speedster by Western Winter formerly trained by Joey Ramsden and now trained by Mike de Kock, will run in the Gr 2 Al Fahidi Fort on turf over 1400m.

Marcus, who is retained by Jooste, has had tremendous success in his infrequent raids of Dubai.

He has only ever had three rides there, but has won two of them and finished second in the other.

His wins were on the Herman Brown-trained Jay Peg in the Gr 1 US$5 million Dubai Duty Free in 2008 and on the Ramsden-trained Variety Club in the US$1 million Godolphin Mile last year.

After the Dubai trip, Marcus will fly back and ride the Charles Laird-trained Normanz in the Gr 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship on January 24 and has also been declared to ride the Laird-trained Beloved Country in the R1 million Cape Thoroughbred Sales Stakes on the same day.

Marcus ruptured a tendon in his thumb when his mount Admiral’s Eye jumped a patch and faltered badly in a 1600m event at Greyville on November 9.

Betting World marked out Durban July winner Legislate from evens to 5-2, the same price as Triple Crown winner Louis The King who was a 6-1 chance prior to his second in the Queen’s Plate.

Arion, who returned to winning form in the Glorious Goodwood Peninsula Handicap, has been slashed from 66-1 to 14-1 but Act Of War is on the drift, going out from 7-1 to 10-1. Queen’s Plate third Gold Onyx is now a 40-1 chance from 100-1.

“We were very confident about her on Guineas day but the horse next to her played up,”says Adam Marcus. “Fear Not is a big filly and she reared with Anthony, injuring his leg in the process.

“But she has a lot of ability and we expected her to run as well as she did on debut although I think she will really come into her own when she goes round the turn.”

Fear Not, who will be ridden by Grant van Niekerk this time, opened at 6-4 with Betting World on Monday. Upper Echelon was favourite at 6-10.

Yogas Govender’s filly drops in trip after leading briefly over a furlong out in a 1 400m maiden last time and then finding no extra in the last 200m. She could be hard to beat despite the confidence in Fear Not.

Adam Marcus

But don’t overlook Indemnity who could be each way value at 10-1. She also comes back in distance and Vaughan Marshall says: “Her best run was over 1 200 and I am putting blinkers on her this time.  I think this is going to be the secret. She went very well when I put them on for her work on Saturday. “

Carmina looked a certain future winner when making up a lot of ground in the final 100m on debut and would look the part in the opening Maiden Juvenile – indeed she opened at 1-2. But she has drifted out to 6-4 as Richard Fourie has opted for the stable’s newcomer Jo’s Bond (backed from 5-2 to 8-10).

“I thought Carmina’s race was very weak,” explains Justin Snaith. “Jo’s Bond was to have been my horse for the first two-year-old race of the season and she is the pick although she is naughty.”

Smart D’Argent ran poorly in a work riders’ race last time but on previous form the 5-1 chance can beat Pacific Coral and Trackmaster in race three and Quick Step Rosie (9-2) may follow up for Mike Bass in the Seasons Of Champions Maiden (race five).

Forte De Ouro showed that staying is his game when stepped up to the 2 500m of the Rugby 5 Maiden two races ago and Fourie’s mount looks the one they all have to beat. Yesterday’s 9-2 is a good price.

Ferdnand The Bull has his first run since the Matchem over three months ago in the Soccer 4 Handicap and Greg Ennion reports: “He pulled glutal muscles in his hindquarters. He is above average but he was in a paddock for six weeks so he will probably need the run.”

Space Launch caught the eye when winning a maiden on Christmas Eve and opened at 1-2 but Bold Var makes more appeal at 7-2 despite being raised 1.5kg for last time’s second.

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.