24 minute read
World's Best Racehorse Rankings
Flightline was clearly the best racehorse in the world last year, but was he really the equal of Frankel?, asks Alan Porter
IN 1954, NATIVE DANCER achieved honours as Horse of the Year in North America having had just three starts.
Now, almost 70 years later, Flightline has topped the World Racehorse Rankings off a three-race season.
Such dominance based on a limited number of starts is not totally unique. For example, in essence, Arrogate topped the ratings in 2017 on the basis of victories in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and Dubai World Cup (G1) given that his three subsequent starts never approached that level of form.
If recognising Flightline as the best horse in the world in 2022 is not that controversial, the same can’t be said of his actual rating of 140, which is equal to the historic figure achieved by Frankel in 2012, a season in which his dominance brought about a complete re-evaluation of the previous rankings.
To compare Flightline and Frankel must have been an extremely difficult task. Frankel was a thoroughly proven entity with 14 wins in 14 starts, from two to four years over 7f to 1m2f and over three seasons in training. Of those races 12 were in Group races, and he captured five Group 1 events in five starts in 2012.
By comparison, Flightline retires to stud as something of an enigma. Prevented from racing at two after hitting his right hip on a stall latch, Flightline’s career was limited by a hoof crack that interrupted his three-yearold season, and a strained hock that delayed the start of his 2022 campaign.
All of that ended up producing a racing career of just six starts. The first of those came over 6f in April 2021, and saw him win by 13l.
That was followed by a 121 romp in a Del Mar allowance/optional claiming race in September and, on December 26, an 11l victory in the 7f Malibu Stakes (G1) on his black-type debut.
Then sidelined until early summer Flightline reappeared in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1).
After breaking slowly, he was cut off as he attempted to establish himself on the lead. But it made little difference as, after stalking, Flightline swept to the front, to score by 6l with the Grade 1 winners Happy Saver, Speaker’s Corner and Aloha West (the previous year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner) in the next three places.
Putting away an early challenge, Flightline remained on cruise control as he continued to extended his lead. Despite just coasting home he hit the wire in a time just 0.17secs off the track-record, and an astonishing 19l clear of the runner-up Country Grammer, himself winner of the Dubai World Cup (G1) earlier in the year and rated 121 on the classifications.
Flightline didn’t quite run back to that level in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), but that was not without reason. Then the excellent sprinter/miler Life Is Good –officially rated the fourth-best older horse in the world in 2022 – set out to give Flightline a true test.
Effectively turning the 1m2f event into a two-horse duel, Life Is Good went straight to the front, with Flightline stalking a couple of lengths back with the rest well in arrears, as far back as 12l at one stage. The 6f clocking for Life Is Good was close to the winning time in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), and his mile split was faster than the winning time in the Dirt Mile (G1).
At that point the only question was whether he could be caught by any of those who had rationed their speed more prudently, and the answer was a resounding “No” – despite being eased in the last 100yds, Flightline still had over 8l to spare over runner-up Olympiad (joint-fifth rated older horse at 124).
Flightline retired to stud at Lane’s End Farm, Lexington as a sound horse, and in theory could have remained in training.
In practice though, with a line of mares waiting to be bred at a fee of $200,000, and a potentially astronomical insurance value (the single 1/40th share of Flightline offered at public auction fetched $4,600,000 in a genuine transaction) made that practically virtually impossible.
The near unique factor of Flightline’s career, and the one that made him such an enigma, is that he was never fully extended at the finish of any of his races – something in our experience that is unique for a horse at this level.
In the Breeders’ Cup Classic, race leader Life Is Good’s mile split was faster than the Dirt Mile, yet Flightline still “sailed past” him and won by 8l
So what did Flightline actually achieve?
What his limit truly was remains a mystery.
Measured on what he actually achieved, there is no doubt that Flightline was at least as good as he looked.
Beyer, the most authoritative of the US figure-makers gave him a 126 for the Pacific Classic, the joint second-highest since the figures began being published
in the Daily Racing Form in 1991 behind only the 128 award to Ghostzapper for his victory in the 2004 Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G3), although well below that calculated retrospectively for Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes (G1).
Timeform rates Flightline on 143, the highest North American runner since the company started publishing ratings for the region, and superior to all bar Frankel (147), Sea-Bird (145), Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel (both 144) in their year-end figures, which stretch back to 1948.
“Great” is a rather subjective term, which depends on what attributes one most values but, even with his limited body of work, at the very least Flightline stands with Ghostzapper, American Pharoah and Arrogate as the outstanding North American runners of the 21st century. It’s certainly not inconceivable that in raw talent he may belong alongside Colin, Man O’ War, Citation and Secretariat, who are generally considered the at all-time pinnacle of North American racing.
