130-rated See It Again’s scratching from the Hollywoodbets Durban July means the topweight is now his 128-rated stablemate Legal Counsel (JC Photos)
There were a spate of scratchings from the Hollywoodbets Durban July on Sunday and Monday and the most important of them was the 2023 runner up, the four-times Gr 1 winner See It Again, because he was the highest merit rated runner among the entries and was thus going to be the topweight carrying 62kg with all of the other weights using that as the benchmark.
The reigning July champion The Real Prince is also out and so is his runner up from last year Eight on Eighteen, whilst other significiant scratching were the Gr 1 SA Classic winner Grand Empire, last year’s Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge winner Fire Attack and also former Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup winner Atticus Finch.
Other scratchings include Parisian Walkway, Aristotle, JP’s Palace, Wild Intent, Buster Barnes and Otto Luyken.
There are 29 horses still standing with the Gr 1 winners among them being Wish List (X2), Gladatorian, Mocha Blend, Hazy Dazy and Star Major.
The new top weight is See It Again’s 128 merit-rated Justin Snaith-trained stablemate Legal Counsel.
Jonathan Snaith said about See It Again, “Running over a staying trip under 62kg would have made very little sense. He has given us a tremendous season so far, having travelled far and wide. We felt it would be unfair to ask any more of this wonderful horse, particularly under these demanding circumstances. As always, the horse comes first, and this decision has been made with his well-being held paramount. He will be aimed at the Gr1 Champions Cup.”
To underline the importance of See It Again’s scratching, the two supplemented runners, Zeitz and Aladdin’s Lamp, had both come into the race with the perfect merit rating for an older horse i.e. 110, because with See It Agains’ 130 rating as the benchmark that would have seen them carry 52kg without being under sufferance.
However, they will now have to carry 53kg as things stand with 128-rated Legal Counsel as topweight.
It will also arguably make it tougher for the three-year-olds because although their tasks on a relative scale will still be the same, it has been said before that a three-year-old would find it tougher giving an older horse 2kg when carrying a high weight than giving an older horse 2kg when carrying a low weight. The prominent three-year-olds will also be 1kg worse off in actual terms with the nett merit rated 109, 108 and lower horses than they were before.
Race favourite, three-year-old Star Major, will now have to carry 57kg and if he wins he will set a new weight-carrying record for a July-winning three-year-old.
However, that is only in actual terms because when Legislate carried 56kg to victory in 2014 the topweight was 60kg and when Eyeofthetiger carried 54kg to victory in 2006 the topweight was 58kg, meaning their tasks on a relative scale were tougher than the one Star Major faces.
