HARBINGER ZOOMS TO THE TOP IN WORLD RANKINGS
After an impressive 11-length victory in the King George this past weekend, Harbinger zooms to the top of the World Thoroughbred Rankings with Sussex Stakes winner Canford Cliffs and top American older male horse Quality Road rounding out the top three. See the top ten list below and click on the graph to see the complete rankings.
Tags: Canford Cliffs, Harbinger, Paulick Report, Quality Road, World Thoroughbred Rankings
July 29th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
Good. He was spectacular.
July 29th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
I find it hard to believe that so many of those horses are ranked ahead of Goldi.
July 29th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
These rankings are absolutely stupid.
Are the English behind this stupidity?
How in the world does Rip Van Winkle has the same ranking as Zenyatta when he finishes 6th and 2nd in two races this year after he finished 10th behind Zenyatta in the Classic.
And hasn’t Harbinger only won a Grade 2 race this year prior to the King George?
Or how about Workforce. What races has he won this year besides the Investec Derby?
God, the arrognance.
July 29th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Yes - darn egocentric of the English.
The ratings are updated on the basis of latest performance(s). If you look back at the history, they don’t appear so crazy.
I’m guessing Sea the Stars was rated #1 at the end of last year. The remaining rankings at the end of last year, Goldikova 2 etc., look about right although Zenyatta’s defeat of Rip Van Winkle certainly would seem to have warranted her being ranked above him after the Breeders Cup. On the other hand, Rip Van Winkle ran a tough campaign against Sea the Stars and other top G1 (three year old and older) horses in 2009 and performed well through it until the Breeders Cup.
Quality Road was ranked #1 in May until Workforce’s Derby, which was a record breaking performance, as was Harbinger’s in the King George to crush him and the Irish Derby winner.
July 29th, 2010 at 11:23 pm
John (#3) –
“God, the arrognance. (sic)”
It has much less to do with arrogance than your response does a lack of sophistication.
RVW was just narrowly beaten by the best three-year-old miler in the world, and quite possibly the best of his age in the world, period. Zenyatta has continued to beat horses so vastly inferior to that sort of quality that she doesn’t deserve to be ranked any higher.
Furthermore, the fact that you believe that the result of last year’s Classic somehow accurately reflects the relative merit of those two horses makes the irony of you calling anyone else “stupid” almost unbearable.
July 29th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
#5 Tinky - thank you.
As for Workforce’s English Derby triumph (following an impressive maiden victory first time out and a wardrobe malfunction through which he ran a great second in his second race) - if an American three year old colt won the Kentucky Derby by seven lengths, and destroyed Secretariat’s record by almost a second - I think folks might justifiably be screaming for him to be ranked #1.
July 30th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I agree with John in part about the American horses.
According to the lastest NTRA poll Zenyatta has added on to her first places votes from Quality Road and seems to be putting distance between her and QR.
That makes two polls in a row that Zenyatta has done.
Now only four first places votes seperates her (Zenyatta) and a unanimous leader.
July 30th, 2010 at 11:52 pm
And if only the American horses were running free of allowable race day drug levels, you’d have an even cleaner comparison with the European contingent.