While Cape talking horse Charles Dickens has gone to a 121 after a facile registration of his fifth straight victory at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday, the handicappers have been busy with some other feature performers.
First of those is PUERTO MANZANO has had his merit rating raised from 120 to 123 following victory in the Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup over 2000m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday 26 November.
Puerto Manzano connections celebrate after the Argentinian’s big win (Pic – JC Photos)
The Handicappers were of the unanimous view that 3rd placed ARAGOSTA made for the ideal line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 116.
2nd placed SAFE PASSAGE goes up from 122 to 124, while 4th finisher DIVINE ODYSSEY – who was 1 pound or half-a-kilo under sufferance at the weights – goes up from 111 to 112. 5th finisher LITIGATION, who was six pounds or 3 kgs under sufferance, was raised from 107 to 110.
There were no other ratings increases, but no fewer than six horses were given a drop. ZILLZAAL is down from 114 to 112, SHANGO goes from 108 to 106, SECOND BASE is down to 112 from 115, RED SAXON drops from 116 to 114, ASTRIX is down from 124 to 122, and lastly PYROMANIAC drops from 108 to 105.
Gr2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans
UNION SQUARE has had his rating raised from 100 to 116 after winning the Grade 2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans for three-year-olds over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday.
The Handicappers took the view that 6th placed PROPHET would not have run worse here than when achieving a mark of 106 on several occasions during his career, including at Grade 1 and Grade 2 level when finishing behind ROYAL VICTORY (as he did yet again here), and opted to use that mark as the key to rating the Dingaans. Nevertheless, PROPHET remains unchanged on 110.
2nd placed SHOEMAKER goes up from 96 to 114, 3rd finisher EAST COAST was raised from 106 to 112, and 4th placed ROYAL VICTORY goes up from 109 to 111.
There were increases also for 7th placed ELECTRIC GOLD, who is up from 92 to 98 to make him higher than the 96 -rated 8th finisher BILLY BOWLEGS, and for OTTO LUYKEN, who goes from 76 to 83.
All of UNION SQUARE, SHOEMAKER and EAST COAST had in fact achieved higher performance ratings than their actual carded Merit Ratings in the Dingaans. The specific conditions in their previous starts prohibited the Handicappers from adjusting their ratings upwards despite these progressive types showing marked improvement when venturing into Graded company. Accordingly, none of the top 3 finishers were rated to finish in the top 3 positions in the best weighted column for the Dingaans.
There were drops for two horses. ARGO ALLEY is down from 103 to 100, while UNZEN drops from 108 to 106.
Gr2 Betway Ipi Tombe Challenge
GIMME A SHOT has been raised from 102 to 112 after her win in the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge for fillies and mares over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday. GIMME A SHOT’s pre-rating of 102 was subject to ratings restrictions in the Joburg F&M Spring Challenge (Grade 2) and Starling Stakes (Grade 3) where she had in fact achieved a rating of 108 in both events. The Handicappers were of the view that 5th placed HOMELY GIRL had run a very similar race here as when finishing 5th in a Grade 2 event in October and used her achieved rating of 105 from that race to rate this event. As such, her rating drops from 108 to 105.
There were no increases for any horse beyond the winner, but in addition to HOMELY GIRL there were drops for three other horses. UNDER YOUR SPELL is down from 119 to 117, MARIGOLD HOTEL is down to 107 from 110, and PERFECT WITNESS drops from 106 to 104.
Gr3 Joburg Tourism Magnolia Handicap
ALULA’S STAR has had her rating upped from 97 to 102 following her win in the Grade 3 Joburg Tourism Magnolia Handicap over 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the opinion that 3rd placed LUCY IN THE SKY made for the ideal line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 95.
The winner aside, the only other ratings increase was for 2nd placed GOBSMACKED, who goes up from 109 to 113
There were drops for three horses. 4th finisher MISS COOL is down from 104 to 103, while SUPREME QUEST drops from 106 to 104 and KISSING POINT drops from 105 to 102.
Gr3 Betway Merchants (Handicap)
VARS VICKY has seen his rating increased from 111 to 116 following his success in the Grade 3 Betway Merchants (handicap) over 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday. Here it was 3rd placed DESERT MIRACLE and 4th finisher FULL VELOCITY who were deemed to make for the best line horses, leaving them unaltered on a mark of 113 apiece. In rating the race this way, 5th placed WINTER FLIGHT runs to his mark of 100 and effectively becomes a line horse as well.
Aside from the winner, the only other increase was for 2nd placed TREAD SWIFTLY, who was 7 pounds or 3.5 kgs under sufferance at the weights and who goes up from 95 to 105 as a consequence.
There were ratings drops for two horses. SOUND OF WARNING is down to 112 from 114, while BIG BURN drops 118 to 115.
Listed Racehorse Owners Association Stayers
ARUMUGAM has had his rating raised from 88 to 94 after winning the Listed Racehorse Owners Stayers over 3200m at Turffontein on Saturday. Here it was runner-up MARCHINGONTOGETHER who was used as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 102.
In assessing the race this way, ARUMUGAM actually runs to a mark of 96, but the specific race conditions do not allow for more than a six-pound increase to the rating of the winner and so the Handicappers were obliged to cap his rating at 94. ARUMUGAM had also run to an actual rating of 96 when winning another Listed event four weeks earlier, but there too the Handicappers were obliged to raise his rating by no more than six pounds. This allowed him to contest this more recent race under discussion carrying 2 kgs less than would have been the case without such wholly unnecessary restrictions, which gave ARUMUGAM a distinct – and unfair – advantage over his rival – an advantage he would again enjoy should they meet again soon.
The race conditions do not allow for a raise in the rating of any runner except the winner, but one horse was given a drop, with OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE going from 97 to 96.
- Media release by National Horseracing Authority on Tuesday 29 November 2022
