Pleasedtomeetyou trainer not so pleased

Trainer Andre Nel has lost an appeal against the merit rating of a horse in his stable.

An independent panel consisting of Messrs V Moodley, J Vermaak and R S Napier convened on 30 August, by teleconference, to hear the appeal on behalf of Pleasedtomeetyou against the MR of 92 allotted to this colt after it won Race 1 at Kenilworth Racecourse on 7 August.

The panel unanimously decided to dismiss the appeal on the basis that the horses with exposed form ran way below their previous two starts from a margin perspective and the handicappers had no option but to rate the race in the manner in which they did. Pleasedtomeetyou’s rating was within the handicapping guidelines, they said.

As the top four positions were filled by first-time runners, the handicappers were forced to apply more “art and science”, rather than the traditional line-horse methodology, in determining the rating of the race. –