David Thiselton
The annual Asian Racing Federation Handicappers Conference was held in Durban this year and it took place last week from the 22nd to the 25th.
South Africa’s chief handicapper Lennon Maharaj said, “We met all the requirements and did what we were scheduled to do, despite some members including Hong Kong-based chairman Nigel Gray, having to join via Zoom due to a typhoon preventing them from flying in.”
Nigel was thus unfortunately unable to address the media as was intended.
The handicappers attended the World Pool Gold Cup meeting.
Lennon said, “They were absolutely thrilled with our racing. We gave them a tour of how everything worked, from the stipes boardroom, parading, the saddling areas etc.”
The international chief handicappers witnessed what is commonly regarded as the best day of racing in South Africa for the purist.
The racing was of a high quality and the local handicappers should take a bow as the form worked out exceptionally well and some of their decisions during the season were vindicated. For example the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Rainbow Lorikeet proved she was worthy of a Hollywoodbets Durban July final field berth by winning the Gr 2 Bet With The World Gold Bracelet over 2000m.
The handicappers were also proved right in not ever rating last year’s Equus Horse Of The Year Dave The King above 128 as he looked vulnerable to a field of classy closers in the Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m.
The big long-strider was always going to be made to run all the way to the line and so it proved. In one of the races of the season Gladatorian surged late to beat the Hollywoodbets Durban July winner The Real Prince while the other two classy closers, See It Again and Fire Attack, also overtook Dave The King before the line.
The conference brings together the Chief Handicappers from ARF member countries—Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates—to assess and agree on ratings for the top-performing thoroughbred racehorses across the southern hemisphere racing season.
The ARF Handicappers Conference was established in August 2009 following changes to the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, which have served as the official global assessment of elite racehorses since 2004.
Originally published twice a year, the Rankings shifted to a single annual edition in January 2009, prompting the ARF to create its own conference to ensure southern hemisphere horses were fairly and consistently evaluated.
The ARF Handicappers Committee convenes to: 1) Agree on ratings for all horses trained or raced in ARF member countries that achieved an international rating of 112 or higher. 2) Evaluate horses that placed in the top four of Group/Grade 1 races, even if they did not meet the 112-rating threshold. 3) Provide data used by the Asian Pattern Committee and National Pattern Committees to assess race quality, determine grading adjustments, and consider new race inclusions.
At the 2024 Conference in Sydney, the committee reviewed and rated 373 horses and it would have been a similar figure last week, underscoring the scale and importance of this annual event.
The ARF Handicappers were present to a final rating assessment for South African horses that ran in the World Pool Gold Cup meeting. These evaluations completed the peer review process of South Africa’s final submissions, ensuring that all ratings are agreed upon for the Southern Hemisphere.
As part of the 2025 ARF Handicappers Conference, the South African Handicapper submitted a total of 37 performances by South African-trained horses that, in their view, achieved an international rating of 112 or higher during the 2024–25 South African racing season.
In addition, 62 performances by Grade 1 placed finishers that fell below the 112-rating threshold were submitted for consideration. These submissions were reviewed and discussed by the ARF Handicappers Committee to ensure consensus on the final international ratings.
Below is the Current SA Pattern Summary Table:
2Yo 3Yo 3Yo+ Total
Grade 1: 4 7 16 27
Grade 2: 6 8 19 33
Grade 3: 7 11 30 48
Listed : 12 11 44 67
Total : 29 38 112 175
It should be noted that the Status of the above Pattern is dependent on the international ratings and not the domestic ratings.
The NHA were honoured to welcome the ARF Handicappers to South Africa and were pleased it was another productive conference and fulfilled the aim of elevating the standards of thoroughbred racing.
