Upon request, an analysis of average ratings of the racing population from August 2010 to present was undertaken.

Based on the research, the following was proposed:

1.         Increase the domestic population by 6 rating points; effective entries 1 March 2018. (The relativity between horses remains the same).

2.         The rating increase will “stretch” the population thereby reducing the “over-crowding” in the lower divisions.

3.         This will only affect domestic ratings.  Domestic and International Ratings are not linked and are done separately.

4.         This adjustment will be effective on 1 March 2018 across the country.

The situation arose due to:

1.            Guidelines limiting upward rating adjustments.

2.            Race conditions restricting upward rating adjustment.

3.            More aggressive rating drops for non-performance.

4.            More cognizant dropping of young horses not making weight- for- age improvement.

5.            “Slippage” in handicap races. i.e. Where there are more downward adjustments than horses remaining the same or going up. Where this happens in large numbers; the ratings will tend to decrease over time. 

These factors are under review.

The proposed increase was accepted by the industry representatives that attended a meeting in Johannesburg on 25 October 2017 and was ratified by the National Board of the NHA.

The accolade of best racehorse in Australasia would be given automatically to Winx by fans of flat racing, but harness racing enthusiasts would make a strong claim that the honour should belong to the New Zealand pacer Lazarus.

Winx (sahracing.com)

On Saturday night at Melton in Victoria Lazarus joined Winx as a winner of 15 Group 1 races when winning the A$500,000 A G Hunter Cup over 2760m in sensational fashion. He lowered the track record in the process and at the same time became the richest pacer in New Zealand history.

Lazarus now has his eyes set on breaking a horse called Blacks A Fake’s record as the highest earning horse in Australasian history. He is currently the third highest earner and is still more than A$1 million shy of Blacks A Fake’s record.

However, he has the $750,000 Miracle Mile at Menangle on February 24 as his next target and will contest a prelude there on February 17.

Lazarus will need to win the Miracle Mile to cement his place as one of the greatest pacers of all time because he met with a rare defeat there last year when only third behind Lennytheshark and Smolda, despite a record bet of A$28,000 being placed on him by one punter on TAB Fixed Odds.

Trainer-driver Mark Purdon was worried going into Saturday’s AG Hunter Cup. Lazarus had been forced to miss the West Australia Cup two weeks prior with hoof problems and then last Wednesday he was smashed in track work by his own stablemate Heaven Rocks, who himself was a brave and luckless third on Saturday night.

In South Africa harness racing does not have a big following, but it will be worth tuning in on February 24 to watch some magnificent horses in action including the mighty Lazarus.

By David Thiselton

Attention is now turned to the Highveld classic season and the question of altitude will once again be to the fore when coastal trainers consider campaigning. On the other hand Highveld trainers don’t think twice about raiding sea level features. A study of the effects of altitude on racehorses has never been done for the reason that South Africa is the only major racing country in the world where it is considered an issue.

However, South African trainers have their own theories learnt through trial and error over decades of practice. Athletic performance in thoroughbreds, as in humans, is interlinked with oxygen supply. Haemoglobin, an iron-containing protein within the red blood cell, carries oxygen to the rest of the body and the more haemoglobin present the more that can be carried. However, when the number of red blood cells is too large there is a traffic jam effect and blood flow is restricted. This is termed haemo-concentrating and is chiefly associated with intact males.

Gelding can help solve haemo-concentration and apparently long, slow work is another relieving influence. Additives can provide the raw material to create haemoglobin, but the only thing that causes haemoglobin to rise is exercise. The aim of training is to stress the system, so that bone marrow makes more haemoglobin for the workload. A gradual increase in workload is therefore best. Scientific studies done on the impact of altitude on human athletes is unlikely to be of much use in thoroughbreds as they have different makeups to humans.

