North Point was a stand out at the weights, considering the conditions, in a B Stakes race over 1000m on February 4, and he duly won cosily (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Although there are many who lament the merit rating system, history shows that in the training ranks those who do not lament it but rather master it can get an edge and the same would apply to punters.
Sean Tarry is one of the trainers who knows the merit rating system and its particular South African anomalies inside out and another was the late great Buddy Maroun and it is little surprise that Tarry is a five-times Champion trainer, while Maroun was dominant in sprint handicaps.
There is currently a racing program in place in KZN and the Western Cape where astute punters can get an extra edge if they apply themselves.
This is though the races known as A, B, C and D Stakes races and Middle Stakes races.
Those who have done their homework will know that these races are weighted by merit-rated band.
Furthermore, females get an allowance of 2,5, 3kg or 3,5kg, so they should theoretically be at a handicap advantage.
The merit rating band for A, B, C and D stakes races has a 1kg spread.
For example, in a B Stakes race the 94 to 96 nett merit rated band will carry a weight of 61,5kg, the 91 to 93 band will all carry 60kg, the 88 to 90 will all carry 58,5kg etc.
Middle Stakes race work similarly except there is a three point spread in the merit rating bands.
61,5kg in a Middle Stakes race will be carried by horses rated from 99 to 102, 60kg for those rated 95 to 98, 58,5kg for those rated 91 to 94 etc, meaning the higher rated the horse is the more chance it has of being well weighted.
The horses whose merit ratings fall at the top of the merit rating bands are all at an advantage in the A,B,C and D stakes races and it is obviously better to be at the top of the bands in the Middle Stakes races, particularly those horses who have high ratings.
Some punters take note of the horses who are well weighted in these races.
An easy way to check it is to look at the best weighted column in the Computaform.
However, looking at this column alone is often not enough, because some horses will be struggling off their current merit ratings.
So the best way to gain an advantage is to look at how well horses are weighted in the current race and then to look at how they did the last time they raced in a merit rated band race.
A classic recent example could have been seen this month with a horse called North Point.
In a five horse B Stakes race he was at the top of his merit rated band, whilst Gold Giboski was at the bottom of his band.
This meant that despite running off a Nett 92 merit rating, North Point was only giving the nett 87-rated runner Gold Giboski 1,5kg instead of the 2,5kg he would have had to give him in a handicap.
North Point’s previous race more than confirmed he was up to his current merit rating, because in that race he was not only at the bottom of the merit rated band but it was in a Middle Stakes race, meaning he was 1,5kg under sufferance with the horses who were at the top of his band and he was actually 2,5kg under sufferance with the best weighted runner The US Of A … and yet he had finished a 0,40 length second in that race to the progressive Demanding Dave, with whom he was half-a-kilogram under sufferance.
North Point should have been the strong favourite in that five-horse field considering the weight structure and his performance last up.
Instead he was the 7/2 third favourite and oddly enough the favourite was Gold Gibsoki, who was not only at the bottom of his particular merit rating band, but North Point had beaten him by a head in that aforementioned Middle Stakes race and he was now 1,5kg better off.
North Point duly won the race and Gold Giboski was only a 1,25 length third, beaten by roundabout the margin he should have been beaten by on paper.
In the B Stakes race over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday this week, the mare Captain’s Christy is officially the best weighted runner, but that is due to her gender allowance of 2,5kg. However, she was as well weighted last time in a B Stakes race and was beaten 1,60 lengths into fifth.
Connery is joint-second best in at the weights and is top of his merit rating band and was top of his band in his last race too, when beaten just a neck. The difference was he had a 4kg claimer on last time, Dezahn Louw, and now has Chad Little aboard. Going back further, the previous time he ran over this course and distance was also in a B Stakes race and he won with a 4kg claimer up in a race where he was top of the merit rating band. His last start proved he was up to his six point merit rating increase. So it could be a decision as to whether Chad Little is 4kg better than Dezahn Louw or not? Most would say a 4kg claimer over 1000m is valuable. Connery’s form against the other well weighted runner Jet Legacy is a bit muddling, while the third of the three second best-weighted runners, Circumbendibus, was at the top his band over course and distance last time in a B Stakes event and was beaten 1,80 lengths, albeit by a good sort in Wild Justice.
Suffice to say there are no stand out well weighted horses in this race and although opportunities like North Point will arise very now and again it is not always easy to find them and patience is required.
However, knowing the conditions should help with form study in any event.
There is also a D Stakes and a Middle Stakes race at the Wednesday meeting, so there is an opportunity there to try and find horses better weighted than others, although there don’t look to be any stand out cases like North Point was in those two races either.
