• 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.

• 4Racing Computaform Sprint (Grade 1)

RIO QUERARI has had his rating raised from 125 to 130 after he ran out a fluent winner of the Grade 1 4Racing Computaform Sprint over the straight 1000m course at Turffontein on Saturday. It was felt that in finishing 4.75 lengths off the winner at level weights in a Grade 1 race CHANTYMAN would not have run below the rating of 119 which he has earned in minor KZN events and accordingly used him as the line horse, which leaves him unchanged on 119.

In rating the race this way, 4^th placed CHIMICHURI RUN achieves the same mark of 123 as when he finished 3^rd behind RIVARINE and RUSSET AIR (both unplaced here) in what looked to be a weaker renewal of the Computaform Sprint in 2020.  It was felt that he would not have run worse this time round, and was given a slight drop from 126 to 125 as an overall re-assessment.

2^nd placed BOHICA goes up from 118 to 125 and would accordingly meet RIO QUERARI on 2.5 kgs better terms should they face each other in a handicap.  There were increases also for VERNICHEY, who is up slightly from 113 to 114, and for MIND READER, who was picked up marginally from 96 to 105, MIND READER actually produced a performance figure of 115.

Aside from CHIMICHURI RUN, there were drops for two other horses.  RUSSET AIR is down from 121 to 117, while MIRACLE FLIGHT drops from 99 to 96.

• 4Racing Camellia Stakes (Grade 2)

CELESTIAL LOVE has had her rating raised from 105 to 119 after her emphatic win in the Grade 2 4Racing Camellia Stakes for fillies and mares over 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday.  Runner-up SARAH was deemed to make for the best line horse here, which leaves her unaltered on a mark of 112.

3^rd placed SWEET FUTURE goes up from 107 to 110, while in the only other increase 4^th finisher TROPIC SUN was raised from 107 to 109.

Three runners were given a rating’s drop.  RIO’S WINTER is down from 108 to 106, SINGFORAFA drops to 114 from 117, and lastly POOL PARTY was cut from 97 to 95. 

• 4Racing Gerald Rosenberg Stakes (Grade 2)

NETTA has seen her rating climb from 102 to 120 following her runaway success in the Grade 2 4Racing Gerald Rosenberg Stakes for fillies and mares over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday.  Given the strung-out nature of the finish, the Handicappers saw no alternative to using 2^nd placed SPARKLING WATER as the line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 109.

The winner aside, there were no increases for any other horse, while the only drop sees SARAGON being trimmed from 104 to 103.

• 4Racing Gold Bowl (Handicap) (Grade 3)

DON’T LOOK BACK has had his rating raised from 96 to 101 after he captured the Grade 3 4Racing Gold Bowl (handicap) over 3200m at Turffontein on Saturday.  It was felt that 4^th placed ODD ROB had run very similarly to when he achieved a mark of 91 by finishing 4^th in the Grade 3 Caradoc Gold Cup over 2850m four weeks earlier and he was used to that rating when assessing the Gold Bowl.  Accordingly, ODD ROB was given a small drop and is down from 94 to 93.

Runner-up SMOKING HOT was fully seven pounds or 3.5 kgs under sufferance at the weights and accordingly goes up from 87 to 98, while 3^rd finisher OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE was raised from 99 to 101.

There were no other increases, but two horses were given a drop.  IMPERIAL RUBY is down from 100 to 98, while FACTOR FIFTY was dropped from 105 to 103. 

• World Sports Betting Guineas (Grade 2)

LINEBACKER has had his rating raised from 115 to 124 after his victory in the Grade 2 World Sports Betting Guineas over 1600m on the Greyville turf course on Sunday 2 May.  The Handicappers were of the view that 5^th finisher MK’S PRIDE made for the best line horse, especially as he earned his rating when beating older horses in the Grade 2 Hawaii Stakes at Turffontein in March, and as such his rating remains unchanged on 119.

The Handicappers were also aware of the fact that LINEBACKER appeared to win this event somewhat more easily than the winning margin of 0.60 length suggests and therefore raised 2^nd placed SEEKING TO STARS from 117 to 121 rather than the 123 he ostensibly achieved if the numbers are read literally.  In other words, it was felt that LINEBACKER should have a rating which is more than one pound superior to that of SEEKING THE STARS (who also enjoyed the run of the race after avoiding the considerable interference suffered by some runners approximately 300m after the start.)

3^rd placed KOMMETDIEDING was raised from 117 to 120, while 4^th placed RUSSIAN ROCK is up from 114 to 119, both horses finishing the race off nicely after having little luck in running.  The only other raise was for INFINITE WONDER, who achieved a 111 but only goes from 74 to 92 to keep him in line with the 95-rated TREAD SWIFTLY, who finished 1.40 lengths ahead of him.  There were no ratings drops for any runner in this race.

• World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas (Grade 2)

CAPTAIN’S RANSOM remains unchanged on a mark of 126 after she won the Grade 2 World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Greyville on Sunday.  It was 4^th placed ZARINA who was considered to make for the correct line horse, which leaves her unchanged on a mark of 107.  In rating the race this way, CAPTAIN’S RANSOM only runs to rating of 112, while the 118-rated runner-up PRINCESS CALLA runs to 109.  Accordingly, there was no increase for either filly.

There were ratings adjustments for 3^rd placed FREE STATE STAR, who goes up from 92 to 108, for ONLY THE BRAVE, who was raised from 88 to 97, and for HUGS ACCEPTED, who is up from 87 to 96.  ONLY THE BRAVE and HUGS ACCEPTED only received marginal adjustments and actually achieved 105 and 104 respectively. 

Two fillies were given a rating’s drop.   MISS ELEGANCE is down from 105 to 103, while GEE FOR GO also drops to 103 from 105.

• Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes (Grade 2)

RAINBOW BRIDGE remains unchanged on a mark of 134 following his impressive win in the Grade 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m at Greyville on Sunday.  The Handicappers felt that ULTRA MAGNUS would not have run below his rating by finishing 3^rd in a race of this quality and elected to use him as the line horse, leaving him unchanged on a mark of 120.  In assessing the race this way RAINBOW BRIDGE in fact runs only to 130, hence his unaltered rating.

2^nd placed CATCH TWENTY TWO was raised from 116 to 123, while 4^th finisher TRIP TO AFRICA who achieves a 118 was only adjusted to 114, this makes him two pounds higher than SILVER OPERATOR who remains on 112.   The only other increase was for SOCRATES, who goes up 102 to 106 to at least make him two pounds higher than the 104-rated PINKERTON, who finished 1.40 lengths behind him at level weights.

There were no other increases, but three horses received a rating’s drop.  EDEN ROC is down from 119 to 118, WILD COAST goes from 110 to 108, and lastly SUNSET EYES was trimmed from 112 to 111.

NHA