As far as this year’s ratings are concerned, one does get the feeling that with his true limitations never established, the compilers have just said “Flightline’s the best in the US since we’ve started the ratings, we’d better rate him equal with the best that’s run in Europe [Frankel]”, and that is despite Frankel’s busier career.
This does engender a couple of final thoughts.
One is, if Flightline is weighted on what he actually achieved, as it appears, then given that he could have found at least a couple more lengths – just two fifths of a second – in the Pacific Classic, it suggests that a “maxed out” Flightline could be worth a rating of around 144 or 145, against Frankel’s historic mark of 140.
We looked at Flightline’s pedigree in detail after the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but we can note that he comes from a male-line that has been in the US since the Aga Khan-bred Nasrullah, who was imported to cover at Claiborne Farm in 1951.
The direct sire line which comes down through Nasrullah, Bold Ruler, Boldnesian, Bold Reasoning, Seattle Slew, A.P. Indy and Tapit, has earned 19 individual leading sires’ titles in North America since 1955.
Flightline’s graded stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed dam Feathered is also from the Nasrullah line through Nasrullah’s greatgrandson, Caro – imported from France in the 1970s – and via the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (G1) winner Siberian Express, to the Irish-bred In Excess, who was a top runner and dominant force in the California stallion ranks.
His best son Indian Charlie was an extremely successful sire, and left a top stallion son in Uncle Mo.
She became a notable producer, including as dam of Fenelon, whose successes included the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Travers Stakes, and that horse’s stakes-winning sister Flying Gal, dam of the St. Leger and Eclipse Stakes scorer, Boswell.
She also appears in the tail female line of War Emblem, who took the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2002.
In the case of Flightline, he is from a branch that stems from Lady Pitt, a champion three-year-old filly, and a major foundation mare for the Phipps family.
The family extends through Lady Pitt’s graded stakes-winning daughter Blitely, through Grade 1 winner Fantastic Find, and Feathered’s granddam, the multiple Grade 1-winning Finder’s Fee.
Baaeed: the highest-rated in Europe since Frankel
The F-word – Frankel that is – was also at times whispered in connection with second highweighted horse on this year’s WBRR, Baaeed.
To be fair, that was generally in terms of “could he be” than any serious attempt to equate the two, and ultimately Baaeed’s rating of 135 (in the Intermediate Category – he also headed all Turf milers on 130) fell short of that standard, but was enough to see him well clear as outstanding European and top Turf horse, and the highest-rated of any horse other than Flightline, since Frankel.
Baaeed also fell just short of Frankel in his attempt to retire undefeated. Having won ten straight races, six consecutive Group 1s, four in 2022, Baaeed stumbled at the final hurdle, apparently failing to handle the yielding ground when fourth in the Champion Stakes (G1).
That race was won by Bay Bridge, who along with the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) winner Bayside Boy, thrust their young sire New Bay, a son of Dubawi, in to the limelight.
Himself a world champion, Sea The Stars (by Cape Cross, a son of Green Desert) has gone from strength to strength as a sire and in 2022 was represented by 25 stakes winners, 11 Group or Graded, including in addition to Baaeed, the other Group 1 winners Sea La Rosa, Hukum (a brother to Baaeed) and Emily Upjohn.
Sea The Stars is also a fast-emerging broodmare sire, and in 2022 his daughters were represented by 16 stakes winners, including the St. Leger (G1) scorer Eldar Eldarov (116 and joint-leading three-year-old over extended distances) and Onesto. He is rated 122, is by Frankel and is the first Group 1 winner inbred to Urban Sea through her outstanding sons.
Baaeed and Hukum are out of the French black-type winner Aghareed, a daughter of Kingmambo, who is an excellent foil for Sea The Stars.
The second dam Lahudood (Singspiel) won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), earning a divisional Eclipse Award in the US.
This is a branch of a family descending from the great matron Height Of Fashion, Baaeed’s fifth dam.
Alpinista: the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner was the highest-rated female horse in the world in 2022
Alpinista: the Queen of the world
The highest-rated female on 123 was Alpinista. They grey five-year-old put together a sequence of seven consecutive wins over two years, and went three-forthree in 2022 taking the Grand Prix de SaintCloud (G1), the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1).
She’s by Frankel out of Alwilda, a daughter of Hernando, who like Frankel’s sire Galileo, is a Northern Dancer/Miswaki cross.
