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Picture: At My Command was carrying saddle cloth no. 1, which in SA’s traditional numbering system would be the top weight in a handicap. (Wayne Marks)  

 

Commentator Jehan Malherbe exclaimed in the closing stages of yesterday’s seventh race, “And At My Command is far too classy here, despite topweight he is powering home!”

Malherbe has been commentating for decades and number one in a handicap has always been topweight, so he can be forgiven for that mistake.

At My Command was in fact carrying 56kg, 5kg less than topweight.

However, last week the naming rights granted to Hollywoodbets for Durbanville and Kenilworth coincided with the American numbering system being introduced.

In this system the number is simply the same as the draw.

KZN have had this system since 2019.

KZN purists took a while to shake off the trained thought that told them numbers in handicaps were in weight order and there were sure to have been many who made the same mistake Malherbe did yesterday.

In the beginning one has to constantly remind oneself the numbers are in draw order and not weight order. 

The racing purists had to get used to it from a form study point of view too. 

Under the traditional numbering  system one just needs to go to the bottom of the race numbers in a handicap to check which horses are under sufferance and tick them off.

Thereafter the weights can be studied easily from topweight to bottom weight by going from number one downwards.

In plate and conditions races checking which horses are well weighted under the American numbering system requires one to go up and down and backwards and forwards and it takes some getting used to.

However, there are not many grumbles in KZN any more.

This is likely because there are also some advantages to the new system.

Once the form study is complete and one is watching the horses go down, there is no need to make continual references to the race card to double check the draws.

It is also particularly useful for the last minute bet.

For example, one switches on the TV and sees a horse which is a stand-out looks-wise. There is no need to waste time checking how well it is drawn.

The saddle cloth colour coding, which coincides with the numbers, also helps one identify the horse. They are worth learning because sometimes the number on the cloth cannot be seen clearly. The colour coding must be particularly useful to commentators and judges.   

The system should soon be accepted as normal in the Cape.

However, one traditionalist made a lament recently which could possibly be looked in to.

The number one horse has always had the honour of leading the field out for the Hollywoodbets Durban July. The number one horse used to be topweight and so was invariably the best horse in the country. That honour will now be lost, but perhaps there is some way that honour can be restored?