- This topic has 9 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 10 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
From the BHA –
WORLD THOROUGHBRED RANKINGS 2010 – the official listing of the top horses in the world in 2010
Harbinger, on 135, 6lbs clear as best horse of the year
Workforce and Makfi share top 3 year old honours on 128
Frankel and Dream Ahead end the year on 126Although the equine stars of 2009 had looked a hard act to follow, the class of 2010 proved well up to the mark according to the 2010 World Thoroughbred Rankings.
World Thoroughbred Rankings
Top 10 horses in 2010
Rank – Horse – Rating – Trained
1 HARBINGER (GB) 135 GB
2 BLAME (USA) 129 USA
3 MAKFI (GB) 128 FR
3 QUALITY ROAD (USA) 128 USA
3 WORKFORCE (GB) 128 GB
6 CANFORD CLIFFS (IRE) 127 GB
6 NAKAYAMA FESTA (JPN) 127 JPN
8 CAPE BLANCO (IRE) 126 IRE
8 RIP VAN WINKLE (IRE) 126 IRE
8 SO YOU THINK (NZ) 126 AUS
Leading the way was HARBINGER (GB) [135], who put up a truly exceptional performance to demolish his rivals by 11 lengths in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (sponsored by Betfair) (G1) at Ascot in July. In so doing, he recorded the highest rating in the Ascot showpiece since ST JOVITE (USA) [135] in 1992, and also the highest rating over 2400m since the launch of the World Thoroughbred Rankings in 2004; only SEA THE STARS (IRE) [136] has achieved a higher figure in that time.
Harbinger was unbeaten in four races in 2010, and it was a great shame for both his connections and racing fans alike that his career was cut short by injury.
WORKFORCE (GB) [128] failed to reproduce his best form when fifth behind his illustrious stable companion in the King George, but he showed his true colours when an emphatic seven length winner of the Investec Derby (G1) at Epsom in June, breaking the course record in the process, and when holding off NAKAYAMA FESTA (JPN) [127] by a head in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) at Longchamp in October. With his victory in Paris, Workforce became only the sixth horse to complete the Derby/Arc double.
Nakayama Festa topped the list of Japanese-trained horses in 2010, while BUENA VISTA (JPN) [121] was the highest rated Japanese filly/mare on the strength of her victory in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) G1, and she matched that effort when first past the post in the Japan Cup (G1), although she was subsequently disqualified in the latter race and placed second.
Workforce shares the mantle of highest rated 3yo of 2010 with MAKFI (GB) [128]. Having gained his first top flight success in the Stan James.com 2000 Guineas (G1)_ at Newmarket in May, defeating DICK TURPIN (IRE) [124] and CANFORD CLIFFS (IRE) [127], Makfi went on to put up the best performance of his career when overcoming GOLDIKOVA (IRE) [125] and PACO BOY (IRE) [124] in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois (G1) at Deauville in August.
Goldikova enjoyed another stellar year, winning five Group 1 races including both the Prix Rothschild (G1) the TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) for the third successive year. Her impressive success at Churchill Downs in November made her the first horse to win three Breeders’ Cup races, and brought her tally of Group 1 victories to twelve. Having been the second highest rated filly/mare in the 2008 World Rankings behind Zarkava (IRE) [128], Goldikova has now been the highest rated female thoroughbred on turf for the past two years.
Off the Turf, the mighty ZENYATTA (USA) [125] also recorded five more Grade 1 victories, including the Vanity Handicap (G1), the Clement L Hirsch Stakes (G1) and the Lady’s Secret Stakes (G1) for the third successive year, bringing her total of Grade 1s to thirteen. She shares the title of highest rated filly/mare in the world with Goldikova, and retains the prize of being the highest rated filly/mare on a non-turf surface for a second successive year. However, she could not quite cling on to her crown as Breeders’ Cup Classic champion, just failing to catch BLAME (USA) [129] in that never to be forgotten clash on 6th November.
Blame began 2010 on a WTR rating of 117, and progressed throughout the year. After winning a Grade 3 at Pimlico on his seasonal debut in May, he triumphed in the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) at Churchill Downs in June and the Whitney Handicap (G1) at Saratoga in August, when he defeated QUALITY ROAD (USA) [128]. He tasted defeat for the only time in 2010 when going down to HAYNESFIELD (USA) [121] in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park in October, but bounced back to fend off Zenyatta in that epic encounter in the Breeders’ Cup Classic the following month.
