Questions Raised Over Feature Field

The publication of Saturday’s Gr2 Post Merchants final field had our phones ringing off the hook on Tuesday.

Had the powers-that-be drawn straws, or was it a case of provincialism, a points system – or simply good old-fashioned gut-feel subjectivity?

None of the above, according to the NHRA’s Chief Handicapper, Lennon Maharaj.

Speedpoint (119) is a reserve runner (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

There were a few complaints, but leading Summerveld conditioner Garth Puller assured us he absolutely wasn’t speaking from his pocket when trying to fathom out how his 110-rated Ishnana had been relegated to first reserve status in favour of the accomodation of lesser rated horses – some without current form.

“As a trainer, we are supposed to be professionals who can plan our programmes within reasonable parameters. But how do I explain sensibly to the owners of a horse that has won two of his last three starts, is a model of consistency who has earned at 18 of his 25 starts – his last a Pinnacle win at Saturday’s course and distance and that we can’t get in to lesser races, that he must now take a back seat to lower-rated horses? It doesn’t make sense and nobody can explain it. There is clearly something wrong. They can’t have their cake and eat it,” said a clearly upset Puller.

The consistent 110 rated Ishnana – won two of last three – didn’t make cut (Pic-Candiese Lenferna)

We understand that the final field is at the discretion of the NHA and Gold Circle, but that surely doesn’t circumvent the need for clear rationale and fairness?

How is the decision made to say allow, for example an MR 99 in Solid Gold – beaten by a filly on Sunday – a run ahead of a 119 rated horse?

Cabo Da Cruz (103) & Socrates (104) also get in ahead of Ishnana (110) and Speedpoint (119).

How do the handicappers measure perceived ‘fitness’ qualifications?

NHA Chief Handicapper Lennon Maharaj told the Sporting Post that the Post Merchants’ is not a handicap and the order of MR is therefore not the only or vital component which determines order of preference.

“The race is a conditions race, in this case a Pinnacle styled race, and eliminating strictly by order of rating would see horses that were better weighted under the conditions excluded in favour of horses less well weighted under the conditions,” he added.

NHRA Chief Handicapper Lennon Maharaj

For the sake of clarity here are the conditions for this race:

POST MERCHANTS (Grade 2) 175 000
For all Horses
Benchmark at 62,0 kg = 120 or more
Benchmark at 60,0 kg = 115 to 119
Benchmark at 58,0 kg = 110 to 114
Benchmark at 56,0 kg = 105 to 109
Benchmark at 54,0 kg = 100 to 104
Benchmark at 52,0 kg = 99 and less
The winner of this race will not incur a penalty of more than 6 Rating
points, unless requested
There will be no rating increase for placed horses, unless requested
Weight for age allowances will be applied where applicable to a
minimum weight of 50,0 kg
Sex Allowance of 2,5 kg for Fillies and Mares, subject to a minimum
weight of 50 kg

Lennon said that he would illustrate their thinking regarding eliminations in this race, as follows:

• Ishnana rated 110 is 1 kg worse off with Socrates, and 0.5kg worse off with Cabo Da Cruz and Solid Gold under the conditions than were this a handicap.
• Ishnana 58kg (110) should concede Solid Gold (99) 5.5kgs on ratings but is required to concede 6kgs to Solid Gold under the conditions of this race.
• Our view was that Solid Gold had confirmed his rating recently, is in good recent form and we therefore opted for him as he is better weighted under the conditions.

He said that last year they faced the same scenario when favouring the eventual winner La Bella Mia (rated 97) over higher-rated horses.

“We were heavily criticised for eliminating higher rated horses at that time, but La Bella Mia’s subsequent win confirmed our assessment of her relative ranking based on the race conditions. We may not be correct this year in choosing Solid Gold over Ishnana, but the principle we adopted last year is consistent with how we have applied it this year.”

The 2019 Post Merchants winner La Bella Mia (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)

He added that with regards to Speedpoint (119) they excluded him as he had not run in over 400 days and his well-being or fitness was unknown to them.

“Historically we have observed that horses returning from such a lengthy lay-off are less likely to perform than fitter horses of lower rating and with more recent form. The question arises whether we should allow a Gr2 event to be used to get a higher rated horse fit while excluding horses of lower ability, but which are fit. We chose the principle that a Gr2 event should favour the fitter horse.”

He said that eliminations are made in consultation with the Racing Operator and they have final input.

Lennon has produced a best weighted table which shows the MR rankings(best weighted order) of all runners that have accepted to run in this race: