AS expected, John Gosden supplied the world’s top-rated three-year-old in 2017 but it is the 130-rated Cracksman and not stablemate Enable who heads the classic generation.

This decision is perhaps a little surprising but there is no doubt that Cracksman produced one of the standout display of 2017 with a seven-length annhilation of his rivals in the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.

Cracksman met with narrow defeats in the Derby and Irish Derby but was utterly dominant on his next three outings which culminated in that stunning Ascot display where he revelled in the drop back to 10 furlongs on slow ground.

Only four three-year-old champions have been rated higher this century and the son of Frankel stays in training for 2018 which will afford him the chance to do even better still.

Enable sits 2lbs behind Cracksman on a mark 128 which makes her one of the highest rated three-year-old fillies of the last 25 years. Her season began with a defeat in a Newbury conditions race but she went from strength-to-strength thereafter and reeled off five Group 1 victories that took in the notable hat-trick of the Oaks, Irish Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks. An even greater accomplishment on the part of the Nathaniel filly was her completion of the King George-Arc de Triomphe double as a three-year-old.

This allowed her to emulate such legendary figures as Mill Reef and Dancing Brave and is testament to her standing as a filly of truly exceptional quality. She too remains in training for the coming season which will hopefully be enlivened by a clash between her and Cracksman.

The 2017 season was notable for the exceptional strength in depth of the sprinting division. In many seasons outstanding talents like Caravaggio (120), Lady Aurelia (122) and Battaash (123) would have been good enough to top this discipline but they had to settle for a minor role behind Harry Angel (125).

Clive Cox’s charge was beaten by Caravaggio in the Commonwealth Cup but then won the July Cup and was utterly imperious in the Haydock Sprint Cup before his season concluded with a surprise defeat at Ascot. He ended the year rated 125 which makes him the joint second highest rated turf sprinter of the last 30 years.

It says much about the unusual quality of the three-year-old sprinters that Harry Angel, Lady Aurelia and Battaash were all able to beat their elders in Group 1s over the course of the year.

Indeed Lady Aurelia’s mark of 122 means that she is the joint highest rated three-year-old filly sprinter this century, alongside the Australian runner Atlantic Jewel.

A rating of 123 brings in the world champion three-year-old miler Churchill who became the sixth horse in the last 17 years to compete the English-Irish 2000 Guineas double. The Galileo horse was unable to add to his tally through the second half of the season but his brave effort on bad ground in the Irish 2000 Guineas was deemed to be his best effort of the season.

In terms of Aidan O’Brien’s classic crop, who won four of the five English classics, Capri earned a mark of 120 for his wins in the Irish Derby (Ireland’s highest rated race of 2017) and the St Leger at Doncaster. He edges out the Melbourne Cup victor Rekindling (119) for the title of world champion three-year-old stayer.

The shock Derby winner Wings Of Eagles is rated 119 which is below average for the race. However, he was dealt an unfortunate hand as he suffered a career-ending injury in the Irish Derby. The manner of his Epsom victory over Cliffs Of Moher (117) and Cracksman was remarkable, to say the least.

O’Brien was also able to rely on an incredibly strong team of three-year-old fillies, headed by the four-time Group 1 heroine Winter (119). Her old rival Hydrangea, who beat her twice at Leopardstown, also comes in at 119, while the triple Group 1 scorer Roly Poly is rated 117. Another Group 1-winning filly for the yard was Rhododendron (116) who bounced back from some mid-season tribulations to edge out Hydrangea in the Prix de l’Opera.

In completing the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas)–Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) double Brametot (121) is top three-year-old in France, an accolade he narrowly held over Le Brivido (120). The latter was just denied in the Poulains before going on to win the Jersey Stakes.