TAB SA DERBY (Grade 1)
LEGEND OF ARTHUR’S official merit rating was raised to 117 from 109 after he won the Grade 1 TAB SA Derby for 3-year-olds over 2450m at the Turffontein Standside track on Saturday. The Handicappers believed that GREY JET had confirmed his SA Classic performance, where he initially earned his rating of 108, and used him to rate this race, leaving his rating unchanged.
The runner-up, WILD INTENT, demonstrated a significantly higher performance in the Listed World Sports Betting Hawwaam Stakes and had to be capped at 99.
Extract from Listed World Sports Betting Hawwaam Stakes Press Release:
Due to the specific conditions of this race, the winner had to be capped at a maximum of 6 points and placed runners to 3 points. Consequently, IMMEDIATE EDGE had to be limited to a rating of 94 despite performing at a much higher level. The narrowly beaten runner-up WILD INTENT had to be capped at a rating of 99 despite performing at a higher level.
WILD INTENT has now been adjusted to his performance figure of 116 after his run in the TAB SA Derby.
Three other horses received merit rating increases. SOLAR SAIL’S rating increased to 115 from 86, while IMMEDIATE EDGE, who finished 4.70 lengths (equivalent to 7 points) behind the 108-rated line horse at level weights, had his rating increased from 94 to 101. Lastly, COUNT HUHTIKUU received a partial adjustment of six points, moving from 79 to 85.
There were no merit rating decreases for any of the horses in this race
HKJC WORLD POOL PREMIER'S CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE (Grade 1)
Following his victory in the HKJC World Pool Premier's Champions Challenge (Grade 1) over 2000m, FIRE ATTACK has had his merit rating adjusted to 126 from 116. The Handicappers deemed ATTICUS FINCH, who finished in fourth place, to be the ideal line horse for the rating of this race, leaving him unchanged on a rating of 121.
The runner-up, ROYAL VICTORY, went up to his previous best rating of 125 from 124.
CHESTNUT BOMBER was the only horse to receive a drop in the ratings, going down to 101 from 104
TAB COMPUTAFORM SPRINT (Grade 1)
Top-rated WILLIAM ROBERTSON maintained his official merit rating of 128 following his victory in the Grade 1 TAB Computaform Sprint over 1000m. In this race, CRUISE CONTROL, the fourth-place finisher, was designated as the line horse, and his rating remained unchanged at 118.
Two horses received upward adjustments in their ratings. WINDS OF CHANGE, who finished third, was increased to 121 from 107, and TIME FO ORCHIDS was raised to 109 from 107.
There were slight drops for two horses. LUCKY LAD was reduced to 124 from 125, and CHOCOLATE SOLDIER went down to 114 from 115.
TAB EMPRESS CLUB STAKES (Grade 1)
FATAL FLAW has had her merit rating adjusted to 120 from 115 after impressively landing the TAB Empress Club Stakes (Grade 1) over 1600m for fillies and mares at weight-for-age terms. The Handicappers were unanimous in their assessment that the third-place finisher, WHITE PEARL, was the most suitable line horse to assess this race, leaving her rating unchanged on 114.
There were no other changes to the ratings of any other runners in this race.
WILGERBOSDRIFT BRIDGET OPPENHEIMER SA OAKS (Grade 2)
Top-rated FIERY PEGASUS retained her official merit rating of 119 after holding on to secure victory in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks for 3-year-old fillies over 2450m. The runner-up, WORLD OF ALICE, who also finished behind FIERY PEGASUS in the SA Fillies Classic, was identified as the ideal line horse to assess this race, keeping her rating unchanged at 108
There were merit rating increases for no fewer than four horses in this race. Third-place finisher, COCOMELON, went up to 106 from 90, fourth-place finisher HAT’S QUEEN was raised to 105 from 96. TODOQUE was increased to 100 from 92, and PARTY PUNCH was increased to 81 from 77.
No runner received a drop in their ratings in this race.
TAB HAWAII STAKES (Grade 2)
Top Rated MAIN DEFENDER’S official merit rating remained unchanged at 130 following his victory in the TAB Hawaii Stakes (Grade 2) over 1400m. The Handicappers used third-place finisher TEXAS RED as the line horse to assess this race, leaving his rating unchanged at 115.
The runner-up, COSMIC SPEED, had his rating adjusted to 125 from 120, while FIRE ‘N FLAMES was partially increased from 101 to 108 due to his overall profile.
BARBARESCO was the only runner to receive a drop in the ratings, going down slightly to 124 from 125.
4RACING CARADOC GOLD CUP (Listed)
Best weighted MY SOUL MATE, who fought courageously to clinch victory in the Listed 4Racing Caradoc Gold Cup over 2850m, has had her official merit rating adjusted from 106 to 107. The Handicappers opted to use the fourth-place finisher, TWENTY DRACHMAS, to rate this race, leaving his rating unchanged on 93.
Interestingly, the two best-weighted horses in the race, MY SOUL MATE and EXPLOSIVE BOND, secured the first and second positions respectively, filling the exacta and yielding a payout of R136.20.
Two other horses received upward adjustments in their ratings. The runner-up, EXPLOSIVE BOND, was raised to 99 from 97, while NEBRAAS was adjusted to 99 from 98.
There were no merit rating drops for any horse in this race.
The Effectiveness of the Rating System
The highest-rated horses in all but one race - PARISIAN WALKWAY, who achieved his highest performance figure over 1600m - claimed the top four positions in each of this past weekend’s Grade 1 and Grade 2 races (excluding the two-year-old races). This provides strong validation regarding the effectiveness of the rating system.
These results suggest that the current rating system is highly reliable in assessing horses' relative performances.
Additionally, the three-year-olds have once again showcased their progress when competing in open company. Standout 3-year-old performers in open company from this past weekend's racing include FATAL FLAW (winner), COSMIC SPEED (2nd place), WINDS OF CHANGE (3rd place), and Fire Attack (winner).
In fact, three-year-olds have secured victories in Grade 1 weight-for-age races throughout the season, including the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, the World Sports Betting Cape Town Met, the Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, the TAB Empress Club Stakes, and the HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge
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