Equinox Earns HOTY Honours at Inaugural Timeform Awards

Japan's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) has been named Horse Of The Year by Timeform–besting G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn})–in the inaugural Timeform Awards, it was announced Wednesday. Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, the colt earned a 136 rating in his career finale in the G1 Japan Cup.

Equinox, who also stood atop of the Leading Male 3yo/up category, also garnered the Champion Of The Rest Of The World award, ahead of Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), who equalled his highest ever rating (129) with a score in this month's G1 Hong Kong Mile, and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish (Curlin) (129), who finished as joint runners up.

Leading the fray in other divisions:

  • G1 Dewhurst S. victor City Of Troy (Justify) earned a 125 rating thus securing the Leading 2YO award.
  • Ace Impact (133) was crowned Champion Of Europe ahead of Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) (131) and Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (130)
  • Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (126) led her John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) (125) in the Female 3yo+ Category

Timeform's Leading First-season Sire of 2023–based on an average Timeform master rating of a sire's top 10 progeny in Britain and Ireland–was Too Darn Hot (GB) Dubawi {Ire}) (99), who claimed top honours ahead of Blue Point (Ire) Shamardal) (96) in second place, while Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and Ten Sovereigns (Ire) (No Nay Never) tied for third place (93).

The race of 2023 was determined based on an average Timeform master rating of the first three horses. Longchamp's Arc came out on top with the first three finishers–Ace Impact, Westover and Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB})–earning the race an average rating of 130, 1 lb higher than Kyoto's G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, which finished joint-second.

For the complete results of the Timeform Awards, click here.

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Florida Derby Time Adjusted

After reviewing the race, Equibase has adjusted the final time for Saturday's GI Florida Derby, won by Forte (Violence). The original time of 1:48.51 has been changed to 1:49.37.

In a statement released Sunday by Equibase, the company said that the finish line beam may have been tripped before the horses reached the finish line.

Prior to Equibase recognizing the mistake, the error was caught by the Beyer speed figure team. Initially, Forte was credited with a 98 Beyer figure. That number was lowered to a 95.

“The time is almost a full second wrong and I have no idea why,” said Beyer associate Randy Moss.

After doing their own review of the race, the Beyer team came up with a final time of 1:49.39. Moss said questions were raised about the Equibase time because it had the field covering the final eighth of a mile in 12:16 seconds, which seemed unrealistically fast. That, Moss said, drew the attention of Craig Milkowski from TimeformUS. He reached out to Moss and both went over the race. With the recalculated final time, Forte's last furlong went in 13.02. Equibase has also adjusted the time for the final furlong to 13:02.

“We timed it four different times, four different ways and got within three-one hundredths of a second every time,” Moss said.

Moss added that on first inspection it appeared that Forte's figure was significantly higher.

“Initially, we looked at the track variant and had the figure coming up as 104,” Moss said. “Andy (Beyer) and Mark (Hopkins) asked me what did I think. I said that the fig is the fig. They said there was no way those horse who finished behind Forte could have all run that fast. So they decided to make it a 98. As it turns out, they were right because the time was wrong.”

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Arqana To Unveil Horse Profile Catalogue At Their Autumn Sale

The Horse Profile Catalogue, containing detailed form, a recognised independent horse rating and an analysis of each horse, will be available for the first time during the horses-in-training portion at the Arqana Autumn Sale from Nov. 14-17. Published by LAB Racing and Racing and Sports each horse profile will feature enhanced race form data which includes:

  • positions-in-running throughout the race for both PMU and PMH races
  • distance from the leader at each recorded point
  • comments-in-running
  • subsequent winners from the race highlighted
  • record on various track going
  • performances travelling left-handed, right-handed and straight courses
  • statistics using various pieces of headgear.

The peak official rating of the horse along with the current rating is shown. The Racing and Sports proprietary rating has been included, and they have held their position as the Southern Hemisphere representative of Timeform for more than 20 years. LAB Racing Analysts also deliver a summary of each horse.

Freddy Powell, Executive Director of Arqana said, “This is a welcome addition to the November Horses-in-Training sales catalogue. The unique data presented will be of benefit to buyers seeking to know more about a horses' racing pattern with an independent rating provided by a recognised global racing business.”

The catalogue is available for €49.90 and can also be purchased in pounds and Australian dollars. To view a 10-horse sample for the Arqana Autumn Sale, please click here. For more information and to purchase a copy, please click here or go to www.courses-linformateur.fr.

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Great Fillies at Stud

There is no question that world racing will be all the poorer in 2021 without those marvelous mares, Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). For all of us with a keen interest in breeding, their future careers will be watched with great interest, Enable starting off with a visit to Kingman (GB) and Magical going to Dubawi (Ire).

But how have brilliant racemares fared in their second career down through the years? They are certainly a select bunch with only 42 having attained a Timeform mark of 130 or higher since the 1970s. Predictably, many–just like Enable–have earned their high ranking by winning or going close in Europe's premier middle-distance race, the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. No fewer than 15 among our 42 have won or finished runner up in the Longchamp feature. Dual winners Enable and Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) take pride of place, but they are not the best Arc-winning females in the past 50 years according to Timeform.

