Major movers in the upper reaches of the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary Global Rankings – on both sides of the Atlantic
The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes was billed as Britain’s race of the season and it didn’t disappoint thanks to a pulsating battle between Hukum and Westover.
This top-class pair of older horses pulled 4½ lengths away from Derby runner-up King Of Steel before Hukum edged out a gallant rival by a head to claim the £1.25m event.
In a season where European-based horses have struggled to make a deep impact on the Thoroughbred Global Rankings, both principals are rightly rewarded with a spot in the top ten as Hukum moves to #6 (from #36, +299pt) with Westover (#8 from #11, +63pt).
Hukum’s trainer Owen Burrows (#20 from #24, +81pt), former jump jockey and longtime Sir Michael Stoute assistant, also moves into the top 20 among trainers – a serious achievement given that he does not have the same level of ammunition as the majority of those to reach such lofty heights, even with the patronage of Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell team.
Hukum, a six-year-old by Sea The Stars, is now set to target the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where he is likely to get the soft ground he loves. Bookmakers have Hukum as second favourite for the Paris showpiece behind French Derby winner Ace Impact.
King George third King Of Steel (#62 from #82, +35pt) also gets a minor boost – and while he was well beaten, there was much to like about this performance as the inexperienced three-year-old seemed to run out of stamina close home. He’s a G1 winner in waiting, probably with a cut back in trip – and a potential superstar as a four-year-old.
Who knows what to make of dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (#36 from #21, -86pt), however, who now has a weird-looking career record. His last five runs now feature three G1 wins – plus two races in which he has been virtually pulled up. Surely something will come to light.
For all that the King George was undeniably the most prestigious race on last weekend’s world calendar, it wasn’t responsible for the highest-placed mover on this week’s charts.
Step forward Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Elite Power (#4 from #6, +141pt), who extended his streak to eight straight victories with a thrilling last-gasp success over Gunite in the G1 Vanderbilt at a sloppy Saratoga.
The Juddmonte five-year-old is now hot on the heels of Bill Mott-trained stablemate Cody’s Wish, who has the chance to embellish his ranking this weekend as he steps up in trip for the Whitney.
• Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques. Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
They are formulated from the last three years of races we consider Group or Graded class all over the world and update automatically each week according to the quality of a horse’s performances and their recency, taking into account how races work out.
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