Dual Breeders’ Cup winner Rebel’s Romance is back in the world Top 5 according to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s Global Rankings after recording his eighth G1 success in Germany on Sunday [August 10].
Partnered by teenage prodigy Billy Loughnane, who was landing his first top-level success, the seven-year-old comfortably held Junko by three-quarters of a length for his second victory in the Grosser Preis von Berlin at Hoppegarten,
Rebel’s Romance (#5 from #8, +79pt) has now won 19 of 28 career starts – among them G1s, plus two editions of the richly endowed Amir’s Trophy in Qatar – and, with more than £11 million in the bank, stands third on the all-time list of British prize-money earners behind Thunder Snow and Mishriff.
The most prolific Group-race winner in the Godolphin’s history, the son of Dubawi has won races in the UK, the US, Germany, Hong Kong, Dubai and Qatar. Only a G1 victory on home turf in Britain remains elusive, though that is easier said than done.
“What more can you say about Rebel’s Romance?” exclaimed trainer Charlie Appleby (stays at #3, +46pt). “He writes his own story.”
The victory represented a 250th black-type success in the Godolphin silks for leading sire Dubawi, who stays at #2 behind Frankel on the turf sires’ list with a 33pt boost.
It was certainly a landmark occasion for 19-year-old jockey Billy Loughnane (#152 from #228, +50pt), who is being touted as a future champion. “It’s a feeling I can’t describe, a feeling of ecstasy,” said the young tyro.
“I’m very lucky to be riding in these colours and having the opportunity to sit on a horse like this. A big thanks to Will [Buick], I spoke to him last night and he told me exactly what to do. Rebel’s Romance is a star of a horse”
An attempt to win an unprecedented third edition of the Breeders’ Cup Turf is this season’s primary target for Rebel’s Romance, with Appleby suggesting the Canadian International as a likely route to Del Mar.
Godolphin (stays at #1, +53pt) were also on the mark in the Sword Dancer at Saratoga as El Cordobes (#72 from #350, +247pt) struck for the first time at G1 level following a G2 win at Newmarket’s July meeting. This son of world-leading sire Frankel looks progressive; the BC Turf is also on the cards for him.
Sajir (#157 from #589, +223pt), a four-year-old trained by Andre Fabre (#17 from #20, +48pt), produced a career-best under Oisin Murphy (#22 from #25, +15pt) for a 26-1 surprise in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, where he beat odds-on favourite Lazzat by an emphatic length and three-quarters.
Fort Washington (#141 from #293, +115pt) led close home to claim a substandard Arlington Million but perhaps the most eyecatching effort Stateside last week came from a human rather than a horse as Juan Hernandez (#8 from #9, +43pt) lit up Del Mar with a string of wins, including a rare six-timer on Saturday’s card.
The 33-year-old Mexican won four straight riding titles at the venue, where he now holds a clear 26-16 lead over Antonio Fresu in the current standings. While Hernandez won since races on Saturday, Fresu was second in seven!
Although three of Hernandez’s six wins came for his main employer Bob Baffert, it was Graham Motion who provided Heredia to win the G2 highlight, the Yellow Ribbon, in the Wathnan Racing silks.
Already on the mark in G1 company at the meet with Seismic Beauty, Hernandez also took the G3 Sorrento for two-year-old fillies on Sunday with Baffert-trained Himika.
• 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.