Introuducing a new format, James Willoughby runs down this week’s winners of our Global Rankings awards.
In this inaugural edition of the Thoroughbred Weekly Awards, we’ll establish the format of selecting one competitor from each of five categories (Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Turf Sire and Dirt Sire) whose accomplishment during the last week particularly impressed us for one reason or another.
For a change, we’ll go on subjective points of interest rather than strictly using objective criteria, though the two will overlap quite a lot, we expect.
Having described the significance of the winning performance in each category, we’ll also nominate a runner-up.
Horse of the Week
Vauban (#67)
How fitting that in the week of the Cheltenham Festival a former winner at that jamboree of jumping should post the highest-rated performance in international Flat racing round the world.
The 2022 Grade 1 Triumph Hurdle winner hasn’t quite lived up to expectations since being transferred from Irish trainer Willie Mullins to Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott after the 2024 Melbourne Cup, but he has now won the last two renewals of the Group 3 Sky High Stakes at Rosehill, and this last effort is considered marginally the best of his career.
He returns to the rankings at #67 and could pick up more prizes as an eight-year-old.
Runner-up:Audacia (#113)
Jockey of the Week
James McDonald (#1)
We strictly don’t play favourites here at Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, but it’s hard not to tune in specially to watch any race in which ‘J-Mac’ is taking part.
A Rosehill treble was just routine brilliance from the Kiwi who padded his world #1 status to 127 points over Ryan Moore with wins at Group 1, 2 and 3 level.
Mind you, he’s going to need every point he can get with the arsenal of equine talent lined up for Moore at Ballydoyle this year.
Runner-up: Timothy Clark (#31)
Trainer of the Week
Chris Waller (#4 from #5)
An intense, thoughtful but likeable figure, Waller has figured in our top ten for a long time now.
He moves up a place this week after sharing the Group 1 Coolmore Classic win of Lazzura and the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes win of Sixties at Rosehill with James McDonald and also adding Birdman’s win in the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes at Caulfield where Ben Melham was the winning rider.
Runner-up: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott (#27)
Turf Sire of the Week
Kizuna (#16 from #19)
The Shadai producer retired to stud in 2016 and has since become renowned for tough, progressive horses who tend to win their races with stamina.
Grade 2 Spring Stakes winner Audacia looks another typical product and the three-year-old could be a force to be reckoned with over longer distances than the nine furlongs of this Nakayama triumph.
He’s now in line for the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho, Japan’s version of the 2,000 Guineas, which is run over a mile and a quarter.
Audacia could be an important runner for Kizuna, who also had two reach the frame in the Grade 2 Kinko Sho at Chukyo this week.
Runner-up:Tivaci (#479 overall)
Dirt Sire of the Week
Practical Joke (#8)
I thought about leaving this award out for the week, seeing as though only one Graded stakes event was run on dirt, but the sire of the Grade 3 Whitmore Stakes winner at Oaklawn is worth featuring whenever the chance arises.
Practical Joke, a son of overall #1 sire Into Mischief, stands at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
Many of his runners are talented, speedy athletes at around a mile and he also gets plenty of sprinters like the Whitmore winner Tejano Twist, who’s now ranked #257.
Ironically, given this award, Practical Joke’s best runner is the high-class turf runner Domestic Product.
Runner-up: Not awarded this week.
Pippa Mickleburgh of Race Coast Sales was a guest on the Nick Luck Daily podcast
The Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale unfurls this week
Kristen Manning spoke to the leadership of studs affected by January’s bushfires in Victoria
View the latest Global Rankings for horses, owners, breeders, trainers and jockeys