Alwilda was an extreme stayer gaining her black-type success in the Silbernes Band at Cologne, a race run at just over 2m3f. A half-sister to three other black-type winners, including All At Sea (by Galileo’s half-brother Sea The Stars), the dam of Eldar Eldarov, Alwilda is out of the Alzao mare Albanova, winner of three Group 1 events in Germany and a sister to Alborada, twice successful in the Champion Stakes (G1).
In tail-female the family goes back to that most famous of all grey distaffers, Mumtaz Mahal.
A first for Japan
The top three-year-old on 126 was Equinox, which is the first time that a Japanese-bred horse has achieved the honour.
Two for two, including the Hai Nisai Stakes (G2) as a juvenile, Equinox started the season with seconds in the Satsuki Sho (G1) and Tokyo Yushun (G1), but went on to defeat his elders in the Autumn Tenno Sho (G1) and the Arima Kinen (G1).
Kitasan Black is a grandson of Sunday Silence, but not via one of that horse’s betterknown sons – he was by far and away the best runner by Black Tide, a much inferior brother to the mighty Deep Impact.
Equinox is out of the graded winning Chateau Blanche, who, in turn, is by Dancing Brave’s son King Halo. This gives a rather interesting pattern as Black Tide is a Halo/ Lyphard and King Halo is Lyphard/Halo.
On top of that the two Lyphard sources –Alzao and Dancing Brave – are out of mares by the similarly-bred Sir Ivor and Drone, and those two horses also have a very similar background to Halo.
We should note in the wake of the passing of Deep Impact, who’s last crop are threeyear-olds of 2023, that we’re seeing some new names rise in the Japanese stallion ranks with the relatively established Lord Kanaloa and Kizuna joined by such as Duramente (King Kamehameha), Orfevre (Stay Gold), Rulership (King Kamehameha), Maurice (by Screen Hero, from the Silver Hawk branch of Roberto) and Epiphaneia (by Symboli Kris S., from the Kris S. branch of Roberto).
Epicenter and Vadeni joint on 125
Equinox was rated just above the North American runner Epicenter and the European Vadeni, who were tied on 125.
A Dirt runner, Epicenter won four graded stakes, including when impressive in the Travers Stakes (G1), and took second in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1), and was very possibly the best horse in both.
He is from the second crop of Not This Time, a Giant’s Causeway half-brother to Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner and successful sire Liam’s Map, who has rapidly established himself as one of the best young stallions in North America.
Vadeni scored consecutive victories in the Prix de Guiche (G3), the Prix du Jockey-Club (G1) and the Eclipse Stakes (G1), then took third in the Irish Champion Stakes (G1), and second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), where he was the first home from his age group.
He is from the first crop of Churchill, a son of Galileo who also has Blue Rose Cen, the leading French two-year-old of 2022, in his second crop.
Vadeni is out of Vaderna, by Monsun out of the Group 1 winner Vadawina, from an Aga Khan/Jean-Luc Lagardère family that has produced such horses as Vazira, Vadamos and Valixir.
Taiba: the winner of three Grade 1s in 2022
Three-way tie between Taiba, Desert Crown and Luxembourg
On 123 come Desert Crown, Luxembourg and Taiba. Desert Crown is three from three career starts, the third of which was the Epsom Derby (G1). He was sidelined afterwards, but is due to race on again in 2023.
Desert Crown is a son of the Galileo horse Nathaniel – sire of the previous Classic winners Enable and Channel – out of a Green Desert mare from what had been a Juddmonte family that traces back to the “Jock” Whitney foundation mare Peace.
She is also ancestress of such horses as Proviso, Wandesta, Continent, Midships, Byword and Zambezi Sun.
The winner of last year’s Vertem Futurity (G1), Luxembourg kicked off with a third to the ill-fated Coroebus in the 2,000 Guineas (G1) and was then sidelined until August when he took a Group 3 at The Curragh followed by a victory over Onesto and Vadeni in the Irish Champion Stakes (G1).
He pulled a muscle in his back when only seventh in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), but should again be a contender of major middle-distance events in 2023.
Luxembourg is a son of the consistent Camelot, out of a Danehill Dancer sister to the Group winner Forgotten Voice from the Wildenstein family of Arcangues, Agathe, Aquarelliste, Artiste Royal and Cape Verdi among others.
Taiba was a strong contender for a year end Eclipse Award for champion North American three-year-old, but that went Epicenter’s way.
Taiba won three Grade 1s – the Santa Anita Derby, the Pennsylvania Derby and the Malibu Stakes – to Epicenter’s one, and was third as the first three-year-old in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but was unplaced in the Kentucky Derby, which was only his third start.