Firstly, over realistic distances, thoroughbreds are physiologically more capable of adapting to high altitude than human athletes, because a horse’s spleen holds approximately one third of its total red blood cells and these are hold in reserve until mobilised through exercise, stress and excitement. However, the measurement of haemoglobin and red blood cell content in horses can’t always be exact because even the anticipation of the needle can cause excitement and the consequent release of the splenic blood.

Furthermore, there is a debate in literature as to which component of splenic blood is more important in the development of VO₂ max in racehorses. VO₂ max is the maximum capacity of an athlete’s body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise. Some evidence suggests that the overall increase in circulating blood volume is more important.

However, other evidence suggests that the increase in circulating red cells and Heamatocrit (the volume percentage of red blood cells in blood), independent of volume, are more important. Furthermore, it has been discovered that horses have two types of red blood cells, one being rigid and the other balloon-like. Horses with more of the balloon-like cells will find it easier to move blood into the muscles and the lungs. On average horses have 40% rigid and 60% fluid cells, but a horse with only 5% rigid cells would have a tremendous advantage, all else being equal, and this may be an area that explains why some horses are superior to their fellows.

South African trainers generally believe that horses have to be worked harder at altitude. In order to get a horse fitter it has to reach a stage where it is in oxygen debt. Incrementally, a horse will be worked to reach this stage until it is fit enough to race, and at altitude horses need to be fitter to race because the oxygen content of the air is less. It stands to reason that a horse trained at high altitude that will start going into oxygen debt at the 400m mark in a Highveld race might still be debt free by the 200m mark when raiding at sea level.

However, Corné Spies, who is probably the most travelled trainer in South Africa currently, has been quoted as saying, “If the horses stay at the coast after their runs they tend to go flat. It would take about six weeks or two months for them to acclimatise and they would then begin to thrive. But taking them in and out is not a problem, so I ship them up and down to keep the positive effect of high altitude training.”

It is also generally agreed that horses raiding the Highveld from the coast would struggle at distances beyond a mile. Horses raiding out of Summerveld have done it, but Geoff Woodruff, a five-times National Champion trainer, who has plenty of experience of training on both the coast and at altitude, pointed out that Summerveld is already a third of the altitude of the Highveld. It is also generally agreed that coastal horses campaigning on the Highveld hit a flat spot at roundabout the 19 day mark that can last for a week or so, although Woodruff believes it takes three to six months for a horse to acclimatise to altitude, unless it’s a sprint-miler.

There are many extenuating factors to consider on the subject of thoroughbreds and altitude, such as the temperament of the horse and how well it travels.

However, there are those who would say, “If a horse is good enough, it would win on the moon.”

By David Thiselton

Live Life, having bounced back to form to take third in the Betting World Cape Flying Championship, could take on the likes of Trip To Heaven again in the Computaform Sprint at Turffontein on 5 May.

Candice Bass-Robinson said: “I feel Live Life could have finished even closer than she did and, while I will play it by ear, she will either go for the Computaform or the South African (City of Pietermaritzburg) Fillies Sprint at Scottsville three weeks later.”

Dutch Philip and Magical Wonderland, first and third in the CTS 1200, are both earmarked for Scottsville’s quadruple Grade 1 day.

Dutch Philip (Liesl King)

Mrs Robinson said: “They have gone to the farm for a short break and will be back in three weeks. Dutch Philip will run in the Tsogo Sun Sprint and Magical Wonderland in the Fillies Sprint but they won’t go to Durban – I will raid from Cape Town.”

Brett Crawford is toying with the idea of giving the Durban season a miss with CTS 1600 winner Undercover Agent and he explained: “The problem with going to Durban with a three-year-old colt is that there is only the one good race to go for (Daisy Guineas) before you have to go a trip or take on the older horses. He is rated 97 so it wouldn’t make sense to do the latter.

“I will have to think about it and talk to the owners (Greg Bortz and Braam van Huyssteen) but I might keep him in Cape Town and go for the Winter Guineas.”

High class stable companions Captain America and Sail South will be aimed at the Rising Sun Gold Challenge (9 June) and the Champions Cup (28 July). Captain America won the former last season and was second to Sail South in the Champions Cup.

