Big Rock | Horse Racing Free Tips

Guineas Options Open for Ramatuelle

Christopher Head won his first Classic last season with Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and he is now eyeing a possible run un the Qipco 1,000 Guineas for Ramatuelle (Justify), who was the top-rated juvenile in France in 2023.

The winner of the G2 Prix Robert Papin, and runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny, Ramatuelle is also entered for the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and she will begin her preparations for the Classics in Deauville on April 9.

“Ramatuelle has been a tremendous filly for us as a two-year-old and we are now preparing her for pretty much the mile programme in France, but not only in France, in the UK too,” said Head.

“We're looking all over Europe to make the best programme for her as a three-year-old. [Newmarket] is of course a possibility, but at the end of the day her owner will decide where she will run.

“She's going to go to the Prix Imprudence and then from there we will see where we go. To be a successful miler is the main objective this year.

“I think Ramatuelle is a really nice filly and Justify has proven he can sire very versatile horses. I'm very happy to have her at three and can't wait to see what she is going to do for us in the mile races this year.”

Ramatuelle, like Blue Rose Cen and fellow Group 1 winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), was bred by Yeguada Centurion but she was sold as a yearling to a syndicate involving Tony Parker's Infinity Nine Horses and Ecurie des Monceaux. While Blue Rose Cen has been moved over the winter to the stable of Maurizio Guarnieri, Big Rock remains under Head's care.

He said of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. winner, “Big Rock is brilliant and has done very well over the winter. He will have a nice programme in Europe and we will be able to come over to the UK again.

“I will speak with the owners before saying anything about where he is going to start, but don't worry the horse is doing very well and we're very happy with his training. We can't wait to see him back on track.”

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Equinox Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse

LONDON, UK — Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

Equinox's top rating of 135 – the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse – was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance on a racecourse in which he had Liberty Island and her fellow Classic winners Stars On Earth (Jpn) and Do Deuce (Jpn) behind him. Such a strong first four meant that the 2023 running of the Japan Cup was awarded a rating of 126.75.

Trainers, jockeys, owners and breeders from across the racing world attended the ceremony at the Savoy to celebrate the 11th time that Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) had joined forces to celebrate the best in the sport.

The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox was the second Japanese horse to receive the accolade after Just A Way (Jpn) in 2014. Ridden throughout his career by Christophe Lemaire, he was unbeaten in 2023, with his other victories coming in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Takarazuka Kinen (G1), and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

“To be honest it was quite enjoyable,” said Lemaire with no little understatement of his association with Equinox as he accepted his award on Tuesday.

“Each time he ran there was a big expectation but on that horse I had such confidence. I tried to do my job as well as possible and I will miss him a lot. Like most top athletes he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical strength allowed him to run fast and use his beautiful stride. Also he was very clever, is he understood very quickly what he had to do to win. My job was just to get a good start and put him in a good position to let him express his talent.”

He added, “He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder for producing such a beautiful horse and the trainer for allowing him to mature and getting the best out of him.

“Equinox was something special. He had an aura. Most of the people first discovered him in Dubai but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Masashi Yonemoto, the CEO of Equinox's 300-strong ownership group Silk Racing, was in London to collect his award along with Kimura and Lemaire. A strong Japanese contingent was bolstered by the presence of Masayoshi Yoshida, the president of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and Masayuki Goto, the JRA's executive adviser of international affairs, who received the trophy for the world's best race, which was a first for the Japan Cup in its 43-year history.

Equinox was rated 7lbs clear of last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, the unbeaten Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who was joint-second in the ratings with the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on 128. They were thus Europe's top-rated runners for 2023, a pound clear of G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who were joint fourth on 127.

Hukum's runner-up at Ascot, Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Hong Kong's champion Golden Sixty (Aus) were next on 126, while the dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) was awarded a mark of 125 for his victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, the same as Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), who was judged to have run to that mark on three occasions at Sha Tin and was the top-rated sprinter in the world.

There was a five-way tie for tenth place with a rating of 124 having been awarded to White Abarrio (Race Day), Cody's Wish (Curlin), Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In total, 36 horses achieved a rating in excess of 120. Of these, nine were trained in Britain, seven in Japan, seven in the USA, four in Hong Kong, and three each in France, Ireland and Australia. Frankel was the sire of four of the top 15 horses in Europe – Mostahdaf, Westover, Onesto (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) – and grandsire of the co-top-rated Ace Impact, who was also the highest-rated three-year-old in the world.

It was a particularly good year for European three-year-old colts, with Ace Impact being joined by Big Rock, Auguste Rodin, Paddington and King Of Steel among the top 20 horses globally.

Three of the four top-rated fillies or mares in the world were also trained in Europe and all hail from the Newmarket stable of John and Thady Gosden. Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was awarded a mark of 121 for her G1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup win, while Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on 120 for her success in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, the same mark given to Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her G1 Falmouth S. win. The aforementioned Liberty Island tied with Emily Upjohn on a mark of 121.

Also on 121 was the top-rated stayer, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who started his career with Simon and Ed Crisford in Britain before switching to the Australian stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman. With Lucky Sweynesse leading the way for the older sprinters, the top three-year-old sprinter in the world for 2023 was the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) on 120.

