LKP victor gets a two-point MR hike.
You’d be forgiven for thinking a horse that had won both the Hollywoodbets Durban July and the L’Ormarins King’s Plate – two of South Africa’s most prestigious Grade 1 races – would be rated the best galloper in the land. But you’d be wrong.
After his stirring victory in Saturday’s 1600m King’s Plate, The Real Prince had his merit rating raised just two points, from 126 to 128, by the National Horseracing Authority’s official handicappers.
Far from ascending to the top, the four-year-old colt sits in joint third place in the national rankings.
No 1 is still the sprinter Buffalo Storm Cody on 132, with Equus Horse of the Year Eight On Eighteen in second place on 129. The Real Prince shares third with evergreen Dave The King and erstwhile speed demon Dyce, who has run only once in the past year.
Buffalo Storm Cody started as a 15-10 favourite for the World Pool Cape Flying Championship (Grade 1) on the LKP card, but finished a disappointing seventh, 2.35 lengths behind surprise winner Kingdundee.
The NHA slapped a nine-point penalty on Kingdundee, hiking him from 118 to 127 and into joint fourth place on the national ranking. Buffalo Storm Cody didn’t get a mention from the handicappers – nor from the stipendiary stewards in their post-race report.
Oddities in the rankings
Racing followers will probably conclude that the long journey down to Cape Town from his Highveld base was Buffalo Storm Cody’s undoing – as has been the case for umpteen upcountry raiders down the years.
One poor result certainly doesn’t make him a bad horse, though his abiding lofty MR might be questioned among rank-and-file fans.
The four-year-old’s 132 was earned via victory in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint Durban in in July and three subsequent high-level wins on the Highveld.
Of course, as is often explained, the official handicapping system is carefully and rationally devised and operated, but outcomes sometimes throw up seeming oddities.
The stipes did look into the LKP performances of both the aforementioned Eight On Eighteeen (eighth, 4.25 lengths back at 5-1) and Dave The King (13th out of 14 at 8-1), requesting vet examinations. No obvious problems were detected.
Neither horse crossed the handicappers’ radar.
The officials elected to use fourth-placed Sail The Seas as the line horse in assessing the LKP. So, his rating remained unchanged on 127.
Runner-up Questioning and third-placed See It Again were both raised to 127 (from 123 and 125 respectively) after finishing narrowly ahead of the line horse.
Legal Counsel was the only other runner to receive an increase, moving from 113 to 116, having been rated to finish last before the race.
The following horses received reductions: Cosmic Speed (125 – 124), Sugar Mountain (123 – 122), Jet Force (120 – 115 after failing to confirm his surprise Grade 2 Green Point Stakes effort) and Fire Attack (126 – 124).
SA’s top merit ratings on 14.1.26:
132 Buffalo Storm Cody
129 Eight On Eighteen
128 Dave The King, Dyce, The Real Prince
127 Atticus Finch, Gladatorian, Kingdundee, Questioning, Sail The Seas, See It Again
126 Tenango