Crawford also has charge of Charles, the Trippi colt bought by Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier for a record-equalling R6 million at last year’s CTS Premier Yearling Sale – “He is still some way off a run but he was on the grass last Thursday and is doing everything right.”

Last week’s Tattersalls February Sales generated some much-needed funds for Mayfair Speculators and the racing company’s bankers. Derby hopeful Willie John set a record for the sale when bought by trainer Roger Varian for 1.9 million gns (nearly R34 million). The Dansili colt cost little more than a sixth of that.

However second-hand horses are like cars in that their value tends tend to drop sharply the minute they leave the showrooms and the five mares also partly owned by Markus Jooste that made a total of 1 770 000gns (R31.5 million) cost virtually twice that figure when purchased as yearlings

– The number of trainers involved in the NHA’s caffeine-contaminated feedstuffs investigation is now known to be at least 13, three domiciled in Cape Town and five each in Johannesburg and KZN. All have engaged Robert Bloomberg to act for them.

There were at least 18 positives in July, August and September. The most high profile case is believed to be a horse that ran prominently in the Durban July.  No date has yet been set for the hearing.

By Michael Clower

The Vaal Classic track stages an low key eight race meeting tomorrow and Whorly Whorly could give punters a good start in the Pick 6.

Alfolk (JC Photographics)

The three-year-old Great Britain gelding was 1kg under sufferance in the Grade 3 Lebelo Sprint over 1000m and did well to finish a 2,25 length fourth to the classy Alfolk. He now runs off the same merit rating of 92 in this MR 86 Handicap over 1000m. In The Lebelo he was up with the pace early on but then dropped back and had quite a bit to do by the time they had reached the 400m mark. He then ran on well. He now has blinkers on and this is obviously with a view to him staying in the race in the middle stages. Sporting Monarch, the topweight, is a consistent sort with plenty of pace and as 1200m specialist he should get away with a 128 day layoff over this trip.

Rebel’s Champ is likely better than his last run. He was not impeded in that race but did have a lot of horses around him, whereas in his previous start, a win, he was on his own on the outside and was then sent for home early. A repeat of that tactic might see him bouncing back to his best. He’s Great won his maiden from start to finish and followed up using the same tactic. Last time he led again and then found extra when challenged at the end and failed by only 0,2 lengths. He is 1kg under sufferance, but looks to be on the up and will be a threat. Punta Cana has class and was impressive on debut over this trip. Last time he probably needed the run when well beaten over this trip in his first run for over a year. He should improve but still has 3,15 lengths to make up on He’s Great and is only 1,5kg better off, although he was a head clear of Rebel’s Champ in that race. Barrack Street was among the best sprinters as a two-year-old but despite being by Dynasty and a half-brother to Jay Peg, he is quite small and has been battling this season.

Jameson Girl has been chosen as a Pick 6 banker in the next leg, a MR 78 Handicap over 1000m for fillies and mares. She usually has good pace and a kick, but the donning of blinkers last time blunted her kick. The blinkers being removed are among the card changes for the day and she should now bounce back to her best in her third run after a layoff. She has to carry topweight, but has mixed it with better horses than these and has never been disgraced.

The next leg is the highest rated race on the card, a MR 96 handicap over 1200m, and Zouaves could use his fine turn of foot to sweep past then from a plum draw, although Torro Del Oro, Splendid Garden, Pure Blonde and Marmook should also be considered.

By David Thiselton

Arriving in Brett Crawford’s Summerveld satellite yard as a lowly 67 merit rated handicapper, the four-year-old Redeemer has taken a new lease on life and even a 14-pound increase in his rating was not enough to stop him as he romped to another facile victory at a soggy Scottsville yesterday.

He is now unbeaten in three starts over course and distance and judged on yesterday’s performance the handicappers will not be able to stop him anytime soon.

