An independent Appeal Panel consisting of Messrs R Skelton, M Wanklin and R S Napier was convened on 12 May 2021 via Zoom to hear a Merit Rating Appeal lodged by Mr Joe Soma on behalf of GOT THE GREENLIGHT’s adjusted merit rating of 128 from his rating of 124, following his win in the 4RACING PREMIER’S CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE (Grade 1) over 2000M on 1 May 2021.   

• Poinsettia Stakes (Grade 3) 

VIHAAN’S PIE has had her merit rating raised from 90 to 102 following her success in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes for fillies and mares over the Scottsville 1200m straight course on Sunday 9 May.  The Handicappers were of the view that 3^rd placed KEEP THE LIGHTS ON made for the most suitable line horse when assessing this race, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 99. 

The only other ratings increase was for 2^nd placed FAVORITA, who goes up slightly from 100 to 101, but there were drops for five horses.  4^th placed SINGFORAFA (who was dropped from 117 to 114 following the publication of weights for this race) gets a further decrease and is now rated 113.  The other drops were for ZIMBABA who goes from 98 to 96, POINT OF SALE who is down from 97 to 95, SILENT CRUSADE, who drops to 103 from 105, and lastly ALL OF ME who drops from 94 to 93. 

• 4Racing Premier’s Champions Challenge (Grade 1)

 GOT THE GREENLIGHT has had his rating raised from 124 to 128 following his success in the Grade 1 4Racing Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday 1 May.  The Handicappers were of the view that 3^rd placed CIRILLO would not have run worse here than when he finished 5^th in the Grade 1 LÓrmarins Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth in January, where he ran to a mark of 123.  Accordingly, CIRILLO was used as the line horse here to a rating of 123 and therefore goes up to that mark from a rating of 120. 

The Handicappers felt that this was a somewhat conservative view to take as CIRILLO has regularly run to marks of 126 and higher in top flight races, but it was borne in mind that Saturday’s event was run at a very slow early pace and that – perhaps as a direct consequence of this – some of the higher rated horses in the field did not perform to expectations.  It was also not overlooked that there was interference which occurred in the early stages of the race, notwithstanding this it was considered that CIRILLO has been used on many occasions at pattern level as a yardstick to rate other pattern winners and as such having CIRILLO running lower than the 123 he achieved when 5^th in the Queens Plate would undervalue GOT THE GREENLIGHT’s performance on Saturday, relative to other pattern winners that have beaten CIRILLO.  It must be noted that CIRILLO’s pre-rating of 120 is as a result of the drops he received due to recent below par performances, however, the panel believe that CIRILLO appeared to have the run of the race and had at least equaled his Queen’s Plate performance of 123 which as mentioned earlier is below his best pattern efforts.  It must also be borne in mind that the Champions Challenge was run at WFA terms and not at handicap terms so CIRILLO was not weighted off the 120 rating and therefore did not benefit in this race from such a ratings drop. 

Runner-up SECOND BASE was raised from 116 to 125, while as already noted CIRILLO is up to 123 from 120. There were no other increases, but two horses were given a rating drop.  SUMMER PUDDING is down slightly from 129 to 127, while BARAHIN drops from 119 to 116. 

• Variety Club Mile (Grade 3) 

WARRIOR has had his rating raised from 92 to 102 following his success in the Grade 3 Variety Club Mile for three-year-olds over 1600m on the Kenilworth summer course on Saturday 24 April.  The Handicappers were of the opinion that consistent 5^th placed HYDE PARK made for the most suitable line horse here, and accordingly his rating remains unchanged on 95. 

The only other increase was for runner-up FIREALLEY, who goes from 92 to 97.  In fact, in rating the race this way FIREALLEY runs to a mark of 101, but the Handicappers believed that he enjoyed the run of the race in a contest which was run slowly and that he is probably flattered by his proximity to the winner.  This was also observed in the race time which was a full 3.8 seconds slower than the class average time and 0.81 slower than the Sweet Chestnut Stakes (Listed).  As such, it was decided to adopt a cautious approach with FIREALLEY and he was effectively given half the ostensibly achieved ratings increase. 

The only drop was for 4^th placed CRIMSON KING, who is down from 103 to 100 to at least make him two pounds lower than the winner for the time being. 

• HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes (Grade 1) 

SUMMER PUDDING remains unchanged on a rating of 129 following her success in the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes for fillies and mares over 1600m on WFA terms on the Turffontein standside track on Saturday 17 April. 

The Handicappers opted to use 3^rd placed LADY OF STEEL as the line horse here, and in rating this way SUMMER PUDDING only runs to a mark of 116.  Runner-up RUNNING BRAVE also runs below her rating of 119, achieving a mark of 114, and therefore also remains unchanged.  It was felt that, as the first two were clearly superior to the rest and pulled clear of the 3^rd horse, that to use either the winner or runner-up to assess the race would inflate the numbers being achieved by every other horse in the field.  Hence, a more conservative approach was deemed advisable. 

This notwithstanding, there were ratings increases for three runners.  4^th finisher WISTERIA WALK is up from 107 to 110, RIO’S WINTER goes from 104 to 108, and SEEHAAM goes from 100 to 107.  All three of these horses would therefore meet LADY OF STEEL on the correct terms were they to clash in a handicap race. 

There were also drops for three runners.  MARYGOLD was trimmed from 105 to 104, KELPIE is down from 115 to 110, and ROUGE ALLURE was dropped to 95 from 96. 

Spook Express Handicap (Listed)

SHE’S A CRACKER has had her merit rating raised from 72 to 77 after she captured the Listed Spook Express Handicap for fillies and mares over 2400m on the standside track at Turffontein on Saturday 10 April. 

It was 3^rd placed ILLUMINATE who was considered to make for the best line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a rating of 71.  The winner aside, the only other increase was for runner-up KAY TEE PERRY, who goes from 81 to 84. 

Only one horse was given a rating’s drop, with SMILEY RIVER going down from 70 to 68.