Handicapping ratings update

Hollywoodbets Durban July (Grade 1)

SPARKLING WATER has had her merit rating raised from 116 to 122 following her success under an enterprising ride in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday 2 July. The Handicappers were of the unanimous view that 3rd finisher SAFE PASSAGE and 4th placed DO IT AGAIN made for the most suitable line horses when assessing the race, leaving them unchanged on ratings of 122 and 126, respectively.

There were also ratings increases for 2nd placed JET DARK, who is up slightly 129 to 130, and for 6th finisher AIRWAYS LAW, who was 7 pounds or 3.5 kgs under sufferance at the weights and who put up a very commendable performance in a race where the somewhat unhurried early pace almost certainly did him no favours. He goes up from 108 to 112.

There were no other ratings increases, however, six horses were given a drop. KOMMETDIEDING is down slightly from 129 to 128, HOEDSPRUIT is down from 116 to 114, LINEBACKER was trimmed from 126 to 125, BELGARION is down to 124 from 128, SECOND BASE drops from 118 to 117, and lastly RED SAXON is down from 118 to 116.

Brentford FC Garden Province Stakes (Grade 1)

SHE’S A KEEPER has had her rating raised from 115 to 117 following her victory in the Grade 1 Brentford FC Garden Province Stakes for fillies and mares on WFA terms over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Here it was 3rd placed SILVER DARLING who was used as the line horse, leaving her unchanged on a mark of 113. In assessing the race this way, 8th placed SUPREME QUEST also runs to her mark, effectively making her a line horse as well and leaving her unaltered on a mark of 108.

No horse aside from the winner received a rating increase, but there were drops for three runners. 2nd placed MARINA is down slightly from 118 to 117 to make her equal to the winner, which was preferred to leaving her on a higher mark than SHE’S A KEEPER. There was also a drop for 4th finisher CAPTAIN’S RANSOM, who is down from 126 to 124. It should be noted that CAPTAIN’S RANSOM has not once this season run to a mark of 126, and while the Handicappers were reluctant to drop her when she was continuously winning it was felt that this race presented an ideal opportunity to re-adjust her rating downwards to better reflect the levels she has actually been achieving.

The remaining drop was for ZARINA, who is down from 114 to 111.

Post Merchants (Grade 2)

VAL D’ORCia has had his merit rating raised from 105 to 111 after landing the Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the opinion that 4th placed EDEN ROC made for the most suitable line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a rating of 110.

There were also increases for runner-up GOOD TRAVELLER, who was raised from 116 to 118, and for 6th placed COIN SPINNER, who is up from 97 to 100 after achieving a performance figure of 103. This ensures that COIN SPINNER would meet 7th finisher ISIVUNGUVUNGU – who remains unchanged on 103 although in fact running to a mark of 106 – on the correct weight terms should they meet in a handicap race, keeping in mind that ISIVUNGUVUNGU carried 2 kgs more than COIN SPINNER in this contest.

There were no other ratings increases, but two horses were given a drop. PEARL OF ASIA is down from 115 to 112, while MR COBBS – who had already been dropped 108 to 105 following the publication of weights for this race – was given a further drop and is now on a rating of 103.

Vodacom 2200 (Handicap) (Grade 3)

ONE WAY TRAFFIC has had his rating raised from 104 to 111 in the wake of his very easy win in the Grade 3 Vodacom 2200 (handicap) over the Hollywoodbets Greyville 2200m on Saturday. The Handicappers were unanimously of the opinion that 3rd finisher SHANGO (winner of this race twelve months earlier) and 4th placed CHOLLIMA made for the most suitable line horses here, leaving them unchanged on marks of 111 and 102, respectively.

The winner aside, the only other increase was for 2nd placed SUPER SILVANO, who is up from 107 to 108.

There were ratings drops for two horses. CROWN TOWERS is down from 116 to 115, while ZILLZAAL was trimmed from 117 to 116.

DStv Gold Vase (Grade 3)

BLACK THORN has had his rating raised from 94 to 100 after winning the Grade 3 DStv Gold Vase over 3000m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Here it was 4th finisher SMOKING HOT which was considered to make for the best line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 100. In rating the race in this manner, 6th finisher SALVATOR MUNDI runs to his mark of 100 and effectively becomes a line horse as well.

In assessing the race this way BLACK THORN in fact runs to a mark of 103, but the specific conditions of the race do not allow for a greater than six-pound ratings increase for the winner, forcing the Handicappers to cap BLACK THORN at 100.

Interestingly, BLACK THORN achieved a mark of 99 in the Caradoc Gold Cup in early April, and a mark of 102 in the Gold Bowl later that same month. However, as the specific conditions of both races did not allow for a rating’s increase for any horse besides the winner, BLACK THORN had to remain on a rating of 91 after both races. Now, once again, he is benefitting from this type of specific race condition in having to be capped at 100 when in fact running to a mark of 103. This is especially significant, with the upcoming Marshalls World of Sport Gold Cup in mind.

The race conditions also preclude a rating’s increase for any horse aside from the winner. Accordingly, runner-up REX UNION remains 86 despite running to a mark of 99, while 3rd placed IMPERIAL RUBY stays unchanged on 104 although in fact achieving a mark of 106. Similarly, 5th placed ELECTRIC SURGE remains unchanged on a mark of 72 even though she in fact runs to a higher level.

The only drop was for MONASHADA, who was dropped to 100 from 106 after achieving a 100 rating in this event. - NHA

Compendium Insurance Brokers Handicap (Listed)

XAVION has seen his rating climb from 98 to 101 following his win in the Listed Compendium Insurance Brokers Handicap over 1600m on the turf course at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday. Here it was both runner-up GENTLEMAN’S WAGER and 3rd placed SILVANO’S TIMER who were used as the line horses, which leaves them unaltered on marks of 106 and 98, respectively.

There were no ratings increases for any runners aside from the winner, but four horses were given a drop, SHAMPOMPO SHAMPIZI is down slightly from 93 to 92, ARCTIC DRIFT was trimmed from 95 to 94, CAT DADDY drops to 105 from 106, and lastly HASTA MANANA was dropped from 104 to 101.

Eastern Cape Breeders Stakes (Listed)

FRANCA has had her merit rating picked up from 102 to 104 following her success in the Listed Eastern Cape Breeders Stakes for fillies and mares over the straight 1200m course at Fairview on Friday 1 July. Here it was 5th placed MISS NIBBLES who was considered to make for the most suitable line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 94.

There were also increases for 2nd placed GLACIER GOLD, who is up from 102 to 104, and for 3rd placed PURPLE MERCHANT, who was making her Eastern Cape debut and who achieved a performance figure of 99 goes up from 81 to 94 to at least make her the equal of the 94-rated 5th finisher and line horse, MISS NIBBLES.

Three horses were given a rating’s drop. GREEN LIGHT GAL is down to 94 from 96, SOUND CHECK drops from 99 to 97, and lastly HERRIN drops slightly from 78 to 77.