Taiba is a member of the sensational first crop of former Horse of the Year, Gun Runner (by Candy Ride, from the Cryptoclearance branch of Fappiano), which now totals ten graded winners with six at Grade 1 level, including the champion two-year-old filly Echo Zulu, and Early Voting, who was successful in the Preakness Stakes (G1).
Taiba’s dam Needmore Flattery, by the A.P. Indy horse Flatter, won 17 races, nine black-type events, almost all in Ohio-bred company, and from a family that was imported from Argentina (as was Candy Ride).
The top three-year-old filly was Inspiral rated 120.
Undefeated in four races as a juvenile, Inspiral won two out of four in 2022 taking the Coronation Stakes (G1) on her reappearance, and after a surprise defeat behind Prosperous Voyage (Zoffany) in the Falmouth Stakes (G1), she rebounded to beat the colts, including older horses in the Prix Jacques Le Marois (G1).
He was represented by 33 stakes winners, 24 Group, and no less than nine Group 1 winners (at that, however, he was still only runner-up on the leading sires’ list to Dubawi, who had a staggering 45 individual stakes winners, 28 Group winners, and seven Group 1 winners.
Inspiral is out of the 1,000 Guineas (G1) runner-up Starscope (Selkirk) from a Cheveley Park Stud family. The grand-dam is a half-sister to Medicean, and the female line goes back to a half-sister to Caro.
Inspiral winning the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville, the Cheveley Park-bred daughter of Frankel was the top three-year-old filly of 2022
Nature Strip the leading sprinter
At the top in the sprint division was the Australian gelding Nature Strip on 126.
Now eight, he was a joint leader in this category on 124 in 2021, has also twice been Horse of the Year in Australia, has been a champion sprinter in Australia three times, and was the champion Turf horse and older male in 2019-2020.
He’s by Nicconi, a son of the Danzig horse Bianconi, and who was multiple Group 1-winning sprinter in Australia and a solid sire.
The top Dirt sprinter on 122 was Speaker’s Corner, who vainly pursued Flightline in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1), but prior to that he’d taken the Grade 1 Carter Handicap (G1).
By Street Sense, he’s out of a Bernardini daughter of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) heroine Round Pond.
The top three-year-old sprinter, also a Dirt horse, was Jack Christopher (121).
A son of Munnings (Speightstown) out of a half-sister to the reliable sire Street Boss, Jack Christopher was never beaten in five starts at distances up to a mile.
He won three times in 2022, including the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) which he won by 10l and the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).
The top European sprinter on 121 was the Haydock Sprint Cup (G1) winner Minzaal, a four-year-old from the first crop of Mehmas out of a Clodovil mare.
The versatile Alcohol Free, who is by No Nay Never and is out of a Hard Spun mare, was the leading three-year-old Mile filly last year, but was also the joint-top sprint female alongside Highfield Princess (a Night of Thunder half-sister to the speedy Group winner Cardsharp).
They are both rated 119, just one point over the leading Dirt Sprint female Goodnight Olive. She is by the veteran Ghostzapper and out of the multiple Group-winning Salty Strike (Smart Strike), successful in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1).
Jack Christopher
The best horses in the world were the milers in 2022
The Mile division is dominated by the previously mentioned Flightline and Baaeed, both rated 130 in this category.
Third on 125 is Life Is Good, who when not facing Flightline, won four graded stakes, three of them Grade 1.
A son of the all-conquering Into Mischief, he has retired to Winstar for 2023 at a fee of $100,000.
Just behind comes Hong Kong’s Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro), who was rated 124 in 2020 and 125 in 2021.
The top three-year-old miler is the previously mentioned Dirt horse Taiba (123) with top spot among the Turf three-yearold milers going to Japan’s Serifos (122), who came good at the end of the year in the Hanshin Mile Championship (G1).
He’s by the Sunday Silence horse Daiwa Major and is out of the Listed-winning and Group-placed Le Havre mare Sea Front.
Top older female miler equal on 120 with three-year-old Inspiral is Dreamloper. This five-year-old daughter of Lope De Vega defeated males to win the Prix d’Ispahan (G1) and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1), which she took by over 5l.
She is out of Livia’s Dream, a black-typewinning mare by emerging broodmare sire Teofilo. The second dam, the black-type scorer Brindisi, is out of a half-sister to the dam of Epsom Oaks (G1) winner Talent.
Top Dirt females on 118 are the ex-Mexican Letruska, who is by Super Saver out of a Successful Appeal mare and the champion North American older mare of 2021, and Malathaat (by Curlin out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia), last year’s champion three-year-old filly and Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner.
Best females in the intermediate category rated 118
Flightline and Baaeed also topped the Intermediate category above Epicenter, the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) runner-up Olympiad (Speightstown) and the Hong Kong-based Romantic Warrior (Irish-bred, by Acclamation).
