Winchester Mansion has had his merit rating raised from 112 to 121 following his triumph in the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday 1 July.
When deciding on a line horse, the Handicappers considered that 2nd placed SEE IT AGAIN is unexposed, having previously been unbeaten in 2 Grade 1 races over 2000m.
The thrilling finish to the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
It was also noted that he beat the rest of his rivals by at least 3.5 lengths.
BLESS MY STARS is also unexposed, especially in open company and was also six pounds under sufferance at the weights. The Handicappers were of the opinion that both SEE IT AGAIN and BLESS MY STARS did not make for suitable line horses given the observations stated above.
The Handicappers were unanimous in their view that, despite being momentarily held up for a clear run at the top of the straight, the remarkable 4th placed DO IT AGAIN made for the most suitable line horse.
This leaves DO IT AGAIN unchanged on a mark of 121. In rating the race this way 5th placed SECOND BASE also runs to his rating, effectively making him a line horse as well and leaving him unchanged on a mark of 120.
There were also ratings increases for runner-up SEE IT AGAIN, who is up from 124 to 131, and for 3rd finisher BLESS MY STARS, who was six pounds or three kgs under sufferance at the weights and beat the line horses by 2 pounds, consequently she goes up from 109 to 117.
There were no other ratings increases, but three horses received a drop. SAFE PASSAGE is down slightly from 123 to 122, RASCALLION was trimmed from 122 to 121, and lastly POMP AND POWER was dropped from 123 to 120.
- Gr1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes
PRINCESS CALLA, who was rated to win on official Merit Ratings, remains unchanged on a rating of 127 after she captured the Grade 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes for fillies and mares on WFA terms over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
The Handicappers unanimously agree that PRINCESS CALLA herself made for the ideal line horse, hence her unchanged rating. Furthermore, in assessing the race this way 2nd placed DESERT MIRACLE, who was rated to run 2nd on official ratings, also runs to her mark. This effectively makes her a line horse as well and leaving her unaltered on a rating of 124.
There were also ratings raises for 3rd placed HUMDINGER, who is up from 110 to 119, for GOING UP, who was raised from 107 to 110, and for MACARA, who goes to 101 from 98.
The only drop was for GOLDEN HOSTESS, who is down from 119 to 117.
- Gr2 Post Merchants
GLADATORIAN has had his rating raised from 110 to 114 following his win in the Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Here it was runner-up THUNDERSTRUCK and 3rd placed SURJAY who were used as the line horses, leaving them unchanged on ratings of 117 and 119 respectively. It is worth noting that this pair exactly confirmed their form relative to each other shown in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint (handicap) at Hollywoodbets Scottsville four weeks earlier, making them the ideal line horses in the Post Merchants.
Aside from the winner no horse received a rating’s increase out of this race, but no fewer than eight runners were given a drop. Joint 4th finisher SILVER OPERATOR is down from 116 to 114, GOBSMACKED is down from 113 to 111, COSMIC HIGHWAY drops to 110 from 113, STIPTELIK drops from 107 to 104, IPHIKO is down to 107 from 109, SWEET PEPPER goes from 107 to 105, and lastly PEARL OF ASIA drops from 112 to 109.
- Gr3 SplashOut 2200
CRIMSON KING has had his merit rating raised from 93 to 101 after winning the Grade 3 SplashOut 2200 (handicap) over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Runner-up ARAGOSTA who was line horse when 3rd in the Summer Cup Grade 1 (Handicap), 3rd in the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup Grade 3 (Handicap) and 2nd in the Grade 3 Track and Ball Derby (WFA plus penalties) was again deemed to make for the ideal line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a rating of 114.
There were no ratings increase for any horse other than the winner, but no fewer than eight horses were given a drop. STREET ART is down from 103 to 101, ONE WAY TRAFFIC was trimmed from 109 to 108, SHANGO is down to 105 from 107, RIVER ROMEO goes from 107 to 102, JIMMY DON drops from 116 to 114, UNION SQUARE is down to 111 from 114, FLYING BULL drops from 103 to 101, and lastly WILLOW’S WISH is down slightly from 99 to 98.
- Gr3 DStv Gold Vase
FUTURE PEARL has seen his merit rating climb from 106 to 112 after he ran out a very easy winner of the Grade 3 DStv Gold Vase over 3000m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Here it was 3rd placed REX UNION who was used as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a rating of 97.
There were also increases for 2nd placed FIGHT SONG, who is up from 87 to 94, and for 6th finisher FLYING FIRST CLASS, who carried 3.5 kgs overweight and who is up from 85 to 91.
The specific race conditions do not allow for any increase in the rating of any horse other than the winner, unless requested by the trainer. The trainers of both FIGHT SONG and FLYING FIRST CLASS both opted to exercise this option, hence the ratings hikes for their respective horses.
The only ratings drop was for 4th placed SENSO UNICO, who is down from 110 to 108.
- Listed East Cape Breeders Stakes
PHEDRA remains unchanged on a rating of 103 after winning the Listed East Cape Breeders Stakes for fillies and mares over 1200m on the polytrack at Fairview on Friday 30 June. The race, originally scheduled for the turf track, was moved to the polytrack because of inclement weather.
It was 3rd placed CHERE FOR ME who was used as the line horse here, leaving her unchanged on a mark of 87. In assessing the race this way PHEDRA only achieves a mark of 100, hence her unaltered rating.
No horse from this race was given a rating’s increase, but there were drops for four horses. Runner-up EKORIA, who failed to run above a rating of 101 in her last 5 starts was dropped from 105 to 101, RED BERRY is down slightly from 96 to 95, FRANCA drops to 90 from 93, and lastly WISHFUL GIRL LINN drops from 88 to 85.
- Media release by NHRA on Tuesday 4 July 2023.
