Kentucky Derby winner asserts superiority again in the Jim Dandy – while Calandagan is impressive in the £1.5m King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot
Last week’s rankings caused a bit of controversy when Journalism’s Haskell victory put him above Kentucky Derby Sovereignty in the charts – despite the latter having twice beaten him.
No such worries this time around, however, as Sovereignty (#4 from #10, +139pt) moves into the world Top 5 according to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s exclusive Global Rankings following a businesslike effort in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga.
The Godolphin star is now the world’s highest-ranked three-year-old – though admittedly, that status may well be gone in seven days’ time if Field Of Gold justifies odds-on favouritism against older horses in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday [July 30].
Anyway, back to Sovereignty and Journalism – and the truth is that even this writer was somewhat uncomfortable with the latter’s superiority in the rankings. This game is all about opinions, of course – though the TRC algorithm doesn’t deal in opinion, which is why we asked rankings guru James Willoughby to explain the potential anomaly in last week’s update.
While it was a rarity to see a horse ranked above another one with two recent verdicts, the rankings aren’t about individual displays, unlike traditional ratings. And in that context, Journalism’s overall body of work pushed him up the table; the same sort of thing often happens in golf and tennis rankings.
But hey, while I could see the logic, it feels right that the algorithm now has Sovereignty back above his arch-rival – even if he didn’t need to improve to win at Saratoga. But that G2 event adds another big race to his overall CV – and he won comfortably by a length over Baeza. The runner-up, by the way, is an admirable performer but his career record of one maiden win from seven is like an anchor in the rankings. He needs a graded-stakes win.
Journalism now goes on to the Travers Stakes with seemingly plenty left to give. “I was happy with his job,” said the great Bill Mott ((#15 from #16, +30pt). “I was a little nervous beforehand because the expectations were pretty high, but he took care of that for me.”
Remarkably, Mott has never won the Travers – the feature event at his home track. “It’s probably our best chance so far to do it,” he said. “I’ve gone into it with some chances before, but this would have to be the biggest chance.
“Now the expectations are high, so it’s one of those situations where as long as he’s running well, he’s always going to be one of the favourites. Everybody’s expectations are high.”
For all that, Sovereignty isn’t the highest-plkaced mover on the rankings, an honour that goes to King George winner Calandagan (#3 from #6, +176pt). Anyone doubting this horse’s resolution at the end of his races has had to eat their words – having finally opened his G1 account at home in France in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud at the end of June, the Aga Khan Studs representative followed up in Ascot’s £1.5m midsummer showpiece, in which he overturned Coronation Cup with doughty stayer Jan Brueghel (#43 from #42), only fourth here.
There was much to like about Caladangan’s success in a race that set up in ideal fashion for him with a small field and a moderate gallop set by the Ballydoyle pacemaker.
Trained by the estimable Francis-Henri Graffard (#8 from #9, +39pt), the French four-year-old quickened up decisively from the rear of the field to claim top filly Kalpana (#63 from #120, +101pt), who looked to have secured a decisive break at the two-furlong marker.
“We know Calandagan’s quality and today the ground was quicker and he’s one of these top-class horses.” said jockey (#11 from #12, +23pt).
Graffard added: “I’m glad he had time to come and catch the filly. Mickael said the last 200 metres are long here and he knew he was going to catch her, but when she kicked for home she was impressive and I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to finish second by a neck again!’”
With Arc a non-option for the Calandagan – as a gelding, he is ineligible – he may well drop back in trip for what could be a vintage Juddmonte International or the Irish Champion Stakes.
Meanwhile, it is a testament to the quality of the Ascot race that runner-up Kalpana was immediately made favourite for the Arc – while in third place was none other than dual Breeders’ Cup winner Rebel’s Romance (#9 from #8, -3pt).
Finally this week, back to the US, where Nysos (#18 from #54, +149pt) – a one-time Kentucky Derby favourite – continued on the comeback trail with another nice effort in the G2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. The Pacific Classic beckons on August 30 for the son of Nyquist, beaten just one in six starts in an injury-interrupted career.
• View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires
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• 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.