Race 9: HKJC WORLD POOL POLITICIAN STAKES (Grade 3) (Open to all 3 year olds - Derby Trial)

KENILWORTH RACECOURSE | Saturday, 31 January 2026 | 16:45

Distance: 1800m
Going: Good
Stakes: R350,000

Race Results

Pos Horse A.C.S. Weight Draw Jockey Len MR CMR Odds
1st Star Major 2 b. c 60.0kg 8 Mr L Mxothwa - 109 114 33/1
2nd Happy Verse 2 b. c 60.0kg 2 Mr A C Fortune 0.4 113 113 5/4
3rd Better Man 2 ch. c 58.5kg 3 Mr K de Melo 3.15 100 104 14/1
4 Pay The Palace 2 b. c 60.0kg 1 Mr P C Orffer 4.15 105 104 33/1
5 Fox On The Run 3 b. c 60.0kg 6 Mr R D Fourie 6.65 110 110 5/1
6 Randolph Hearst TF 2 b. c 60.0kg 4 Mr J P van der Merwe 8.4 112 112 9/2
7 Touched By Angels 3 gr. g 57.0kg 7 Mr G J Lerena 8.8 97 97 6/1
8 Count Of Rouen 2 b. c 58.5kg 5 Mr C Zackey 12.8 100 96 40/1

Race Timing

Winning Time
111.61s
Average Time
111.79s
Difference
%.2fs
Total Pool
R8,795,000

Rating Analysis

Horse Pos MR Before MR After Official Δ Expected Δ Discrepancy
Star Major 1 109 114 +5 + 7 -2
Happy Verse 2 113 113 0 -1 + 1
Better Man 3 100 104 +4 -2 + 6
Pay The Palace 4 105 104 -1 -2 + 1
Fox On The Run 5 110 110 0 -3 + 3
Randolph Hearst 6 112 112 0 -3 + 3
Touched By Angels 7 97 97 0 -3 + 3
Count Of Rouen 8 100 96 -4 -5 + 1
Note: Expected changes are calculated using simplified algorithms. Official NHRA algorithms from the PDF will provide accurate benchmarking.

Stipes Report

THE STARTER REPORTED:

a)	BETTER MAN (K de Melo), RANDOLPH HEARST (JP van der Merwe) and FOX ON THE RUN (R Fourie) were slow into stride.	

THE STIPENDIARY STEWARDS REPORTED: 

a)	All horses selected for TCO2 were within the required levels and no retests were recorded. (15h41)
b)	At the 1200m RANDOLPH HEARST (JP van der Merwe) took an awkward stride away from the inside running rail.  Thereafter, Jockey JP van der Merwe reported that this gelding made an abnormal respiratory noise in running. The Veterinary Surgeon was requested to examine.
c)	STAR MAJOR, the winner, was selected for the taking of specimens for analysis. Trainer J Crawford was advised. (ZM)

JOCKEY AND/OR EQUIPMENT CHANGES:

a)	Nil.

RACE CARD CHANGES / OTHER:

a)	Nil.

THE VETERINARY SURGEON REPORTED:

a)	RANDOLPH HEARST - examined post-race. Nothing obvious detected.	

THERE WERE NO SCRATCHINGS.