The great Allez France (Sea-Bird {Fr})–one of five fillies on our list that raced for Daniel Wildenstein–achieved a rating of 136, two pounds above the 134 of Enable, Treve and All Along (Fr) (Targowice). In fact, only four from the group of 42 have risen higher than 134, the brilliant sprinter Habibti (Ire) (Habitat) matching Allez France's 136, while dual King George heroine Dahlia (Vaguely Noble {Ire}) and brilliant Pebbles (GB) (Sharpen Up {GB}) peaked at 135.

Several fillies, such as Balanchine (Storm Bird), Salsabil (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and Triptych (Riverman), were talented enough to beat their male counterparts in traditionally male-only Classics such as the Irish Derby and Irish 2000 Guineas. There have also been top milers like triple Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) and even a few 2-year-olds have made the list, with Phoenix S. winner Cloonlara (Sir Ivor), Prix Morny heroine Broadway Dancer (Northern Dancer), plus Cawston's Pride (GB) (Con Brio II {GB}) making it to the exalted 130 mark.

In assessing this group of brilliant fillies as broodmares, along with Enable, we can also discount speedster Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) another yet to have runners, while a few more, including Treve and even Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}), are only at the dawn of their broodmare careers. We are also obliged to leave out two more on account that they never produced any foals. The outstanding Habitat filly, Flying Water (Fr), rated 132 by Timeform after a career that included victories in the 1000 Guineas, Prix Jacques le Marois and Champion S., died in an accident at Belmont Park as a 5-year-old, while Triptych, a sometimes brilliant but always tough daughter of Riverman, lost her life in a paddock accident while carrying her first foal by Mr. Prospector.

That leaves 36–all foaled more than 15 years ago–whose stud records can be examined. This group had a combined 260 runners, an average of 6.5 per mare. This low number is a clue in itself as to how they have fared in their second careers. Some struggled with their fertility while others simply couldn't produce the goods. Given that these were all top-class fillies, their owners might have expected at least a group winner from their prized broodmare prospects. In the event, 20 of the 36 produced at least one group winner. Moreover, the sum total of 38 group winners produced by the 36 mares made up 14.6% of the 260 runners, a pleasing return no doubt.

Less impressive is the fact that only 14 produced a Group 1 winner and only three had more than one Group 1 winner. But the most disappointing aspect of all is that only a single Timeform 130-plus female in the past 50 years of European racing has produced a runner good enough to join the Timeform 130-plus club. That mare was Cawston's Pride, the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly of 1970 and dam of the brilliant Vincent O'Brien-trained sprinter Solinus (GB) (Comedy Star), who set the summer of 1978 alight with consecutive victories in the King's Stand S., July Cup and Nunthorpe S., or William Hill Sprint Championship as it was known then.

Of all the group's produce records, Dahlia's is easily the best. Though none of her foals approached anywhere near her own ability, four won at the highest level with three requiring American turf races to secure their Group 1 status. The brilliant miler Miesque (Nureyev) produced influential sire Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector), a 125-rated three-time Group 1 winner, plus Classic winner East of the Moon (Private Account), who won the French Guineas and Oaks, plus the Jacques le Marois during a rich vein of form as a 3-year-old in 1994.

The only other dam of two or more Group 1 winners in the group was the brilliant sprinter Marwell (Ire) (Timeform 133), one of four 130-plus Habitat fillies on our list. She was responsible for Lomond's daughter Marling (Ire), who scored in the Cheveley Park S., Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation S. and Sussex S. Meanwhile, Marling's Caerleon half-brother Caerwent (Ire) secured a Group 1 victory in the National S. at The Curragh.

The fact that the 36 top-class European racemares since 1970 collectively managed but a single horse in their own class may seem disappointing, but it's perhaps better to hang on to the 14.6% group winner figure. All the more so when we learn that fillies and mares rated between 125 and 129 by Timeform typically produce 7.2% group winners to runners–an excellent return, but only half the rate of their more-talented peers.

There are numerous examples of brilliant racemares that failed completely at stud. The first five foals produced by Pebbles never even saw a racecourse despite being by the best sires of the day. She ended up with only two minor winners from 11 foals. Indian Skimmer (Storm Bird) was another who failed to fire a shot, her first six foals being unraced, before her last foal won six sprint races over a period of eight years. The brilliant Habibti had only two winners from 12 foals with no sign of class whatsoever. Arc heroines, Ivanjica (Sir Ivor) and Akiyda (GB) (Labus {Fr}) were also bereft of stakes horses, as were Oaks and St Leger winner Dunfermline (GB) (Royal Palace {GB}), King George heroine Pawneese (Ire) (Carvin II {Fr}), April Run (Ire) (Run the Gauntlet), Milligram (GB) (Mill Reef) and Luth Enchantee (Fr) (Be My Guest). Even the great Allez France struggled, her best offspring being Group 3 scorer Action Francaise (Nureyev).

Of course, some made amends for their lackluster produce records and went on to establish good legacies. Pawneese is ancestress of Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) while Lianga (Dancer's Image)–dam of a single stakes winner–is in the direct female line of important sires Danehill Dancer (Ire) (Danehill) and Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}), while Milligram has her own vibrant dynasty at Meon Valley Stud with Oaks winner Anapurna (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Speedy Boarding (GB) (Shamardal) listed among her best descendants.

Of course, this study by design excludes many fine fillies and mares than went on to have great careers at stud. Perhaps the two most worthy of mention are the 126-rated pair Urban Sea (Miswaki) and Detroit (Fr) (Riverman), Arc winners who produced Arc winners. And there is none with a more profound influence on the modern-day breed than Urban Sea.

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