THE WORLD'S LEADING HORSES(For the period 1st Dec 2006 to 10th June 2007) - from
www.horseracingintfed.comINVASOR (ARG) (129) retains his position as the top ranked racehorse in the world in the latest edition of the World's Leading Horses, which covers the period 1st December 2006 to 10th June 2007. In winning the Emirates Dubai World Cup, INVASOR proved that his Breeders' Cup Classic winning performance was no fluke and confirmed his status as the best horse in the world as ranked by the panel of official handicappers drawn from the major racing nations affiliated to the IFHA.
The most significant feature of this edition of the "World's Leading Horses" is the inclusion of the northern hemisphere's classic crop of three year olds, most notably the recent Vodafone Derby winner AUTHORIZED (IRE) (126), whose outstanding performance at Epsom sees him enter the list in third place. In turn, North American classic winners STREET SENSE (USA) (125) and CURLIN (USA) (125) are now ranked joint fourth for their performances in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes respectively. CURLIN (USA) ran to a similar level in defeat in the Belmont Stakes when pipped by RAGS TO RICHES (USA) (121), whose performance in that race, in addition to her success in the Kentucky Oaks, makes her the top filly/mare in the world on any surface.
While RAGS TO RICHES defied history in beating the colts in the Belmont, Japanese filly VODKA (JPN) (117) did likewise in defeating the colts in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Other notable new entrants from the classic generation include COCKNEY REBEL (IRE) (120), who won both the English and Irish 2000 Guineas, while FINSCEAL BEO (IRE) (119) pulled off the equivalent English/Irish Guineas double for fillies. FINSCEAL BEO narrowly missed out on a classic treble in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) when going down by a head to DARJINA (IRE) (117), who ranks alongside Vodafone Oaks winner LIGHT SHIFT (USA) (117).
Several older horses have recently put up career best efforts in Group 1 company, including MANDURO (GER) (122) in winning the Prix d'Ispahan and NOTNOWCATO (GB) (122) in winning the Tattersalls Gold Cup, as well as VIVA PATACA (GB) (122) in winning the Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup (HK1) and SIXTIES ICON (GB) (119) in winning the Group 2 Stan JamesUK.com Jockey Club Stakes. A number of others have reproduced their best form from last year with the promise of more to come: DAIWA MAJOR (JPN) (121) in winning the Yasuda Kinen, ENGLISH CHANNEL (USA) (120) and BETTER TALK NOW (USA) (119) in filling the first two places in the Manhattan Handicap, RED ROCKS (IRE) (120) in winning the Gordon Richards Stakes, SCORPION (IRE) and SEPTIMUS (IRE) in finishing first and second in the Vodafone Coronation Cup and MEISHO SAMSON (JPN) (117) in winning the Tenno Sho (Spring).
Other notable inclusions are the South African three year old sprinter MYTHICAL FLIGHT (SAF) (117) and the progressive German four year old SADDEX (GB) (118) (for winning the Grand Prix de Chantilly Mitsubishi Motors), while an eight strong Australian contingent is headed up by TAKEOVER TARGET (AUS) (119), back to top form in winning the Carlton Draught Doomben 10000, and also includes fellow Royal Ascot bound sprinters BENTLEY BISCUIT (AUS) (117), for winning the Jacobs Creek Sparkling BTC Cup, and the crack filly MISS ANDRETTI (AUS) (117) for winning the Seppelt Wines Newmarket Handicap.
