Universal

Mr H. If you believe the MR is much too high for Universal then at what MR do you think Universal should be rated?

We could have a Queens Plate winner here.
The acceleration brought back memories of one...........
Mark Anthony winning the Queens Plate .

Some rated Mark Anthony higher than Horse Chestnut, I did.

Mac wrote:

Mr H. If you believe the MR is much too high for Universal then at what MR do you think Universal should be rated?

It's not that his rating is too high its the fact that he might battle to find any suitable races to earn in before he has to race in features or handicaps...how many novice and graduation races are there per week in any centre?

Surely to goodness sanity must prevail and limits have to be implemented on MR ratings after maiden wins, novice, graduation etc. This is particularly important in horses starting their careers. My biggest gripe about MR is a horse is penalised for ONE good run. This Universal won like a champion and that's what we all as punters and lovers of the game want to see - the reality is that the jockey has cost the horse by winning so well. This is in conflict with the ethos of horse racing surely?

Let's analyze the 97 given to a promising horse who has run twice and won a R52 000 Maiden plate. The owners would have banked R26 000 should both trainer and jock receive the "standard" 10% deduction. They have just paid for 2 months worth of stabling and have a horse that is rated in the top echelon of maiden winners according to MR. Now lets compare this rating to the 5yo mare Keep on Dancing from the Wendy Whitehead stable who has just retired as a 7 time winner. This mare has run seven times from February 2021 and won 6 times with one place. These six victories include a FM70, a FM 79, a FM 76, the Listed KRA East Coast Cup, The KZN Oaks Grade 2 and Sundays Listed Off to Stud. In between these victories the filly ran 3rd in the listed Scarlet Lady to the KZN bomb She's a Keeper, beaten 3 lengths.

She has a MR of 92.

I understand the 97 is not a nett rating but all the explaining in the world will not convince me that MR is not a punitive system that penalizes young horses for performing. You are punished as an owner for being lucky enough to own a good youngster. Perhaps a quick look at owners numbers and the movement in direction since the implementation of this system will prove my point in this regard.

For me, limiting MR’s IS insanity. I want to know how good a horse is, full stop. If you want to encourage lower-weighted higher-rated horses then propose to introduce weight allowances. But this comes with a caveat, there just might not be any opposition from other runners and then the race will be scratched.


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Mac wrote:

For me, limiting MR’s IS insanity. I want to know how good a horse is, full stop. If you want to encourage lower-weighted higher-rated horses then propose to introduce weight allowances. But this comes with a caveat, there just might not be any opposition from other runners and then the race will be scratched.


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Mac the solution in my opinion lies with the program. Cater for more plate racing with set conditions and no penalties for the placed horses. As an owner getting your horse a run and the chance to earn stakes has to be a priority. Allow these talented horses the opportunity to win races without their career being compromised after one run. The problem is as you have identified, trainers run scared when they see a "bomb" in the noms and scratch. There have been a few examples of these lately and I find this guy Jay August offers some good insight. He posts on the other site but do yourself a favour and follow him on FB if you are not already. How a guy like him is not involved in racing in any formal way is beyond me.

Here's another statement that may upset traditionalists. We have too many Fillies handicaps and these need to be drastically reduced. The sex allowance fillies receive is seen as too generous in some quarters ( I am on the fence with this more from a traditional than factual view).

In SA the sex allowance is 5lb. In GB&I and, I think France too, the sex allowance is 3lb. In Saudi there is no sex nor age allowance.
In SA the sex allowance is already “built-in” into the MR’s hence no sex allowances in handicaps.


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Mac what I am saying is cut back drastically on FM handicaps and replace these with open handicaps all horses can run in. As you say the fillies get a 5 lb allowance and this more than offsets the disadvantages of running against the boys imvho.

Made that field look pedestrian. Grade 1 material (maybe premature, but my feeling). Impressive.

I am so happy my pals Greg, Daryl and Jimmy own this horse!!

Hereditary runs race 4 tomorrow