Blame’s performance in winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic was the highest rated performance of the year on a non turf surface, and sees him rated 1lb above Quality Road, whose 12.75 length romp in the Donn Handicap (G1) at Gulfstream Park in February and head second to Blame in the Whitney established him as the highest rated horse in the mile category on a non turf surface.
Honours were shared at the top of the table for the non turf three year olds, with ESKENDEREYA (USA) [124] and LOOKIN AT LUCKY (USA) [124] locked together.
Eskendereya looked outstanding early in the year with wide margin victories in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) at Gulfstream Park and the Wood Memorial (G1) at Aqueduct before succumbing to injury. Lookin At Lucky took the Preakness Stakes (G1) in May, but put up his best effort when a decisive four length winner of the Izod Haskell Invitational Stakes at Monmouth Park in August.
The sprint division was dominated by horses from the southern hemisphere, with BLACK CAVIAR (AUS) [123] at the top of the tree on the strength of her outstanding four length victory in the Patinack Farm Classic (G1) in November. In the process, Black Caviar became the joint highest rated turf sprinter on WTR ratings alongside Hong Kong-trained duo SILENT WITNESS (AUS) [123] in 2004 and 2005, and SACRED KINGDOM (AUS) [123] in 2007 and 2008.
J J THE JET PLANE (SAF) [122] put up a career best effort to take the Cathy Pacific Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin in December, just edging out ROCKET MAN (AUS) [121] and SACRED KINGDOM (AUS) [121], and in the process became the highest rated South African-trained horse in WTR history, ahead of POCKET POWER (SAF) [121] in 2008.
The top three-year-old sprinter was STARSPANGLEDBANNER (AUS) [121] who, after establishing himself in his native Australia, ventured north to capture the Golden Jubilee Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot in June, and the Darley July Cup (G1) at Newmarket the following month.
However pride of place among the southern hemisphere horses goes to SO YOU THINK (NZ) [126], whose resounding victories in the Caulfield Yalumba Stakes (G1) and the Longines Mackinnon Stakes (G1) secured him a place in the world’s top ten for 2010, and also the prize of being the highest rated Australian-trained horse since WTR ratings were first published in 2004. RIP VAN WINKLE (IRE) [126] shares top spot with So You Think in the older horse intermediate turf category, while CAPE BLANCO (IRE) [126] filled the same position among the three-year-olds.
So You Think won five races including four Group 1s over distances between 1400m and 2040m between August and October, prior to finishing third in the Emirates Melbourne Cup (G1) over 3200m in early November. Although running a little below his best, he still registered the best staying performance of the year [122] in finishing an honourable third to AMERICAIN (USA) [121].
FRANKEL (GB) and DREAM AHEAD (USA) [126] emerge as joint top of the European 2YO ratings, and HOORAY (GB) [117], trained by Sir Mark Prescott and owned by Cheveley Park Stud is the highest rated 2YO filly.
Full rankings here
http://www.horseracingintfed.com/resources/2010Rankings/2010_WorldRankings.asp
These are for 3-y-o and upwards only. I think 2-y-o’s are only rated regionally.
No top ten place for either Goldikova or Zenyatta although both would feature with the fillies allowance.
Heavily weighted in favour of middle distances and (to a lesser extent) milers but that is usual.
- Total Posts 17716
Someone surely lost the plot at the BHA. How on earth can they give Dream Ahead a Joint rating with Frankel. Did they missed the Dewhurst? Hope he doesn’t forget to by a tin of Chum for his guide dog on his way home tonight
No American handicapper would rank Quality Road that high. Certainly not on the same level as Workforce. He had one "great" performance in the Donn Handicap in January, in which he didn’t carry much weight, he was on his favorite track, and he didn’t beat much.
I guarantee you that Zenyatta would (and should be) in the #1 or #2 spot.
Harbinger doesn’t even make my radar. But then, I don’t rank horses based on their performance in a single race, as with the Timeform ratings or the WTR.
