At the Special General Meeting held today at the Head Office of the NHA, the three resolutions were voted upon as follows:

• Concorde Cup (Grade 2)

POMP AND POWER has had his merit rating raised from 101 to 109 following his success in the Grade 2 Concorde Cup for three-year-olds over 1600m on the Kenilworth summer course on Saturday 20 November.  The Handicappers were of the view that runner-up COSMIC HIGHWAY made for the most suitable line horse, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 108.

3^rd finisher GOOD TRAVELLER was raised from 106 to 109.  It needs to be borne in mind that GOOD TRAVELLER carried 2 kgs more than any other horse in the race as a consequence of being the sole Grade 1 winner in the line-up, and by finishing 1.80 lengths (or four pounds/two kgs) behind the winner he effectively put up a performance equal to that of POMP AND POWER.

4^th placed NEVER ENDING RAIN goes up from 88 to 100, while 5^th finisher WAITING FOR SUMMER was raised from 96 to 99 to make him the equal of the 99-rated 6^th finisher BUSH TRACKER. 

• Fillies Mile (Grade 3) 

FOLLOW ME remains unchanged on a rating of 102 following her success in the Grade 3 Fillies Mile for three-year-olds over 1600m on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 13 November.  It was in fact FOLLOW ME herself who was considered to make for the most suitable line horse, which is the reason for her mark remaining unaltered. 

2^nd placed ETERNITY RING and 3^rd finisher SPRINKLES both go up to 99, from 97 and 94, respectively.  There were increases also for CLAFOUTIS, who is up from 89 to 92, and for JULIET TANGO, who goes from 84 to 90.  This keeps these two fillies in line with each other should they meet in a handicap. 

There were no ratings drops for any runner in this race.

The National Horseracing Authority has noted that there is currently a shortage of African horse sickness (AHS) vaccine which is produced by Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP).The OBP vaccine shortage has resulted in industry stakeholders such as vets, trainers, owners, and breeders currently having limited or no access to AHS vaccines.

As per the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947), the OBP African horse sickness vaccine is the ONLY AHS vaccine registered for use in South Africa.

“The use of unregistered products is strongly discouraged, regardless of their claimed properties, as the safety and efficacy of unregistered products have not been assessed in equines by the mandated Registrar of Act 36.” DALRRD

• Victory Moon Stakes (Grade 3) 

SPARKLING WATER remains unchanged on a rating of 109 after she captured the Grade 3 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 6 November.  The Handicappers were of the view that 3^rd placed ASTRIX made for the best line horse here, which leaves him unchanged on a mark of 112.  In assessing the race this way, SPARKLING WATER only runs to a rating of 106, hence her unaltered rating.

• Allied Steelrode – Onamissionmile (Handicap) (Grade 2) 

BINGWA has had his merit rating raised from 111 to 118 after running out a fluent winner of the Grade 2 Allied Steelrode – Onamissionmile over 1600m on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 30 October.  The Handicappers were of the unanimous view that 2^nd placed ASTRIX and 3^rd finisher MK’S PRIDE made for the most suitable line horses when assessing the race formerly known as the Charity Mile, which leaves them unchanged on ratings of 112 and 120, respectively.