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| Staff Writer |
In the latest edition of Adiyat Racing Plus, the World's Best Racehorse Rankings have been released by international handicappers. The rankings determine the top 100 Group or Gr.1 races, and the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic has been designated as the leading race of World Cup night in 2023.
Additionally, last year's Sheema Classic was recognized as the best-performing race ever held at the meeting and in the UAE. This is a significant achievement since the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities created the framework of the world's best races in 2012, and the Sheema Classic has been ranked as the top race four times, while the World Cup has been ranked twice, and the Turf once.
Initially, the first three years of the IFHA project were clouded by the attempt to cover two separate seasons. The Northern Hemisphere term ran from January to December, and the Southern from August to July. However, the criterion eventually became a calendar year, starting in January. Although World Cup night had five races in the inaugural table of 2012, it is best to look at overall performances of individual international races starting in 2016. The qualifying mark is obtained by taking an average of the end-of-season international ratings for the first four finishers in each Group one race recognized by the IFHA.
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On that basis, three World Cup night races made the top 43 last year, with the Sheema in second place on an average rating of 126.5, the World Cup itself in equal 33rd on 119.0, and the Turf in 43rd on 118.25. The Al Quoz, which has appeared three times since 2016, missed out. Equinox's rating of 135 is the highest ever awarded to a horse trained in Japan. His Japan Cup success enabled that race to take the top spot in the best 100 races table, with an average of 126.75, just a quarter of a point above the Sheema. However, it was not just Equinox who helped boost the Sheema's rating.
The other three qualifiers played their part throughout the rest of 2023. Westover won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and finished second in the Coronation Cup, Ascot's King George, and the Arc. Zagrey won the Grosser Preis von Baden, and Mostahdaf took the Prince of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International. This year, Aidan O'Brien has earmarked the Sheema for his dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin, who has a 3YO rating of 125, beaten only by Big Rock on 127. This sets a high standard for the 2024 running.