Queen usurps Juddmonte's crown

YORK'S flagship Juddmonte International has lost its status as the best Flat race in the world.
Silvestre De Sousa with Juddmonte winner Arabian Queen (Picture: James Hardisty).Silvestre De Sousa with Juddmonte winner Arabian Queen (Picture: James Hardisty).
Silvestre De Sousa with Juddmonte winner Arabian Queen (Picture: James Hardisty).

The 10-furlong test drops to third on official ratings behind the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, long-regarded as European racing’s ultimate prize, and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in America, won by Triple Crown hero American Pharoah.

However, the Juddmonte, won by many greats of the Turf since its inauguration in 1972, remains the best Flat race in Britain on official ratings and over any distance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The International Panel of Thoroughbred Handicappers uses the ratings of the first four horses home in Group One contests around the world over a three-year period to determine the most superior race.

York was able to gain global bragging rights because the world-beating Frankel’s runaway success in 2012 was followed by victories for Declaration of War and Australia in subsequent years.

All three champions beat renowned horses, with English and Irish Derby winner Australia’s win in 2014 coming at the expense of Yorkshire warrior The Grey Gatsby, who won three Group One races, including the French Derby, for Hambleton trainer Kevin Ryan and proud owner Frank Gillespie.

However, with Frankel’s victory no longer included in York’s tally, the track was always going to struggle to retain top spot and its fate was effectively sealed when David Elsworth’s unheralded Arabian Queen pulled off one of the biggest shocks in the International’s history when defeating a below-par Epsom Derby hero Golden Horn in a thrilling tussle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Just a neck settled the two protagonists after Arabian Queen’s jockey Silvestre de Sousa got the better of Frankie Dettori in this tactical battle, with Golden Horn confirming his class and superiority by streaking clear to win the Arc in Paris last October.

That said, York’s officials appear determined to build up the status of the International still further – it remains the day-one highlight of the Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival – and look to attract top thoroughbreds in the future.

It is a test which appeals to connections of champion milers, and horses with proven form over the Derby trip of a mile and a half.

Its timing in mid-August also gives horses a chance to recuperate before the traditional end-of-season examinations in Paris, and at Ascot, in October.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Having featured so strongly in these rankings is a huge accolade for York, Yorkshire and British racing and we are determined to keep building on this and to keep delivering fantastic racing action, facilities and experience at York into the future,” said chief executive William Derby.

York chairman Lord Grimthorpe, racing manager to the aforementioned Frankel’s owner Prince Khalid Abdullah, added: “I am delighted that the ratings have again confirmed the global stature of this great race.”

Meanwhile, US Triple Crown hero American Pharoah has been confirmed as the equine superstar of 2015.

Bob Baffert’s brilliant colt became the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to claim the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But it was his devastating performance in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, now the second-best race in the world, that earned him a rating of 134.

Paul Nicholls has raised the possibility of stable stalwart Silviniaco Conti running in the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with a number of options under consideration in the Spring.

The 10-year-old is in the frame for a possible crack at the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree, although the Betfred Bowl Chase that he has won for the last two years at that meeting is also under consideration along with a trip to the Punchestown Festival.

Silviniaco Conti, who came to prominence when landing the 2012 Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, won the King George in both 2013 and 2014, but was pulled up in last month’s renewal.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Kilcooley, runaway winner of Wetherby’s West Yorkshire Hurdle last year, is on the comeback trail following an injury lay-off.

Trainer Charlie Longsdon has nominated Cheltenham’s Cleeve Hurdle at the end of the month, or Fontwell’s National Spirit Hurdle in February, as options before a tilt at the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the NH Festival.

“He will only run if we feel that he is 100 per cent right. His form is as strong as any of those horses in the World Hurdle picture, bar Thistlecrack,” he said.

Related topics: