Head Honcho hammered in the handicap
SUN MET longshot Head Honcho has been raised a whopping ten points (5kg or approximately five and a half lengths) to 114 for his impressive win in last Saturday’s WSB Premier Trophy.
That puts him only 3kg behind July winner Do It Again and Undercover Agent – and the assessors reckon he ran even better than that.
Senior handicapper Lennon Maharaj said yesterday that the five-year-old’s performance warranted a rating of 117 but ten points is the maximum permitted increase under the rules.
He added: “We probably wouldn’t have given him 117 even if we could as his performance was a little bit out of profile. Milton setting a decent pace suited him but he still had to do it and he left the others for dead in the straight.”
The bookies, though, are unimpressed and most have still not shortened the gelding’s 33-1 Met price.
Nel
Andre Nel, who has done so well with the horse, reckons the handicappers have over-reacted but we won’t get a chance to see who is right until the January 26 highlight.
The horse will not race again before then.
Rainbow Bridge, Met favourite at around 5-2, is rated only 110 but this is because the handicappers were not allowed to put him up for his close fourth in the Green Point as he finished out of the first three, albeit only by a few millimetres.
Maharaj said he ran to 116.
One of the biggest increases of all has been reserved for Silvano’s Pride – up 15 points to 106 – for her second to Front And Centre in the WSB Fillies Guineas.
Justin Snaith said that she will go for the R5 million CTS 1600 on Met day where she will come up against One World. Vaughan Marshall said that the horse was fine after losing his unbeaten record in the Cape Guineas but he seemed to think that the poor pace was a contributory factor – “the time was over two seconds slower than that in the Concorde Cup.”
Temple Grafin
Temple Grafin, who disappointed in the Fillies Guineas, is to be dropped in trip.
“I don’t think she stayed,” said Glen Kotzen.
“We will probably supplement her for the Cartier Sceptre Stakes (January 4).”
Brett Crawford reported that Front And Centre (upped nine points to 110) has taken the race well but he virtually ruled out reports that the filly will run in the Cartier Paddock, saying: “I haven’t made a decision, and I need to talk to Wayne Kieswetter first, but I doubt she will run. She will probably wait for the Klawervlei Majorca on Met day.”
Nel introduced a smart filly in yesterday’s Tabonline Maiden.
Backed down to 15-10 favouritism, the Trippi filly (out of the high class Gibraltar Blue) was always handy under Aldo Domeyer and led well over a furlong out to score by a comfortable two and a half lengths. Sadly she has problems.
Her trainer said: “She has been very unsound and we haven’t really been able to get her going.
“We will have to take what we can with her.”