Redeemer (Candiese Marnewick)

Although the field was cut to just seven runners with the defection of Slightly Scottish with a hoof abscess, the race was run at a fair clip given the tes

ting ground. With the giant filly Call Me Winter calling the shots, Anthony Delpech was able to slot in comfortably three off the pace.

Once in the straight, Delpech had little more to do than shake up his mount and the pair drew off to win as they liked.

Baltic Amber, handy throughout, was unable to match strides but battled on into second nearly seven lengths adrift of the winner.

It may be premature to sound the trumpet for Champions Season but given his performances since arriving in KZN there is every reason to believe that Redeemer would not be out of place in the top flight.

Head Honcho, with the blinkers removed, revelled in the soft ground when making most of the running in the Itsarush.co.za Handicap, proving too smart for top weight One Man Show, winning comfortably by over a length. Short-priced favourite Legend was never going well in the ground and had run his race a long way out.

Doug Campbell looks to have a smart juvenile filly in the form of Val-La-Ree who posted her second win from as many starts in the card opener. She had hacked up on debut and started second favourite behind the grey colt Good Buddy.

It proved no race however, as apprentice Denis Schwarz kept the filly together and she was never in danger.

“I’m really excited,” said Campbell. “She looks to be a really nice filly. She has a beautiful action and I was worried that she might find it tough in the going but she handled it well.”

Ant Mgudlwa doesn’t always get the opportunities that he deserves but when the chips are down he is up with the best of them in a finish as he demonstrated on London Knight for former top rider Garth Puller in the Gold Circle Podcast Handicap. London Knight hooked up with Keagan de Melo aboard Noble Duke with 200 m to run and in a head-to-head duel, Mgudlwa got London Knight’s nose in front when it mattered.

By Andrew Harrison

The Stuart Pettigrew-trained Surcharge threw down the gauntlet to the Highveld-classic bound three-year-olds when giving weight and a beating to a quality field in the Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein Standside on Saturday.

Later, the Mike de Kock-trained filly Fish River stretched clear in the Grade 3 Three Troikas Stakes to build on her impressive victory over the course and distance in December.

Surcharge, a good looking colt by Gimmethegreenlight, has now won five of his seven starts. His two stakes wins to date have both been over the Standside 1400m and he has given weight to the field on both occasions. In the preliminaries on Saturday he did not strike as one who was fully wound up, which made his win all the more impressive. He relaxes well in the running and might in fact be a touch on the lazy side, but this sort of temperament is common among champions. His one fault is his lack of gate speed and in his only defeat this season, in the R2,5 million Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup, this proved costly from a wide draw as he turned for home out of his ground and then experienced traffic problems in the straight. On Saturday, Strydom dropped him out after his hesitant start and he turned for home in third-last position in the twelve horse field. He moved up under the hands, but by the 150m mark still had three lengths to make up on the horse who looked the winner, Sir David Baird.

Piere Strydom

However, Strydom then gave him a backhander and he changed effortlessly into a higher gear. Sir David Baird changed legs twice in the final stages and also hung inward and this helped Surcharge’s cause. Nevertheless, he still looked to have a bit in the tank when surging past to win by 0,6 lengths. What is also palpable is that he will appreciate a step up to the mile, and maybe more. The world looks to be his oyster and he joined the unbeaten Paul Peter-trained Majestic Mambo as the leading light for the forthcoming SA Triple Crown series of races. On paper Surcharge is at least on a par with Grade 1 Cape Guineas winner Tap O’ Noth on a line through Saturday’s third-placed Wonderwall, to whom he gave 2kg and a 1,6 length beating, as the latter finished fifth in the Cape Guineas, beaten 2,35 lengths. Sir David Baird, a handy to front-running sort, was the least fancied of Mike de Kock’s three runners on Saturday.

