Mary Slack’s contribution to the game recognised at Summer Cup.
Mocha Blend might have been an unpopular 100-1 longshot victor of Saturday’s Betway Summer Cup, but the filly got a rousing ovation from the big race day crowd when led into the winner’s circle by her breeder Mary Slack.
There were reasons for this apparently inverted sentiment.
Slack – doyen of the Oppenheimer family – has been a vital saviour of the South African racing industry after its bankruptcy following Covid and Jooste depradations. Racing people are genuinely and profoundly grateful for this and couldn’t stop saying how “deserved” and “worthy” a win it was for the grand old rich family.
The famous Oppenheimer yellow and black silks, now raced by Slack’s daughter Jessica Jell, would also have stirred affection among racegoers who have been seeing them and backing them for decades.
Then there was a fairytale first-time Grade 1 victory for visiting Durban trainer-jockey combo Frank Robinson and Tristan Godden. And an under-appreciated filly beating fancied colts in heavy going went down well, too.
The good vibes didn’t reach the official handicappers, though. They hit Mocha Blend with a penalty of 12 merit rating points for her career-best performance at Turffontein. However, amazingly, she has lost next to nothing to the Grade 1 opponents she thrashed at the weekend.
That’s because the handicappers were held back by pesky rules.
As the National Horseracing Authority’s circumlocution office explained in a press release this week:
“Following her triumph, Mocha Blend’s official merit rating was raised from 105 to 117. This increase reflects the minimum uplift permissible for a handicap winner for a benchmark handicap, where 127 equates to 60kg and 115 equates to 54kg.
“The smallest adjustment allowed in any handicap is two points, equivalent to one kilogram, and this was applied to Mocha Blend. Having carried 54kg (equivalent to 115 at these weights) into the race, she was raised by the minimum increment to 117, which translates to 55kg for a handicap at the same benchmark.
“The handicappers used Busstopinhounslow as the line horse, leaving his rating unchanged at 112. Olivia’s Way, who finished runner up, was increased from 112 to 116, while The Ultimate King, who finished third, was upped from 111 to 113.
“Other rating changes:
• Legend Of Arthur: 117 to 112
• Spumante Dolce: 116 to 115
• Royal Victory: 125 to 124.”
So, in short, if the Summer Cup were to be raced again under the new MRs, Mocha Blend would start with much the same weight advantage over favourites like The Equator, King Pelles and Atticus Finch as she did at the weekend.
That’s how much under sufferance the lightly raced filly was at 54kg.
The MR penalty with little elite-level downside might give Mocha Blend’s connections pause when considering a campaign in the coming Cape summer feature season.
Thee NHA’s release ccontinued:
Jackpot City Gr2 Dingaans
Trust has earned a revised rating of 119, up from 92, following his victory in the Jackpot City Gr2 Dingaans for three-year-olds over 1600m.
The Handicappers unanimously agreed to use the runner-up, Jan Van Goyen, as the line horse in assessing the race, leaving his rating unchanged at 118.
Notably, Trust had produced a performance figure of 108 in his previous start, but the handicappers were restricted by race conditions that capped rating adjustments at a maximum of four points. As a result, his official rating could not be raised to reflect the full merit of that effort.
In addition to the winner, the following horses also received increments in their ratings:
• All Systems Go – 96 to106
• Shadowfax – 104 to105
• Copper Eagle – 91 to 103
• Singleton Sam – 91 to 98
Tenjiku and Whispering Death were the two horses to receive ratings drops, both going down to 101 from 104 respectively.
Ducat Africa Gr3 Fillies Mile
Hazy Dazy has had her rating upped from 94 to 101 after capturing the Ducat Africa Gr3 Fillies Mile over 1600m.
The Handicappers identified the fourth-place finisher, Pretty Persuasive, as the most suitable line horse, leaving her rating unchanged on 93.
Due to the specific conditions of the race, which limit the increase of placed runners to a maximum of four points, the following adjustments were made:
• Charge It (2nd place): capped at 93, up from 89
• Merryweather (3rd place): capped at 86, up from 82
The following horses received ratings reductions:
• Mamlambo: eased slightly from 92 to 91
• Alta Capitana: reduced from 87 to 84
New Turf Carriers Gr3 Merchants
Pistol Pete has had his rating adjusted from 113 to 119 following his comfortable win in the New Turf Carriers Gr3 Merchants over 1160m. Quantum Theory, who finished fourth, was considered the most suitable line horse to assess the race, leaving his rating unchanged on 113.
The following horses also went up in their ratings following the running of this race:
• Cosmic Star – 100 to 106
• Charming Cheetah – 107 to 110
Dantonfromsandton received a slight drop in the ratings, going down to 105 from 106.
Blu Voucher Listed Carry On Alice Stakes
Mia Moo’s official merit rating has been adjusted from 117 to 119 following her victory in the Blu Voucher Listed Carry On Alice Stakes for fillies and mares over 1160m.
Rodeo Drive, who finished fourth, was identified as the line horse to assess the race, and her rating remains unchanged on 107.
The specific conditions of this race limit the increase for placed runners to a maximum of three points. As a result, the runner-up, Almond Sea, could only be raised from 112 to 115 despite having achieved a performance that merited a slightly higher mark.
A total of three horses received ratings reductions following the running of this race:
• Chasing Happiness – 115 to 114
• Chrome Tourmaline – 106 to 104
• Elegantrix – 106 to 104.
