After a thrilling victory on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Greyville, the winner of the 2024 Hollywoodbets Gr1 Durban July, Oriental Charm, has had his merit rating raised from 121 to 125.
The Handicappers were unanimous in their view that 3rd placed Royal Victory made for the most suitable line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 125.
Hollywoodbets Gr1 Durban July winner Oriental Charm (JP van der Merwe) takes a victory canter (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
In rating the race this way 4th placed Flag Man also runs to his rating, effectively making him a line horse as well and leaving him unchanged on a mark of 126.
There were also rating increases for runner-up Cousin Casey, who is up from 123 to 125, and for 6th finisher Future Pearl, who was 2 points or 1 kg under sufferance at these weight terms and finished 1 point behind the line horse and consequently he goes up from 117 to 118.
There were no other rating increases, but one horse received a drop. Aragosta, who failed to confirm his 116 rating in his latest 4 starts was dropped 2 points from 116 to 114.
Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes (Grade 1)
Humdinger saw her rating restored to her previous best of 119 from 116 after she captured the Ridgemont Gr1 Garden Province Stakes for fillies and mares on Weight For Age (WFA) terms over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Interestingly, she was adjusted to 119 for her 3rd place finish behind Princess Calla after the 2023 running of this race.
The Handicappers unanimously agree that Bavarian Beauty made for the ideal line horse, hence her unchanged rating of 116.
In assessing the race this way 2nd placed Happy Chance runs to a mark of 118, having finished 0.15 lengths or 1 point behind the now 119 rated Humdinger at level weights, she was accordingly adjusted from 112 to 118.
The only other finisher to receive an adjustment in the ratings of any kind was Red Palace who was adjusted from 108 to 111.
Red Palace performed to a higher level but was only adjusted so that she equals the 111 rating of Asiye Phambili, who she proved equal to at WFA terms.
No horses received drops in ratings for this event.
Post Merchants (Grade 2)
Café Culture has had his rating raised from 105 to 112 following his impressive win in the Post Gr2 Merchants over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Here it was runner-up At My Command who was selected as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a rating of 119.
3rd placed Teflon Man received an increase of 3 points from 100 to 103, while the only other runner to receive an increase was Melech, who was beaten 1 point by the 119 rated line horse at level weights and went up to 118 from 117.
Only one horse received a rating drop in this event, Countdown was dropped by 1 point from 107 to 106.
SplashOut 2200 (Handicap) (Grade 3)
Cape Eagle has had his merit rating upped from 105 to 110 after winning the SplashOut Gr3 2200 (handicap) over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Here it was 4th placed Mucho Dinero who was deemed to make for the ideal line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a rating of 110.
The runner-up, Atticus Finch was adjusted to 112 from 110 and 3rd placed Master Fuego was increased to 102 from 101.
The only other horse to receive a rating increase was Pomodoro’s Jet who was adjusted from 93 to 96. Pomodoro’s Jet was 4 points under sufferance and finished 1 point behind the line horse hence his 3 points adjustment.
There were no rating increases for any horse other than the winner, but two horses were given a drop. Rockie Reef is down from 99 to 97 and Street Art was trimmed from 108 to 106.
DStv Gold Vase (Grade 3)
Madison Valley has seen his merit rating increase to 94 from 88 after he won the DStv Gr3 Gold Vase over 3000m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Here it was the ever-consistent 4th placed One Way Traffic who was used as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a rating of 109.
In assessing the race this way, Madison Valley actually runs to a significantly higher rating but had to be capped to a rating of 94 due to the specific race conditions that state that the winner will not incur an adjustment of more than 6 points and the placed horses will not receive any upwards adjustment at all.
Accordingly, the winner was capped to a rating of 94 and the runner-up, Shoot The Rapids, did not receive any increase to his rating despite producing a performance that is higher than his rating.
Both Madison Valley and Shoot The Rapids have been entered in the upcoming Grade 3 Gold Cup, which is a compressed handicap but are hugely under sufferance off their official ratings of 94 and 99 respectively, due to the fact that the weight spread for the Gold Cup is only 6kgs.
This negates any benefit they received by the capping of the ratings in the DStv Gold Vase and in fact only serves to mislead the betting public and possibly create controversy should there be a need for eliminations.
Two horses received a drop in ratings, None Other dropped from 110 to 108 and Explosive Bond, dropped from 100 to 97.
Compendium Insurance Brokers Thukela Handicap (Listed)
Narina Trogon has had his merit rating increased from 100 to 106 after winning the Listed Compendium Insurance Brokers Thukela Handicap over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Here it was 4th placed Mary’s Greenlight who was deemed to make for the ideal line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a rating of 103.
The runner-up, Money Heist was adjusted to 104 from 100 and 3rd placed Get Impressed was increased to 103 from 101.
There were no rating increases for any other horses, but five horses were given drops, Mr Master Starter was dropped to 95 from 96, Navajo Nation was dropped to 106 from 108, Noble City dropped from 105 to 103, Lady Heist dropped to 97 from 98 and lastly Grinkov received a 2-point drop from 102 to 100.
TAB Sea Cottage Stakes (Grade 3)
La Moohal had his rating adjusted from 90 to 96 after producing a strong finish to win the TAB Gr3 Sea Cottage Stakes over 1800m on Sunday at Turffontein Racecourse.
Donna Mo was selected as a line horse in this event and her rating remain unchanged on 94. In rating the race this way La Moohal ran to a significantly higher rating but could not be adjusted by more than 6 point due to the specific condition that precludes the Handicappers from adjusting the winner of this event by more than 6 points and the placed horses cannot be increased at all.
Accordingly, the winner was capped to a rating of 96 and the runner-up was left unchanged on a rating of 95 despite running to a significantly higher rating.
Only two horses received drops in this event, Hotarubi was dropped to 115 from 116 and Jury’s Out dropped from 94 to 93.
- Media release by the NHA on Tuesday, 09 July 2024.