I have never really paid these “official” international ratings too much attention. There seems to be always the possibility of a negotiated compromise, when different factions (nations) have an axe to grind. In the UK, ratings from the BHA, The Racing Post, Timeform, etc all represent one organization’s view. I am sure there are discussions and disagreements about individual horse performances within those organizations but they do represent one philosophy, one method, one set of weight for age/sex tables, etc. There must be so few and quite tenuous links that compare the performances of Blame and Quality Road with Workforce and Cape Blanco, that I would not want to rely on the outcome of those comparisons.
Despite there being a representative from each of the major racing nations it seems that thoughout the world there is a conspiracy to deny the laws of nature and statistics. The sharing out of performance merit among horses will follow a Normal Distribution (the bell-shaped graph common to all natural attributes). That means that over a period of time there should be the same number of 6 furlong, 8 furlong, 10 furlong, 12 furlong horses, and stayers finishing at the top of the rankings pile, unless something unnatural gets in the way. No section of the racing industry likes stayers – no big prize money, no stallion demand, no mare demand, few races, few runners – so I can understand why they do not feature much. But can someone explain why sprinters have been so woefully underrepresented in the top echelons of the rankings in recent decades? Is it bias from the handicappers of the major nations, or is there something unnatural going on in the sprinting division?
It does seem a bit puzzling that the World Thoroughbred Rankings can be produced despite some of these nations operating different WFA schemes.
For example in the Breeders Cup Marathon, 3-y-os received 4 lb from their older counterparts. Had the race taken place in the UK, it would have been 8 lb. How much credence should we place in these ratings when 2 of the factions can’t decide whether a theoretical performance is worth 124 or 128?
In fact given the margin of victory in this years renewal, in theory the runner-up should have won the BC Marathon according to BHA WFA.
Yes, sprinters clearly aren’t liked by those responsible for the World Thoroughbred Rankings, which shrinks the credibility of the ratings to almost non-existent.
Just 53 sprinters listed, only 6 above 120. Some of those include performances at 7f in America.
14 Australian trained sprinters listed – of those, I think it’s fair to say some have been included on 115 because they’re Group 1 winners and the political reasons attached.
Possible reasons why sprinters aren’t rated as high as other types of horses.
Political reasons – 8f-12f are largely the prestige races around the world.Sprinting races being more variable in the view of our great handicappers. Outsiders finish “too close” up, less of a margin of victory so they can always pull the rating down despite a larger lbs per length scale.
Then there is the use of these ratings which, more or less, mirror the BHA scale. The ratings are based on the best performance of a horse, yet they don’t reflect the variation performance ratings might on occasion reflect. See Garry O’Gorman’s comments about Harbinger’s rating.
As the ratings reflect the BHA scale, it’s not hard to work out that there is other country using the system identically.
America – http://www.paulickreport.com/features/t … -rankings/
Australia’s state by state handicapping systems don’t mirror the BHA scale. For example, RVL allowed Imposing, who is now named I’m Imposing, to race off a mark in the low 80’s on their scale for his first start in Australia at Caulfield. Black Caviar has a rating of 118 beside her name for Newmarket Handicap entries released recently. Basically, Australian sprinters continue to be underrated as Carpenter, who is responsible for RVL handicapping, clearly doesn’t push hard enough when he apparently "converts" his ratings into, er, his ratings.
Black Caviar appears to have lost a mystery pound somewhere. Maybe the BHA team decided to implement their own views on the weight-for-age scale in that instance because Star Witness is listed as having run to 116 in the Patinack Farm Classic. Or maybe they thought the 0.4lbs extra – once the 2kg mares allowance is converted to lbs – which is almost immeasurable, was worth taking off despite the impressiveness of the win……….
I would not rank Quality Road that high either. Certainly Blame was our best male horse this year and after that I would put Lookin At Lucky behind him. I also would not put Eskendereya and LOL even. LOL was above him IMO even without a win at 10f.
- Total Posts 17716
Miss Woodford,
There is no reason on Earth that I can think of where Zenyatta should or would rate higher than Goldikova or So You Think. How she possibly hits the #1 or #2 spot given her mares allowance and beating mainly the same horses from her own sex is well beyond me. Emotions and strike rates in restricted races are not part of the assessment process. Even if she won at Churchill by the margin she was beaten she would not rate higher than Blame.The ratings of Blame, Nakayama Festa, Workforce and Quality Road are simply wrong IMO. Harbingers rating is one of those that folks will argue about forever. Rakti and Hawk Wing ring a bell?
Let’s face it these World Rankings are a joke year after year.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.