The NHA Handicappers have reported back on this past weekend’s feature races.
- Listed Kenilworth Cup (Handicap)
MERCURANA has seen his rating adjusted from 77 to 97 after his success in the Listed Kenilworth Cup (Handicap) over 3 200m on the Kenilworth summer course on Saturday. It must be borne in mind that MERCURANA was fully 18 pounds under sufferance as the race was benchmarked 93 MR = 52kg, and together with the minimum 2-pound increase which is mandatory for any win in a handicap, this equals the 20 point increase he received. That is to say, were the race to be run again MERCURANA would have to carry 53 kgs, or 1 kg (2 pounds) more than the 52 kgs he carried here.
Mercurana (inside) wins Saturday’s Kenilworth feature (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The Handicappers took the view that third placed STRATHDON made for the best line horse and as such he remains unchanged on 109, however runner-up SWIFT SURPRISE (who was also under sufferance) was raised from 91 to 95. Fourth placed TROOP THE COLOUR was raised from 67 to 80. He in fact ran to 92 on literal numbers, but the handicappers were of the view that he was flattered by his margin of defeat in a race which was slowly run and as such he only received half of the achieved adjustment.
The only drop was for DYNASTY’S BLOSSOM, who goes from 108 to 106.
- Listed Ibhayi Stakes
POINT OF SALE remains unchanged on a mark of 96 after she shouldered bottom weight to victory in the Ibhayi Stakes for three-year-olds over 1400m on the Fairview turf course on Friday. Third placed FOREIGN SOURCE was used as the line horse and so remains unchanged on 107. Rating the race in this way in fact has POINT OF SALE running to 95, one pound below her rating.
The only horse to get a ratings increase was runner-up STOPALLTHECLOCKS, who goes up from 91 to 96, but there were drops for several runners. Fourth placed HOOVES OF TROY is down from 104 to 102, VIKING MOON drops from 105 to 103, and lastly BOLD STRIKE is down from 78 to 76.
- Listed Lady’s Pendant
ELUSIVE HEART was given a slight rating’s increase from 105 to 106 after she captured the Lady’s Pendant for fillies and mares over 1200m at Fairview on Friday. Third placed OUTLANDOS D’AMOUR was considered the best line horse to use in assessing this race and remains unchanged on 101 as a result, but runner-up VIA SEATTLE was raised from 98 to 105. Fourth placed VIVIR was the only other horse to receive a rating’s increase and goes from 86 to 93.
Three horses were given a drop, with MISS SMARTY PANTS trimmed from 105 to 104 and CARLITA dropping to 100 from 102.
The remaining drop was for WORLD RADAR, who goes from 105 to 101.
It is worth noting that on this occasion the veterinary surgeon reported her to be both not striding out and in season, however, the Handicappers considered that WORLD RADAR has lost a considerable amount of Weight For Age since she was awarded a 105 rating for her debut win and dropped her on that basis. It was also taken into account that WORLD RADAR did not run to her 105 rating when winning two subsequent races following her debut success, nonetheless she won both races very easily and didn’t need to equal a mark of 105 to win. However, with the WFA loss since last July (when she received her 105 rating) it was felt that, all these considerations notwithstanding, a rating of 101 looks fairer at this juncture.
