De Grendel Cape Merchants (Grade 2)
OUTLAW KING has seen his rating increased from 106 to 110 following his victory in the Grade 2 De Grendel Cape Merchants over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday 22 December. Here, it was 3rd placed, SURJAY, who was considered to be the most suitable line horse to assess this race, leaving his rating unchanged on 124. In rating the race this way, 4th placed finisher, THE REAL PRINCE also runs to his mark, effectively making him a line horse as well.
Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas (Grade 1)
ONE STRIPE remained unchanged on his official rating of 118 following his impressive win in the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas (Grade 1) for three-year-olds over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. In fact, it was ONE STRIPE himself who was deemed to be the most suitable line horse to rate this race, hence his unchanged rating.
No fewer than three horses received increases in their ratings following this contest. 2nd placed, EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN was adjusted to 115 from 110 for finishing 1.25 lengths (3 points) behind the 118 rated line horse (ONE STRIPE) at level weights. 3rd placed GREAT PLAINS, who finished 2.75 lengths (6 points) behind the line horse was adjusted to 112 from 110. Lastly, 4th place finisher, O’TENIKWA was increased from 97 to 108 for a 5.0 lengths (10 points) beating by the line horse.
No horses received a relief in the ratings in this race.
World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas (Grade 1)
FATAL FLAW has seen her rating adjusted to 115 from 110 after comfortably winning the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. SYMPHONY IN WHITE, who finished fourth in this race, was deemed to be the most suitable line horse to rate the race, leaving her rating unchanged on 107.
The following horses also received increases in their ratings. Second placed SCARLET MACAW went up to 111 from 93 for beating the 107 rated line horse by 2.15 lengths (4 points) at level weights. Third placed LITTLE SUZIE went up to 107 from 103 for finishing 0.40 of a length ahead of the 107 rated line horse at level weights.
MAI SENSATION was the only runner in this race to receive a drop in the ratings and she dropped to 94 from 99.
Betway Summer Cup (Grade 1)
ATTICUS FINCH has had his merit rating raised from 112 to 121 following his success in the Betway Summer Cup (Grade 1) (Handicap) over 2000m on the Turffontein standside course on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the view that the 2nd placed finisher PURPLE PITCHER made for a suitable line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 123. It must be borne in mind that ATTICUS FINCH’s adjustment includes the under-sufferance amount of 7 points as this race was benchmarked at 119 = 54kg at the bottom end of the weights. This benchmark ensures that the race keeps a minimum standard of 119.
The other runners to get increases in ratings were 3rd place finisher RULE BY FORCE, who went up from 112 to 117 and 4th place finisher MADISON VALLEY, who went up to 117 from 110. RULE BY FORCE was 7 points under sufferance but finished 2 points (1.15 length) behind the line horse and MADISON VALLEY was 10 points under sufferance but finished 3 points (1.25 length) behind the line horse, hence their respective adjustments.
The following horses were given drops in ratings. FRANCES ETHEL was dropped from 118 to 117, PUERTO MANZANO was dropped from 120 to 119, FUTURE PEARL was dropped to 117 from 118, LITIGATION was dropped to 113 from 114, MY SOUL MATE was dropped by 3 pounds from 108 to 105, HOTARUBI was dropped to 114 from 115 and lastly PURE PREDATOR was dropped to 118 from 119.
WORLD SPORTS BETTING SOPHOMORE SPRINT (Listed)
LION RAMPART, who was well-weighted, remained unchanged on a rating of 111 following his win in the Listed World Sports Betting Sophomore Sprint for 3-year-olds over 1 200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Handicappers were unanimous in their view that third placed MISS WORLD was the most suitable line horse to rate this race, leaving her rating unaltered on 97.
The winner aside, two more runners received upward adjustments in their ratings. Second placed KAIBOY, who carried 2.5kg more than the 97 rated line horse (making him a 5-point better horse) goes up to 102 from 94 and fourth placed HANDSOME PRINCE was increased from 96 to 98.
No runner received a drop in the ratings following this contest.
The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa confirms the reported Prohibited Substance findings.
AMIGO was disqualified, and Trainer L W Goosen signed an Admission of Guilt and was fined the sum of R26 000 (Twenty-Six Thousand Rand) for a contravention of Rule 73.2.3 in that a specimen which was collected from this horse prior to the running Race 4 on 13 October 2024, at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse, disclosed upon analysis the presence of Flunixin (Class 4).
Cape Mile (Grade 3)
RASCALLION remains unchanged on a merit rating of 122 after winning the Grade 3 Cape Mile over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Handicappers believed that ZAPATILLAS made for the best line horse when assessing this race, hence his unchanged rating of 119. In rating the race this way RASCALLION runs to his rating of 122, effectively making him a line horse as well.
The only ratings drop for this race went to SUGAR MOUNTAIN, who was dropped to 116 from 118.
The National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa confirms the reported Prohibited Substance findings.
SUPERSKITT was disqualified, and Trainer W C Marwing signed an Admission of Guilt and was fined the sum of R18 000 (Eighteen Thousand Rand) for a contravention of Rule 73.2.3 in that a specimen which was collected from this horse prior to the running of the 1st race on 31 August 2024, at Turffontein Racecourse disclosed upon analysis the presence of Flunixin (Class 4).
Western Cape Fillies Championship (Grade 2)
MON PETIT CHERIE has had her merit rating raised from 91 to 108 following her success in the Grade 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship for three-year-olds over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the view that 3rd placed SYMPHONY IN WHITE would not have run below the 107 performance she displayed in a Cape B Stakes for fillies and mares on 28 September 2024 and used her to that level of 107 to rate this Grade 2 event. Her pre-race rating of 105 is a consequence of the arbitrary restrictions imposed on the Merit Rating system for the aforementioned Cape B Stakes and is not a true reflection of SYMPHONY IN WHITE’s ability. Accordingly, her rating was increased to 107 from 105.
Allied Steelrode – Onamission Charity Mile (Handicap) (Grade 2)
WINCHESTER MANSION has seen his merit rating increase from 124 to 129 after winning the Grade 2 Allied Steelrode – Onamission Charity Mile (handicap) over 1600m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday, 2 November. The Handicappers were of the opinion that BARBARESCO made for the ideal line horse here, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 122.
The only other increase was for runner-up GLADATORIAN, who was adjusted from 120 to 123.
Four horses received a drop of 1 point each, LITIGATION dropped to 114 from 115, SAFE PASSAGE dropped to 108 from 109, ZINOVI dropped from 113 to 112 and GIMMEANOTHERCHANCE dropped from 116 to 115.
