Royal Victory scores his second Gr 1 in succession in the World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge (JC Photos)
All eyes will be on WSB Met winner Double Superlative on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Greyville, where he runs in a Pinnacle Stakes races over 1600m, a race which Royal Victory was earmarked for but is now avoiding.
Trainer Nathan Kotzen gave his reasons for Royal Victory missing it.
He said, “I can’t take a chance. We would be the highest rated horse going in to the race, but they could still end up giving me a point, you never know what the handicapper is going to do.”
Ironically the best example to prove it is highly unlikely the handicapper would have punished him for winning comes from Royal Victory’s last start.
The 126-rated Dave The King beat the 125-rated Royal Victory by 3,50 lengths at level weights in that race and escaped any punishment, because the handicapper obviously decided Royal Victory would not have been at his peak for that race, which was his first since winning the Gr 1 World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge.
Royal Victory is still currently merit rated 125 and with the one point drop See It Again got for his third place finish in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge, it means he will now have to carry 57kg in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Double Superlative is merit rated 124, so will be carrying 56,5kg in the July as things stand.
Nathan Kotzen did not agree with the one point drop given to See It Again.
The handicapper awarded it because having given See It Again a one point raise for his impressive win in the Gr 2 WSB Green Point Stakes, the horse has failed to confirm his rating of 132 in three subsequent runs.
However, Nathan pointed to See It Again’s Gold Challenge appearance being a comeback run, so was surprised he could be given a one point drop.
However, he said Royal Victory had been doing well and he was not perturbed by him missing the race on June 15 and going in to the Hollywoodbets Durban July with just one run under the belt.
He pointed out, “We went in to the Premier’s with just one run.”
He has pointed out in the past that Royal Victory is not a horse who takes a lot of work to reach his peak.
His plan now is to simply give him a harder workout in the Hollywoodbets Durban July gallops than previously intended.
He will gallop the four-year-old Pathfork gelding with a companion on that day, Thursday 27 June.
Nathan, asked on whom he felt were the dangers to Royal Victory in the July, replied, “Watching how Oriental Charm has been running and how he has come on, I would think he is one of our main dangers.”
Meanwhile, Double Superlative was reported recently to be in a good space, although he has not run since his victory in the Met on January 27, so he will obviously benefit from Saturday’s run.
The second highest rated runner in Saturday’s Pinnacle after Double Superlative’s 124 rating is his 112-rated stablemate Triple Time.
Both Double Superlative and Triple Time are owned by Nick Jonsson.
Triple Time will only be receiving 3kg from Double Superlative, as opposed to the 6kg he would receive in a normal handicap, so it is unlikely the latter will be raised for winning in any event.
It is somewhat surprising to see Triple Time not lining up in the Gr 2 Tabgold Derby, but he would risk copping a raise if going close there, so perhaps the connections have the Gold Cup in mind.
