Soqrat vs Hawwaam – Handicapper Explains

Soqrat – class act faces Hawwaam on Saturday (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

The respective merit ratings of Mike de Kock’s two stablemates Soqrat (133) and Hawwaam (131), who run in Saturday’s World Sports Betting Gr1 Premier’s Champions Challenge at Turffontein, were question recently by a Sporting Post reader.

Donald Bradshaw asked for an explanation as to why Soqrat is rated what he is and Hawwaam, below him.

NHRA Chief Handicapper Lennon Maharaj kindly explained.

He says that Hawwaam attained his current rating in the Classic last April and has not been adjusted since.

His subsequent form has been consistent with this rating level which places him 3-4 pts below Do It Again, Vardy and Rainbow Bridge.

Unlike Soqrat, he has not conceded weight to his field in a Grade 1 race and neither has he run the current top-rated Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge close in a Grade 1 races where both have produced their best, as has Soqrat.

Soqrat attained a rating of 134 (124 before the blanket 10 Points population increase) after his second to Do It Again in the 2019 Queen’s Plate, which was then reduced to 131 after he failed to reproduce that rating in the 2019 Durban Winter season.

We then raised him to 133 after his win in the Victory Moon Stakes Gr3 when carrying 62kgs and beating Green Haze 51kg (currently rated 116) by 2.25 lengths at the Vaal in November, a rating he confirmed when running second in the Summer Cup carrying top weight.

These two efforts, both conceding weight to his field, confirmed that at his best he was still capable of the 131+ effort he had achieved in the 2019 Queens Plate.

His last two runs have, however, been below his normal form and after careful consideration we felt it prudent to allow Soqrat one more opportunity to prove his rating.

Saturday’s Champions Challenge at Turffontein provides us with the opportunity to reassess his current ability.