Line-horse – that is the question?

JUSTIN SNAITH will know the fate of African Night Sky’s merit rating sometime this morning after the handicappers have assessed Saturday’s win in the Cup Trial.

In the heat of the moment, Snaith was uncertain of African Night Sky’s participation in the Vodacom Durban July, but with the benefit of hindsight the waters may settle.

“If we get hammered then we may take it on appeal but it will be up to Fred (Crabbia) to decide. If it’s around four pounds, hopefully, less, then we will probably take our medicine and crack on,” said Snaith on Saturday.

So a lot hinges on which horse the handicappers choose as the ‘line-horse’, a horse that has run up to what they deem as its optimum rating.

If they choose either second placed Crowd Pleaser or third-placed Platinum Prince then the penalty could be as little as two pounds.

If the handicappers choose fourth placed Head Honcho, then the penalty could be as high as five pounds or even six given the ease his victory.

Even with that in mind, the general consensus on course on Saturday was “we’ve just seen the July winner!” and bookmakers tend to agree as African Night Sky was trading at short as 22-10 yesterday with Majestic Mambo and Do It Again at around 6-1.

The weights will be announced on Tuesday, June 19.