One has to go all the way down to 118 to find the top females here who are Nest and Tuesday.
Nest, a Dirt performer had a busy season making eight starts, all in stakes company, of which she won five, including the Ashland Stakes (G1), the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), the Alabama Stakes (G1) and the Beldame Stakes (G1). She also took second in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and the Belmont Stakes (G1), despite a stumbling start.
Nest is by the two-time Horse of the Year, Curlin, who after a somewhat sticky start to his stud career, is the leading source of Classic stamina on Dirt in the US.
Last year, he was represented by six Grade 1 winners, three at the Breeders’ Cup, and more than any other North American sire.
Nest is a sister to the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Idol, out of the stakeswinning A.P. Indy mare Marion Ravenwood.
The second dam Andujar was a Grade 2-winning daughter of Quiet American, and closely related to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Real Quiet. This is also the family of such horses as Majestic Prince, Crowned Prince, Secreto, Caracolero, Graustark and His Majestic.
Tuesday has won just three of her 12 starts, but two of those were the Epsom Oaks (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1).
She also finished second in the Irish 1,000 Guineas (G1) and the Yorkshire Oaks (G1), and third in the 1,000 Guineas (G1).
She is by the late Galileo, out of Lillie Langtry, a Danehill Dancer mare who included the Coronation Stakes (G1) and Matron Stakes (G1) among her successes, which makes Tuesday a sister to Minding.
She was a champion at two, three and four, and successful in eight Group events, seven Group 1 races, including the 1,000 Guineas and the Epsom Oaks
Tuesday is also a sister to the Irish 1,000 Guineas scorer Empress Josephine, and the Group winner Kissed By Angels.
Pyledriver: top older long distance runner
The Long category is headed by three-year- olds Equinox and Vadeni, but the top older horse in the division is Pyledriver.
He finished fourth in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) beaten just a length. When back in England he took second, albeit wellbeaten, behind Hukum in the Coronation Cup (G1), and then produced an upset the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).
The stamina comes from Pyledriver’s dam La Pyle, a Le Havre half-sister to the Grand Prix de Paris (G1) winner Mont Ormel. Alpinista and Tuesday were the top older mare and three-year-old filly here.
Unbeaten in 2022, Kyprios leads the way over the extended
In the Extended category, Kyprios led the way, his 124 being only a point lower than the highest achieved by Stradivarius, who as an eight-year-old, is joint fourth on 118, marking his sixth consecutive year among the elite.
Kyprios, who has won eight of his ten life time starts, and went six for six in 2022, including wins in the Ascot Gold Cup (G1), the Goodwood Cup (G1), in which he only just held off Stradivarius, Irish St. Leger (G1), and the Prix du Cadran (G1), where he romped by 20l.
Kyprios is a sister to Search For A Song, the leading female in the Extended category in 2019, and two other stakes winners, and he is half-brother to the Group 1 winner Free Eagle (Europe Highweight in the Intermediate Category), to the Group winner Custom Cut, a champion older miler in Ireland, to the Group winner Sapphire (highweighted older mare in Ireland in the Long category), and to Valac, a Group winner in Australia.
Best of the rest
To give a flavour of the best of some other jurisdictions outside of North American, the principal European regions, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia, the top New Zealand-bred is the Australian-raced I’m Thunderstruck (by Street Cry’s son, Shocking out of a mare by Edenwold, a son of Southern Halo) on 120.
The German Group 1 winner Tunnes (by Guiliani, by Urban’s Sea’s three-quarters brother Terullian, and inbred 3x3 to Tertullian’s dam, Turbaine, a half-sister to Urban Sea) is also on 120, while rated 119 comes the top South African horse Jet Dark.
He is by Trippi, an ex-Northern American grandson of the Mr. Prospector horse Forty Niner, out of a mare by long-time South African stalwart Jet Master, and from the Wildenstein Peinture Bleue/Petroleuse family.
On 118 we find the top Argentine-bred, Malibu Spring (by Greenspring, a son of the Blushing Groom line horse, Orientate, out of a mare by Editor’s Note, a son of Forty Niner).
One point lower is the Chilean runner O’Connor, who is by the Wertheimer-bred Kingmambo stallion Boboman and out of a Touch Gold mare.
The US-raced Royal Ship, by the US sire Midshipman out of a mare by Val Royal, was the top horse bred in his country with a rating of 116, while the top horse from Brazil on 115 was Jorel, who is by Chronnos, a Brazilian-bred son of Elusive Quality, out of a mare by Tapit.
