Maybe it was more random acts of inconsistency or perhaps the handicapper was punishing Rich Unicorn for his innocent part in Sacred Kingdom's defeat when he lifted Rich Unicorn's rating five points for running fifth in the Sprint Cup and earning HK$105,000 prize money on Sunday.
It was the usual slap in the face for the horse participating in a Group race of an unsuitable rating, and probably helping the Jockey Club out by helping to fill what would have been a miserably small field without him and the other 103-rated runner, Leading City.
We don't actually have a serious issue, most of the time, with these ratings hits for fourth and fifth in Group races when a horse is unsuited by the conditions.
You roll the dice running them, you take the consequences, which may be a nice slice of stake money or it might not, as in this case.
The intent of the re-handicap hoist is to address the form from the race when the runners meet in different circumstances at handicaps at some subsequent stage. After a wide run, Rich Unicorn was just under two lengths off the 108-rated Multiglory, who got an eight-point rise for the win, as he should for the HK$1.71 million that jumped in his kitty.
The proximity of third-placed Final Answer to horses rated much higher meant he was lifted three points to 111, which presumably led the handicapper to feel Rich Unicorn should be brought up closer to him and the others off higher ratings who finished just in front of him.