Godolphin’s Australian superstar Anamoe confirmed himself as the world’s leading active racehorse with his ninth G1 success on a glittering card at Rosehill Gardens in Sydney on Saturday [March 18].
The four-year-old son of Street Boss, who is headed for Royal Ascot later this year, recorded his sixth top-level victory of the 2022-23 season in the George Ryder Stakes under world-ranked #1 jockey James McDonald.
In a determined performance, Anamoe was forced to sit three wide throughout before collaring Fangirl in a tight finish. In truth, this 1,500-metre (7½f) contest over a trip short of his optimum was a race he could easily have lost but instead Anamoe managed to score by a half-length, earning a small 17pt boost on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s exclusive Global Rankings, where he sits at #2 (from #3) behind the retired Flightline.
As such, he is in pole position for the top spot, since Flightline will soon exit the charts when it is 150 days since his most recent outing.
Anamoe, though, is the world’s highest-ranked active performer. He will have his Australian swansong in Sydney’s autumn feature, the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, at Randwick on April 8.
“On a hot day like today, to go undefeated in his lead-up to the Queen Elizabeth was ideal,” said Godolphin trainer James Cummings.
“He’s had that tough run over 1,500m, which was a race we deliberately kept him a bit sharper for. Now he can step up to a mile-and-a-quarter and look great in a race we have targeted.
“The wide draw was a problem but at least he was going to be wide and out of trouble,” added Cummings.“That’s a time-honoured race packed full of quality opposition, so for him to sit three- and four-wide throughout and still come away and be strongest on the line is a great credit to Anamoe and adds to his glittering resumé.”
For all Anamoe’s exploits, however, the most startling move to come from a glittering Aussie weekend programme came via the William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour and a 4½-length drubbing of rivals in the G1 Ranvet Stakes.
Now five, the gelding catapulted himself into the Top 20 with a massive 407pt boost and now stands at #19 (from #261). His clash with Anamoe in the QE Stakes should be worth watching.
Dubai Honour was the first leg of a brilliant G1 double at Rosehill in Sydney for Ryan Moore, who later claimed the world’s most valuable two-year-old contest, the Golden Slipper on Coolmore’s Shinzo.
Also narrowly beaten in Sunday’s Hong Kong Derby in Sha Tin as his mount Tuchle was short-headed by Voyage Bubble, Moore (+28pt, #4 from #5) climbs a place on the jockeys’ lists.
The dramatic rise in the quality of Hong Kong was illustrated yet again by Lucky Sweynesse (+128pt, #12 from #34), who becomes the fourth horse from the region to figure in the current Top 20.
James McDonald was again on board as he flew in to partner the NZ-bred four-year-od, who stepped up to seven furlongs for his second G1 victory in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup on Sunday’s HK Derby card at Sha Tin.
Make no mistake: despite featuring only five runners, this was a strong race, with world #14 California Spangle beaten a length and a quarter into second and Hong Kong Sprint winner Wellington in third. The win achieved a TRC Computer Race Rating of 122.
Lucky Sweynesse’s HK record is now 10-from-14; he’ll run next in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize on FWD Champions Day [April 30].
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