Colorado King Stakes (Grade 2)

SECOND BASE has had his merit Rating raised from 116 to 118 after his success in the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over 2000m on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 26 March.  The Handicappers were of the unanimous view that both runner-up ZILLZAAL and 4^th placed JOHNNY HERO made for the most suitable line horses, which leaves them unchanged on marks of 117 and 110, respectively.

There were increases also for 3^rd finisher SPARKLING WATER, who goes up from 112 to 114, and for 5^th placed SHANGANI, who goes up from 105 to 108 to make him the equal of 6^th finisher GOLDEN PHEASANT, who was dropped from 110 to 108.

Aside from GOLDEN PHEASANT, the only other ratings drop was for MARCHINGONTOGETHER, who is down from 110 to 107. 

The NHA is being inundated with calls from a racing publication and other concerned stakeholders that when attending race meetings many racegoers are not abiding by the Covid-19 protocols.  The Racing Operators have strict guidelines in place and are ensuring that when a person enters the racecourse these guidelines must be adhered to, however, it has been found that unfortunately some are not doing so.  We urge all racegoers to ensure that they do not pose a risk to themselves and others.  Individual responsibility will assist the Operators in ensuring compliance. 

Senor Santa Stakes (Grade 2)

SMORGASBORD has had his merit rating raised from 106 to 110 following his win in the Grade 2 Senor Santa Stakes over the straight 1160m course at Turffontein on Saturday 12 March.  The Handicappers were of the view that 5^th finisher CAPTAIN OUPIE made for the most suitable line horse when assessing this event in the firm belief that he would not have run below his best against a field of this nature, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 104.

The winner aside, the only other increase was for 2^nd placed WARRIOR’S REST, who goes up from 107 to 112.

There were however ratings drops for four horses.  3^rd placed UNDER YOUR SPELL is down slightly from 115 to 114, 4^th finisher TRUE TO LIFE goes from 115 to 113, ULTRA MAGNUS is down from 118 to 116, and lastly CELESTIAL LOVE drops to 113 from 116.

WSB SA Classic (Grade 1)

RED SAXON has had his merit rating raised from 107 to 118 following his success in the Grade 1 WSB SA Classic over 1800m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday 5 March. The Handicappers took the view that 5^th placed ARAGOSTA made for the most suitable line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 109.

There were increases also for runner-up SAFE PASSAGE, who goes from 116 to 117, for 3^rd finisher CAPTAIN LANNISTER, who goes up from 105 to 115, and for 4^th placed SUPER EXCITED, who was raised from 107 to 109.

There were no other ratings increases, and there were no drops for any of the runners in this event.

Jonsson Workwear Cape Derby (Grade 1) 

POMP AND POWER has had his merit rating raised slightly from 117 to 118 following his success in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Cape Derby over 2000m on the Kenilworth summer course on Saturday 26 February.  The Handicappers were of the opinion that 5^th placed NEVER ENDING RAIN would not have run below his official rating in finishing where he did in a race of this class and accordingly elected to use him as the line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 104.

The National Horseracing Authority is pleased to announce that its Laboratory Director, Dr Schalk de Kock, has been appointed as the new Chair of the Asian Racing Federation Drug Control Committee (ARFDCC) with effect from 1 March 2022.