Lots of changes to Merit Ratings over the weekend with an eye to the Summer Cup and the Victory Moon result. Here is the Handicappers assessment of the feature races. 

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.

There were rating increases also for four other fillies. Runner-up BEWARE THE BOMB was adjusted from 89 to 107 having finished 0.05 lengths behind the 108 rated winner, and marginally ahead of the now 107 rated line horse. LITTLE SUZIE was raised to 103 from 89 so that she is not rated lower than the 103 rated WHISTLE THE TUNE, who she beat by a small margin at level weight terms here. MAI SENSATION went to 99 from 91 and finally POLYNOMIAL went to 97 from 90. These two fillies were only given marginal adjustments and their actual race performances were not taken literally as the Handicappers felt they may be flattered in this event due to the compact nature of the finish. However, their adjustments were deemed necessary for handicapping and elimination purposes.

The only runner to receive a drop in ratings was DIXIELAND BAND, who dropped from 100 to 96.

Laisserfaire Stakes (Listed)

MISS MARGUERITE had her rating adjusted from 90 to 96 after landing the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the view that NORDIC QUEST made for the most suitable line horse here and she remained unchanged on a rating of 102.

ASIYE PHAMBILI, was increased by 5 points and went from 111 to 116 for beating the line horse by 2.65 lengths, while the 3rd placed SUMMER LILY went up 4 points from 96 to 100.

Three horses received a ratings drop of 1 point each, ONI SAN was dropped from 91 to 90, HIGHLYCONFIDENTIAL was dropped from 89 to 88 and WINTER RAINFALL was dropped to 93 from 94.

Woolavington Stakes (Listed)

DAIMYO had his rating adjusted from 86 to 92 after winning the Listed Woolavington Stakes over 2500m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. The Handicappers were unanimous in their view that 2nd placed LOVE IS A ROSE made for the most suitable line horse and as such she remained unchanged on a rating of 101. In rating the race this way DAIMYO actually runs to a higher mark, but had to be capped to 92 due to the specific race conditions that state that the winner may only be increased by a maximum adjustment of 6 points and the placed horses may not be increased. In fact, DAIMYO had enjoyed arbitrary Merit Ratings protection on his 3 previous runs and therefore his pre-rating was misleading and not based on the Handicappers’ official assessment.

The 3rd placed runner, HOLDING THUMBS, achieved a higher rating but could not be adjusted due to the aforementioned ratings’ cap.

There were no other changes to this event.

Betway Victory Moon Stakes (Grade 3)

GREETING MY MASTER, has seen his rating increased from 107 to 110 after winning the Grade 3 Betway Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein on Monday 11 November. PURPLE PITCHER was considered to be the most suitable line horse here and he remains on a rating of 123.

The runner-up, MAIN DEFENDER, was increased to 130 from 129 after beating the 123 rated line horse by 3,5 lengths or 7 points (123 + 7 = 130). THUNEE PLAYA was only increased to 97 from 93 for his 4th placed effort despite running to a higher mark. This is due to the specific conditions that inhibit the Handicappers from increasing the ratings of placed horses by more than 4 points. Interestingly, the bottom weights for the Summer Cup will be raised to 54kg which placed majority of the Summer Cup horses under sufferance thereby negating such merit rating protection.

A number of horses received drops. PUERTO MANZANO was dropped from 122 to 120, SAFE PASSAGE was dropped from 109 to 107, MY SOUL MATE was dropped from 111 to 108, ARAGOSTA was cut from 113 to 110, SHOEMAKER was dropped to 110 from 111 and JOHNNY HERO was given a 5-point drop from 108 to 103.

Betway National Colour Stakes (Listed) – formerly Gardenia Stakes

ICE STAR had her rating increased to 112 from 107 following her win in the Listed Betway National Colour Stakes over 1000m at Turffontein on Monday. TROPPO VELOCE was deemed to be the most suitable line horse here and her rating remained unchanged on 107.

The runner-up, ELEGANT ICE, went up to 105 from 101 after her narrow defeat and the unlucky 3rd placed finisher, ALMOND SEA, went up to 112 from 110.

Three horses were given drops in this event, CAPTAIN’S CHRISTY dropped to 95 from 97, SORCERESS SUPREME was dropped to 95 from 98 and MIST IN SCOTLAND dropped from 91 to 90

Released by 

The Handicapping Team