In a week that featured the return of Winx, one of the highest-rated performances of the year in the United States and a sizzling display in Europe’s second juvenile Group 1 of the year, pride of place in the TRC Global Rankings went to none of the above but instead to 24-time French champion trainer André Fabre.
The 72-year-old Chantilly maestro was out of luck at the top level - his only contender in either of last week’s G1s at Deauville, Miss Frankel, was fourth behind Nonza in the Prix Jean Romanet - but he more than made up for that with no less than FOUR Group-race victories over the week.
The G2 success of Kitesurf at Deauville on Sunday and the G3 wins of Talismanic and Wind Chimes at Deauville on Wednesday and Plumatic across the Channel at Salisbury on Saturday meant a six-point week-on-week gain that lifted Fabre from #10 to joint seventh (with Saeed bin Suroor) in the trainers’ standings.
Accelerate’s super show
Performance of the week was Accelerate’s 12½-length blitz in the £1 million TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday.
The 5-year-old was given a Racing Post Rating (RPR) of 128 for it. If that is repeated in next month’s update of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, it will be the second highest mark of the year for an American horse, behind only the now retired Gun Runner’s effort to win the Pegasus World Cup in January.
Naturally, the win in the Del Mar showpiece brought improvements for Accelerate’s connections: trainer John Sadler (+3pts, up to #34 from 40), owners Hronis Racing (+3pts, up to 18 from 22), sire Lookin At Lucky (+4pts, climbs from 30 to 27), and jockey Joel Rosario (+2pts, stays at #10).
Highest Longines rating of the year worldwide belongs, of course, to Winx. Click here to read about the impact (or, rather, the lack of it) of her win on Saturday as far as the TRC rankings are concerned.
Pretty impressive moves
On the other hand, the G1 Darley Prix Morny win at Deauville on Sunday of Pretty Pollyanna had a significant impact on the standings. The daughter of Oasis Dream (+5pts, up 23 places to #72) received an RPR of 116 - an impressive mark for a juvenile at this stage of the season.
Trainer Michael Bell (+6pts, up from 91 to 73), jockey Silvestre De Sousa (+5pts, moves from 103 to 86) and owners Bill and Tim Gredley (+5pts, climb to 30 from 38) all notched notable rises in their respective categories.
Huge climb for Dunlop
Another British trainer to make good headway was Harry Dunlop (+7pts), who shot up 61 places to #178 on the back of the surprise G2 success of Knight To Behold at Deauville last Wednesday. The son of Sea The Stars (+4pts, up to 8 from 12) had Prix du Jockey-Club winner Study Of Man back in third.
Eskimo lifts McPeek into the top 100
Kentucky-based Kenny McPeek (+5pts, up to #88 from 104) was one of the biggest climbers in the U.S. after the 6½-length triumph of Eskimo Kisses in the G1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday. The filly’s sire, To Honor And Serve, who now stands in South Korea, gained six points and climbs from 430 to 280 as a result.
Kah out on her own at #2
South Australian rider Jamie Kah (+5pts, up 49 places to #207) is now clear second-highest-ranked active female jockey in the world after scoring a G3 win at Morphettville, Adelaide, on Dollar For Dollar on Saturday.
Kah, 22, had been tied with New Zealand’s Samantha Spratt (-1pt, dropping to #264 from 256). She now has just 20-year-old Western Australia-based Lucy Warwick (#176) ahead of her, although the now-retired Katelyn Mallyon, another Aussie, is still as high as #169.
Harrington goes on climbing
Irish trainer Jessica Harrington, who has soared up the world rankings this season thanks in the main to the achievements of the remarkable Alpha Centauri, climbs yet again this week - and it was nothing to do with that filly this time.
Pincheck’s G3 win at Leopardstown last Thursday meant a four-point gain and an eight-place rise to #60, consolidating her position as the second-highest-ranked female trainer in the world (behind Gai Waterhouse, who is #25 along with training partner Adrian Bott). The Sydney-based pair gained two points themselves after a G3 win at Randwick on Saturday via Master Ash.
Click here for a list of all last week’s biggest TRC Global Rankings points gainers.
Click here for a list of all the week’s Group and Graded winners.