Justin Snaith’s Belgarion has had his rating raised from 119 to 124 after he produced a storming run from near the tail of the field to land the 2020 edition of the G1 Vodacom Durban July over 2200m at Hollywoobets Greyville on Saturday 25 July.
In the process, he was recording his fifth win from as many starts since he was gelded in April 2019.
The Handicappers were unanimous in their opinion that 3rd placed DO IT AGAIN made for the best line horse and accordingly the hero of this race from 2018 and 2019 remains unchanged on 133.
Durban July parade ring (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Runner-up GOT THE GREENLIGHT again proved that he is clearly the best three-year-old in the country and was accordingly raised from 118 to 124 making his performance here the best performance by a three-year-old for this season, fellow three-year-old GOLDEN DUCAT – who finished fourth – was picked up from 115 to 122 and so would meet GOT THE GREENLIGHT on the correct terms in a handicap.
There were no other increases, but four horses received a ratings drop, VARDY received a drop from 134 to 133 as he has failed to reproduce his Queens Plate effort in four subsequent runs, SOQRAT is down from 132 to 130, TIERRA DEL FUEGO was trimmed from 124 to 123 in order to be rated below the winner, and lastly CAMPHORATUS was dropped from 110 to 108.
- Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes (Grade 1)
TEMPLE GRAFIN was left unchanged on a rating of 118 after she ran on strongly and landed the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes (WFA) over 1600m at Greyville on Saturday. TEMPLE GRAFIN was one of three line horses which were used in assessing the race, the others being DRIVING MISS DAISY and ROY’S RIVIERA, so as with the winner these two remain unchanged on 115 and 111, respectively.
Only two changes were made to the rating of any horse in this race, with 3rd placed PRETTY YOUNG THING being raised from 115 to 116 and IN THE DANCE dropping to 103 from 105.
- Campanajo 2200 (Handicap) (Listed)
SOVEREIGN SPIRIT has had his rating raised from 100 to 103 after he won the Grade 3 Campanajo 2200 (handicap) over the Greyville 2200m on Saturday. It was decided that 3rd placed CAT DADDY should be used as the line horse here, which means that his rating remains unchanged on 101, while 2nd placed TRISTFUL goes up from 109 to 110.
There were no other increases, but a host of horses have seen their rating drop. 4th placed LEOPOLD is down from 106 to 105, TILBURY FORT drops from 109 to 107, HERODOTUS goes from 107 to 104, PACK LEADER is down to 109 from 111, MAJESTIC MOZART drops from 105 to 102, MAGNIFICENT SEVEN is down from 114 to 112, WHITE LIGHTNING was cut from 96 to 92, WESTERN FORT goes from 108 to 105, and lastly LORD SILVERIO is down from 93 to 90.
- DSTV Gold Vase (Grade 3)
DYNASTY’S BLOSSOM remains unaltered on a rating of 106 after her victory in the Grade 3 DSTV Gold Vase over 3000m at Greyville on Saturday. DYNASTY’S BLOSSOM herself was considered to make for the best line horse and that is therefore the reason for her unchanged mark.
It is a specific condition of this event that placed horses cannot receive a penalty unless requested by connections, and so runner-up BEFORE NOON and 3rd placed DARK MOON RISING (who had been raised to 105 for his run in the Grade 3 Track and Ball Derby) both remain unchanged on 84 and 105 respectively, despite both horses running above their ratings. However, at the time of writing just such a request was received from the trainer of 4th placed PAYBACKTHEMONEY, who was accordingly raised from 85 to 92. It remains possible that requests will still be received on behalf of other horses for a ratings increase.
Two horses were given a ratings drop, with TAP O’ NOTH going from 113 to 110 and FLICHITY BY FARR (who had already dropped from 103 to 101 subsequent to the publication of weights for this race) being given a further drop to 100.
- Hollywoodbets Thukela Handicap (Listed)
INFAMOUS FOX has had his rating raised from 116 to 118 after he narrowly landed the Listed Hollywoodbets Thukela Handicap over 1600m on the Greyville turf track on Saturday. Somewhat remarkably, INFAMOUS FOX was winning this race for a third year in succession.
