Plenty of high-level action around the world during the holiday period, when the most notable mover on the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary Global Rankings was a certain Bob Baffert.
Love him or loathe him, you certainly can’t ignore him. And while Baffert may still be banned from any Kentucky Derby involvement owing to the Medina Spirit controversy, the 69-year-old made hay on home ground with a five-timer on December 26 at Santa Anita’s showpiece opening day card.
As a result, Baffert has moved up one place on the TRC trainers’ lists, where he moves ahead of Aidan O’Brien into #3 spot with a 91pt boost over Christmas. Charlie Appleby still leads the way.
Highlight of Baffert’s five-bagger was the Malibu Stakes success of Taiba (+208pt, #12 from #42), who is now knocking on the door of the world’s Top Ten. In fact. remove horses who have been retired, and the three-year-old is already there.
Baffert secured a second G1 success at Santa Anita with Fun To Dream in the La Brea for three-year-old fillies, while Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (+247pt, #28 from #155) prepped for the Saudi Cup with a convincing display in the G2 San Antonio.
Country Grammer was partnered again by Frankie Dettori, who has made such a bright start to his farewell tour in southern California. He stays at #8 on the jockeys’ charts, where James McDonald still leads the way.
Elswehere on the horse rankings, Equinox became Japan’s top-ranked horse with his emphatic triumph in the Arima Kinen. Hailed as a potential superstar in Japan, he now stands at #13.
Overall, the equine rankings start 2023 as they ended 2022, with the brilliant Flightline well clear at #1. Both he and world #2 Baaeed have been retired, of course, and will be removed from the rankings 150 days after their most recent outing.
As it stands, the leading active performer is star stayer Kyprios, who is at #3. However, he will also drop out if he does not appear before the start of the European turf season, though Saudi and Dubai remain as options.
Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior charges into world Top Ten
Either way, the global rankings for horses are clearly in some degree of flux once more, with four of the current top five already retired and others such as Nature Strip and Golden Sixty – both former world #1s – beaten on recent starts.
As such, horses like #6 Anamoe or the Hong Kong pair Romantic Warrior and California Spangle – #9 and #11 respectively – are in the running for high estate. It is all to play for over the winter months – though Flightline is set to stay at #1 until his name leaves the listing.
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