I was surprised to read Sarah Whitelaw’s assertion in her recent column that the rating of Royal Zulu Warrior as a 70 following his runaway Maiden win was as a consequence of the official handicappers having “assessed the form as moderate”.
Ms Whitelaw is obviously unaware of the long standing Handicapping protocol which prevents any Maiden winner aged 4+ being allocated an MR exceeding a nett. 70.
In reality this horse ran to a 90 on that day, and then to a 92 when winning a Handicap by a similar runaway margin a few weeks later. Since his MR currently rests at 78 due to the many restrictions imposed on ‘true’ handicapping, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out that he is clearly vastly underrated.
If anyone wishes to be informed about the Handicapping protocols currently in place, they can be found at www.horseracingauthority.co.za. Just click on Racing, then Publications, then Handicapping Guidelines (amended April 2010).
Ken Nicol
(NHRA Handicapper)