His stablemate Yakeen, the 16/10 favourite, was forced to commit a long way out after being handy from pole position, but found little extra and finished a 6,4 length sixth. He will prefer further and in his impressive recent win over 1600m he came from off the pace. De Kock’s Silvano colt Pietro Mascagni sat behind Yakeen in the running and plugged on for a 3,7 length fourth over a trip too sharp. Fifth-placed Ideal Secret had too much ground to make up from last and will also enjoy the step up in trip in the Gauteng Guineas. The Puma was tailed off last entering the last 400m so did well to run on for seventh. Investec Dingaans runner-up Seerite was off the bit a long way out but stayed on for ninth. He will prefer further and would also likely prefer some cut in the ground.

In the Three Troikas San Fermin had a chance to restore her lofty reputation, having failed in the Fillies Mile and followed it with a good third in the Listed Swallow Stakes over 1160m in just her third career start. However, despite starting 5/4 favourite, she proved no match for the De Kock-trained Australian-bred Canford Cliffs filly Fish River. San Fermin did admittedly have a wide draw to overcome, but found a nice spot on the rail after being dropped out. However, the classy Fish River kicked from a handy position and kept her at bay before finding another gear in the closing stages to win easing up by 2,1 lengths. The relatively small San Fermin finished second.

Dame Kelly gave cheek to Fish River until the 200m mark. She held on for third ahead of the winner’s big stablemate Takingthepeace, who gave 2kg to the whole field and was staying on well. Green Top, who is by Gimmethegreenlight out of Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic-winner Caughtintheslips, also ran on well for an encouraging fifth. Fish River provided Anthony Delpech with his 100^th win of the season. He looks likely to defend his National Jockeys Championships as he rode a further two winners on the day to maintain his 25,69% strike rate and at stumps was 25 winners clear of second-placed Lyle Hewitson. Mike and Adam Azzie also scored a treble on the day and this included a courageous front-running win by the five-year-old Captain Al gelding Arctica under Craig Zackey in the Listed Wolf Power Stakes over 1600m.

By David Thiselton

Durban July hero Marinaresco is to leave his history-making trainer to join Mike de Kock for an international campaign.

Candice Bass-Robinson has decided that the option of continuing as the trainer when the five-year-old moves overseas is not practical for her. She has her own yard adjoining Summerveld as well as one of the biggest stables in Cape Town.

She said: “He goes into quarantine in the middle of the month and will go via Mauritius to Mike de Kock’s yard in Newmarket. After that nothing has been finalised but maybe Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai. He remains in the same ownership  (Marsh Shirtliff, Bryn Ressell, Mike Bass and Fred Green) and I will be sorry to see him go.”

Marinaresco set a weight-carrying record when becoming the first Durban July winner to be trained by a woman and also one of the first (if not the first) to win the race for a trainer in their initial season. His other triumphs included the Champions Cup, Winter Guineas and Winter Classic.

Last Winter, who finished one place in front of him when runner-up in the Sun Met, could be on the same plane to Mauritius following a meeting between owner Lady Laidlaw, Dean Kannemeyer and Jehan Malherbe on Friday.

Kannemeyer said: “We are all on the same track with this and we are now busy negotiating to get him out of the country. I will remain the trainer and we will go via Mauritius but we still have to decide whether we go now or wait until July but, personally, I think the sooner the better.

“There is Hong Kong in December but, if it proves the horse is not ready for that, a race I have long wanted to win is the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (won by the Alec Laird-trained London News in 1997) there in April.”

Kannemeyer fears that the horse would end up with top weight if the decision is made to wait for the Vodacom Durban July. Last Winter is a 10-1 chance for the Greyville spectacular with Hollywoodbets which has African Night Sky favourite at just over 7-1 and Marinaresco on 25-2.

By Michael Clower

Andre Nel had a welcome respite from his virus nightmare when Love To Boogie got up close home under Aldo Domeyer to land the TAB Telebet Handicap at Durbanville’s twilight meeting on Saturday.

The time was only 0.22 seconds outside Empress Club’s 1992 course record and, although this  was winner number 24 of the season for Nel,  he might well have been sitting on twice as many had it not been for the sickness.

Aldo Domeyer

He said: “Love To Boogie hasn’t had it but 25 out of the 60 of them have and we had one more this morning. However none of the youngsters has gone down with it and we don’t know whether it is viral or parasital so we are still in the dark.”

So were punters after 15-10 favourite Kingston Passage trailed in sixth of the seven runners after looking beaten early in the straight. “He over-raced and never left Greg Cheyne alone,” explained Brett Crawford. “It is back to the drawing board with him.”

The Philippi trainer, and the yard’s many supporters, had some compensation when 26-10 chance Gimmie A Cohiba got up in the closing stages under Corne Orffer in the last. Crawford had flagged this one when interviewed on Tellytrack earlier in the afternoon.

Domeyer, who also scored on So It Begins for Candice Bass-Robinson, is third on the national log with 69 winners but remains a 20-1 outsider for the title.

Justin Snaith drew a blank with his only two runners but Fifty Cents’ victory at Fairview on Friday saw him achieve his century for the 14^th successive season. He is more than R6 million clear of triple champion Sean Tarry on the national log.

Billy Prestage is having a fair bit of success with his front-running tactics and 15-1 chance Desert Lark added to the tally when leading throughout the final circuit of the Play Soccer 6 Handicap.

Prestage said: “This horse is a bit one-paced but I knew that he was very fit. The last time he ran the guy (Sihle Cele) waited for the others to come and catch him before he started riding so I told Anthony Andrews to be sure to keep him going.”

Basil Marcus stood in for younger son Adam (away on holiday) and celebrated the 35^th birthday of elder son Glenn (the Phumelela computer guru) with a double from Jeovana and Amazingly. The former was ridden by Richard Fourie who also scored two for Glen Kotzen.

By Michael Clower

The speedy Kingston Passage looks made for Durbanville and Greg Cheyne’s mount is a confident selection for the TAB Telebet Handicap when Cape Town racing briefly returns to the country course tomorrow.

This is to allow time for all the Met-day marquees to be taken down and removed from Kenilworth.   A year ago, when Durbanville was out of action, there was no racing in the Cape for a fortnight.

Kingston Boy

But back to Kingston Passage. He hasn’t raced here before but he is blisteringly fast early and he should be able to build up a decisive lead by the time he turns for home. He won three in a row last season in this sort of burn-them-off-quick style and this is his third run of the campaign after going close in the first two.

He opened 18-10 favourite with World Sports Betting on Wednesday and he could have most to fear from 15-2 shot Pillar Of Hercules. Ignore his run last Saturday – he got himself worked up in the pens – but on his previous outing he finished only three-quarters of a length behind Kingston Passage despite not getting a clear run and he is a kilo better.

Love To Boogie is second favourite at 7-2 but he has been off for six months and the stable is still battling with virus issues. Northern Corner (9-2) has been upped five points for last time’s neck win. Al Wahed (11-2) hasn’t raced for 12 weeks. Prince Alfred (5-1) was very disappointing last time and the course vet could find nothing wrong while 16-1 rank outsider Tar Heel was over six lengths behind the selection four weeks ago and is only a kilo better.

Never bet first time out of the maidens is a maxim that has benefitted punters time and time again but there was a lot of talk about Indian Song when she won very easily here on debut last month despite losing a fair bit of ground at the start. She may not have beaten much but she impressed and her 71 rating shouldn’t stop her at 5-2 in the Racing Association Handicap.

Aldo Domeyer, who rides her, has several fancied mounts and he can start off on a winning note with odds-on shot Flower Of Carmel.  But watch out for 6-1 chance Jeovana who, although a bit disappointing last time in the race won by subsequent winner Marion Belle, finished over three lengths in front of Flower Of Carmel at Kenilworth previously.

Star Burst (19-10) may just get the better of Arctic Siren and Bendy Bullet in the Tabonline Maiden (race three).

By Michael Clower