One week of marks this time, and it starts with a horse we complained about. On 4 August we called Devil's Peak's 4lb rise frustrating. Last Thursday he won off it anyway, and today the handicapper has gone again.
This is our Handicap Analysis, following on from last week's Thunder Call edition, where we read the new official marks against our own ratings rather than just listing numbers.
Devil's Peak: raised 5lb, 86 to 91
Devil's Peak went into our tracker after Goodwood on 31 July, when he was second last turning into the straight on a day when everything was being won from handy positions, and still ran on into 2nd. The handicapper put him up 4lb to 86 for that, and we said it was a stiff price for a beaten run where track position did the beating.
He ran 6th of 17 at 50/1 in the Melrose at York off 86, then went to Doncaster on 10 September for the Pertemps Handicap, a Class 3 over a mile and a half for horses rated up to 90, worth over £18,000 to the winner. He was our NAP, went off 15/8, and won. The handicapper has now put him up 5lb, from 86 to 91.
So the 4lb we complained about did not stop him, and that is worth saying plainly. The more useful point now is what 91 does to his options. He is out of 0-90 races by a single pound. The 1m4f handicap at Leicester he would have fitted last autumn is capped at 90 on this year's programme, so that door is shut too. From here he runs in 0-105 company or in 3-year-old heritage handicaps, and that is a stronger level of opposition.
Where next: the Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket on 9 October, a Class 2 heritage handicap over 1m4f for 3-year-olds only, which suits a 3-year-old rated 91 far better than an open handicap full of older horses. On the same afternoon, York has a Class 2 for 3-year-olds rated up to 105 over 1m5f188y on this year's BHA programme, if connections want to try further again after the Melrose.
This week's movers at a glance
- Hatteen: raised 6lb, 96 to 102, 7th in the St Leger.
- Devil's Peak: raised 5lb, 86 to 91, after winning at Doncaster.
- Loriko: hurdle mark raised 9lb, 125 to 134, after winning at Sedgefield.
- Waardah: raised 4lb, 108 to 112, after winning the Park Hill.
- Song N Dance: raised 3lb, 83 to 86, after winning at Wolverhampton.
- Beylerbeyi: raised 2lb, 101 to 103, 2nd in the Doncaster Cup.
- Moonfall: raised 2lb, 99 to 101, 2nd at Doncaster.
- Launch Sequence: raised 2lb, 85 to 87, 2nd in a Doncaster nursery.
- Mr Noble: raised 1lb, 89 to 90.
- Manton Bay: unchanged on 97 with the Irish handicapper, 5th in the Northfields.
- Regal Envoy: unchanged on 89, 2nd at Lingfield.
- Supreme King: unchanged on 81, 3rd at Salisbury.
- Headmaster: dropped 2lb with the Irish handicapper, 89 to 87.
- Spirit Mixer: dropped 2lb, 92 to 90, 6th in the Watergate Cup.
- Toca Madera: dropped 1lb, 95 to 94, 12th in the Portland.
- Dovecote: dropped 1lb, 76 to 75, 2nd at Chester.
Why some weekend runners are missing
The British revisions published today stop at Saturday's racing. Every British-rated winner from Sunday, including Valedictory in the Mallard at Doncaster, is still on the mark he won off, so Sunday's and Monday's runs will show up next Tuesday. The Irish marks do include Sunday, which is why Coul Angel has already been raised 8lb by the Irish handicapper, to 103, for winning the Bold Lad Sprint at the Curragh, while his British mark is still 94.
Those are the numbers, and they are a matter of public record. What they are worth, and where each horse goes next, is the part below for Premium and Pro members.