Trainer Stuart Pettigrew is a passionate man. He loves his horses and, like most trainers, he loves to hate the handicappers.
Unfortunately for him, he is such a master at his craft that his runners often find themselves at the receiving end of penalties because they perform so well. It must also be said that he is a master at managing his runners’ ratings.
Pettigrew finished last season as the trainer with the second highest win percentage of the top 15 trainers at 15.56%, surpassed only by Sean Tarry’s 15.86%.
The maestro, however, stood head and shoulders above his peers in the top 15 as far as win-place percentages go, with a staggering 56.62%.
On Thursday 24 August, when nine races are scheduled to be contested over the Vaal Classic track, Pettigrew should not be complaining if two of his runners again find themselves at the ‘wrong’ end of the handicapper.
In Race 3, a Graduation Plate for three-year-old fillies over 1600m, Callmewhenuneedme looks primed to score a third a career victory. This daughter of Master Of My Fate has never passed the line with more than two runners in front of her in eight starts, and has seen her rating rise by eight points after her last two runs to a current 96.
In her second run when still a maiden juvenile, she finished just 2.75-lengths behind subsequent Grade 1 winner Mrs Geriatrix, and she shed her maiden tag next time out.
She has also stood her ground against her elders in three runs since, so the only way Pettigrew can manage ger rating is to let it skyrocket – and it most certainly will if she keeps up her progression.
Five-year-old Quiet Rebellion hasn’t been quite as prolific, but she has greeted the judge three times in 17 outings.
She lines up in Race 4, a FM76 Handicap over 1600m.
Judged on ratings, this daughter of Silvano is the epitome of consistency, as her Merit Rating has been pegged between 74 and 77 in her entire career.
Although she doesn’t have a good record following up on her victories, this time round it could be the exception.
More than a year had elapsed between her maiden and second victory, and that time period was cut down to four months for her third score.
With 2.5kg claiming apprentice Siyanda Sosibo in the saddle, Quiet Rebellion might just score two on the trot now.
She will obviously not have it all her own way, especially in this field, but she does look the value proposition on the day. And who knows, maybe after Thursday she might hit a career-high rating in the 80s.
Clive Robinson