All of runner-up HUDOO MAGIC, 3rd placed PRICELESS RULER and 4th finisher MORE MAGIC were effectively used as line horses here, and so their ratings remain unchanged on 106, 108, and 101, respectively. The winner aside, there were no ratings increases out of this race, but four horses were given a drop. LIBERTY HALL is down from 101 to 100, BORN TO PERFORM was trimmed from 98 to 97, TREE TUMBO is down to 97 from 99, and lastly SNIPER SHOT goes from 105 to 104.
- 99c Pocket Power Stakes (Grade 3)
Undefeated KATAK remains unchanged on a mark of 109 after he posted his fifth win from as many starts to win the Grade 3 99c Pocket Power Stakes over 2400m at Kenilworth on Sunday 25 July. In capturing the race formerly known as the Winter Derby, KATAK joins POCKET POWER and AFRICAN NIGHT SKY as the only horses ever to win all three legs of the Cape Winter series for three-year-olds.
The Handicappers rated the race using runner-up BAYBERRY to the 99 he actually achieved when also well beaten behind KATAK in the Grade 3 Legal Eagle Stakes earlier in July. This in fact has KATAK only running to 104, hence his unchanged rating, but BAYBERRY does go up to 99 from the 95 the Handicappers opted to make him after the Legal Eagle Stakes.
3rd placed OVER THE ODDS goes up from 84 to 90 and is the only other horse to receive a ratings increase out of this race. There were drops for two horses. CANE LIME ‘N SODA is down from 92 to 90, while CAPTAIN FLINDERS was trimmed from 93 to 91.
- Andries Steyn Racing Final Fling Stakes (Grade 3)
STAR FIGHTER remains unchanged on a mark of 101 after her hard fought success in the Grade 3 Andries Steyn Racing Final Fling Stakes for fillies and mares over 1800m at Kenilworth on Sunday. Runner-up FORTUNE FLIES was used as the line horse, which leaves her rating unchanged on 99, and in fact by rating the race in this way STAR FIGHTER runs to 99, hence her unchanged rating.
3rd placed ESTEEMAL goes up from 95 to 97, while 4th finisher SAINTS ALIVE was raised from 86 to 89. There were drops for three horses. DUCHESS OF BOURBON is down from 99 to 98, SOVEREIGN SECRET goes from 95 to 94, and DRAMA QUEEN also drops to 94 from 95.
- Robin-Lilian Brand Champagne Stakes (Grade 3)
WORLD RADAR (rated the highest maiden winner in South Africa exactly a year ago to the date of her Champagnes Stakes victory) remains unchanged on a rating of 111 after the Port Elizabeth visitor captured the Grade 3 Robin-Lilian Brand Champagne Stakes for fillies and mares over 1200m at Kenilworth on Sunday. Here it was 5th placed HELLO WINTER HELLO who was deemed the most suitable line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 94.
3rd placed PHIL’S DANCER goes up from 93 to 98, while 4th finisher QUEEN OF QUIET was raised from 95 to 96. There were drops for a number of horses. ICON PRINCESS was cut from 96 to 95, VARSITY LOVER goes from 90 to 87, CASINO QUEEN is down from 92 to 89, DYNAMIC DIANA drops to 97 from 101, HELEN’S IDEAL was trimmed from 106 to 104, SAILING SHIP drops from 102 and 100, and lastly SUGAR GIRL was dropped from 103 to 97.
- Bass Racing River Jetez Stakes (Listed)
SING OUT LOUD has had her rating raised from 98 to 100 after she came from well off the pace to snatch victory in the Listed Bass Racing River Jetez Stakes (formerly the Winter Oaks) over 2400m at Kenilworth on Sunday. It was runner-up FLAME TREE who was deemed to be the best line horse to use when assessing this race and accordingly her rating remains unchanged on 97.
3rd placed RATTLE MOUSE goes up from 92 to 95, with a small increase also for 5th placed DOUBLE REWARD, who goes from 78 to 80. The only drop was for BOLD DIVA, who is down from 83 to 81.
- Media release by NHRA on Tuesday 28 July 2020
