OLDER HORSES

IN a decision that seems sure to raise an eyebrow or two, the honours are shared at the head of this year’s World Thoroughbred Rankings as Cracksman and Winx hold sway at 130.

This is the second year in succession that Cracksman comes in at 130, while Winx is dropped 2lb from 2017. Whether their best efforts make them 4lb inferior to the 2017 champion Arrogate is open to debate, but much more surprising is the decision to share the accolade of world champion.

At this point it has to be said that these rankings are determined by a horse’s single best performance of the season as opposed to cumulative efforts but there are various factors to consider.

In a season that yielded three Group 1 successes, Cracksman ended his career with a second consecutive triumph in the QIPCO English Champion Stakes at Ascot where he defeated Crystal Ocean (125) by six lengths.

It is not unreasonable to argue that Crystal Ocean didn’t perform to his peak that day and just a further three-quarters of a length back in third was the Czech runner Subway Dancer who lined up in the the Champion Stakes with a rating of 108. Whether all this translates to a rating of 130 is debatable.

FLAWLESS SEASON

For her part Winx enjoyed another flawless season that stretches her unbeaten run to 29 races (all at stakes level) and she ended her campaign with a never to be forgotten fourth consecutive Cox Plate triumph. Winx’s Cox Plate success was achieved at the expense of Godolphin’s Benbatl and she was eased down late on to beat that rival by two lengths. Benbatl was adjuged to have run to 123 in the Cox Plate.

Surprisingly though it was Winx’s victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April, and not the Cox Plate that was deemed to be her best effort of the season. All things considered there are legitmate grounds for arguing that Winx did enough to top the rankings outright.

Further intrigue in the ratings for the four-year-olds is the position of Enable who drops 3lb to 125 and, apparently, her best performance of the season didn’t come in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe but rather the Breeders’ Cup Turf where she dug deep to succeed where the likes of Dancing Brave and Golden Horn had come up short. Again these ratings are determined according to certain guidelines but you’d be hard pressed to make a strong case that Enable was a 3lb interferior horse this season.

She came back from 11 months off to brush aside Crystal Ocean in the September Stakes. Then she went to the Arc de Triomphe and off a less than an ideal prep, she recorded a narrow success over Sea Of Class. Just under a length back in third in the Arc was Cloth Of Stars who had been beaten two and a half lengths into second by Enable in the 2017 Arc. Thus Cloth Of Stars got much closer to Enable in October but the pair met on appreciably different terms in 2018 as the year older Enable was 7lb worse off.

AMERICAN HORSE

The top rated American older horse is John Sadler’s Breeders’ Cup Classic scorer Accelerate who comes in at 128 for his Pacific Classic success. The dual Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Roy H is the world’s top sprinter on 124, pipping Battaash by a pound.

The brilliant Hong Kong-based Beauty Generation (127), who provided further evidence of his prowess as recently as last weekend, is the joint highest rated miler in the world alongside Winx and Gun Runner, who bowed out with a win in the Pegasus a year ago. Beauty Generation is now the joint highest rated Hong Kong-based runner of all time.

After enjoying a perfect season Stradivarius (120) is the joint highest rated stayer in the world alongside the year younger Kew Gardens.