Four of the top ten races in the world in 2023 were staged in Japan, with the Takarazuka Kinen in fifth spot, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) joint-sixth and the Arima Kinen in eighth. The Equinox factor had a firm say in the rankings of the races, with the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic ranked second with an average rating of 126.50. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a regular winner of this title, was third on 124.75, just ahead of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on 124.50. The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S was co-sixth, while the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois was ninth and the Juddmonte International tenth.

The official rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee, which is co-chaired by Nigel Gray and Dominic Gardiner-Hill, and they are published by the IFHA.

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TDN Horses of the Year: Big Rock

Continuing the profiles of the favourite horses of TDN Europe's editorial team in 2023, Emma Berry selects the French raider who took QIPCO British Champions Day by storm.

I'd been impressed by Christopher Head since the day I first visited his stable in July 2019 and found him on the end of a broomstick sweeping the floor outside the rented boxes of the five horses he had in training at that time.

His ascent has been rapid, and by now his string must be 20 times that size. And, yes, he has a surname that would open doors in France and beyond, but it is hard not to respect the progress made within the short time Head has been training. In 2023, his first Classic win with Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), who had also been his first Group 1 winner in the previous season's Prix Marcel Boussac, was followed by his first Group 1 success outside France.

Big Rock (Ire) first caught the eye with his dominant performance in the G3 Prix La Force at Longchamp. Off he went in front, and when Padishakh (Fr) came for him in the straight, he kicked again, repelling that challenger and ultimately winning eased down. This he repeated, even more impressively, when winning the G3 Prix de Guiche at Chantilly, with Aurelien Lemaitre simply having to coax him with hands and heels to put five lengths between himself and Horizon Dore (Fr). The runner-up would go on to record four straight stakes wins including two Group 2s.

Big Rock stepped up to the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and, for much of the race, the front-running son of Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) looked as though he would once again have things all his own way before Ace Impact (Ire) set sail from the back of the pack.

Chalk and cheese in their running styles, the trail-blazing Big Rock and stalking Ace Impact set the French scene alight this year. While the latter continued to storm through his season unbeaten, deploying a similarly devastating late turn of foot to win the Arc before retiring to stud, Big Rock thrice ran into just one that would get the better of him. They were good ones, mind. Inspiral (GB) took his scalp the next time in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, and then Sauterne (Fr) in the G1 Prix du Moulin. But then came Ascot.

There is often much gnashing of teeth in the build-up to QIPCO British Champions Day, which is usually accompanied by typically wet autumn weather, making the ground testing. It was no problem for Big Rock, however, who coped with the soft ground just as he had done in his five-length romp at Chantilly in May, turning his seasonal finale into a procession.

This time it was a six-length pasting he gave his rivals in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S., making all to rout a quality field that included the multiple Group 1 winners Tahiyra (Ire), Nashwa (GB), Paddington (GB) and Chaldean (GB). A dazzling performance to cut through the gloom of the day.

Big Rock looks a big star in the making for his late sire who had his own dazzling brand of magic over a mile, and the Yeguada Centurion homebred has a strong pedigree to recommend him once he makes it to stud. His Aga Khan-bred dam, by Sea The Stars (Ire), is out of a half-sister to one of that stallion's best sons, the dual Derby winner Harzand (Ire). But before we even think about his stallion career, let's applaud his owner Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals for allowing him to race on and enjoy Big Rock back on the track in 2024.

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Big Rock and Blue Rose Cen to Race On Next Season

Christopher Head's two star three-year-olds of 2023, dual Classic winner Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and Saturday's sensational Queen Elizabeth II S. winner Big Rock (Fr) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), will both remain in training for next season.

Timeform has awarded Big Rock a rating of 129 for his six-length romp on QIPCO British Champions Day, which is the highest figure recorded by a miler in Europe this season. The winner of two Group 3 Classic trials in the spring, Big Rock was second to Ace Impact (Fr) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and also finished runner-up in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois and G1 Prix du Moulin, behind Inspiral (GB) and Sauterne (Fr) respectively.

Head told TDN on Monday, “He's come out the race perfectly well. It's crazy, a horse coming back from that kind of race and looking like he hasn't even raced.”

He continued, “We would have gone to the Arc de Triomphe if he had won the Jockey Club because we wouldn't have known the limit of the distance for him. So in one way I am happy that things have gone this way because we know better about him for next season.”

Both Big Rock and Blue Rose Cen race for their breeder Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals of Yeguada Centurion, who is also the breeder of their stable-mate Ramatuelle (Justify). The winner of the G2 Prix Robert Papin and G3 Prix du Bois, Ramatuelle was beaten only a short-neck by Vandeek (GB) in the G1 Prix Morny. She was sold as a yearling to Arthur Hoyeau for a syndicate which includes Ecurie des Monceaux and Tony Parker's Infinity Nine Horses.

“It's the end of the season now for Big Rock, and for Blue Rose Cen and Ramatuelle, and they are all coming back next season,” Head confirmed. “It's wonderful. Leopoldo loves his racing and he loves his horses and he doesn't want the public to get bored, so he wants them to be running next season and for everyone to be able to follow them.”

He added of Big Rock, “He was from Rock Of Gibraltar's last crop so it is wonderful to have him doing what he is in the same year that his sire has disappeared. And now he will be able to carry on the genes because he already has value as a stallion.”

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