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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Letter to the Editor: A Tale of Two Frankels

I think we can all agree that Juddmonte both know what they are doing and have an eye on the bottom line.

Last year they had two Group 1-winning Frankel colts with stud potential. Both have similar profile dam-lines and both are good-looking colts. One was rated seven pounds superior to the other. 

You can't get in to the winner of the less-than-vintage renewal of the 2,000 Guineas the 119-rated Chaldean (GB) at Banstead, meanwhile the 126-rated Irish Derby winner Westover (GB) was quietly shuffled off to Japan without a whimper and I would suspect at a fraction of the €12million Prix du Jockey Club winner and his Arc conqueror Ace Impact is being syndicated for in France. Frankel's last son to win the Irish Derby is standing at Coolmore's National Hunt division for €6,000. There's your valuation.

Juddmonte know they would hardly get a Flat mare to Westover and certainly not at £25,000 because he is a mile-and-a-half horse and Flat breeders aren't interested in them, but the Champion two-year-old and Guineas winner is a different  proposition altogether. We can also assume that Juddmonte believe that Chaldean is the better stallion prospect and they would prefer to use him for their own mares rather than Westover, who was by far the better racehorse. 

Would Westover have won the same Irish Derby at 10 furlongs? As he only beat a Group 3 winner and a horse that never even won a Listed race (sadly the norm these days) we can assume so. Would he then have been worth considerably more? Yes.

So because the race is run at a distance that no longer interests European mare owners and, after all they are the ones that decide a stallion's value, Juddmonte's racing arm has missed out on the extra millions that a potential bidding war between European and Japanese interests would have attracted, and Japan has ended up with the better of the two Frankels.

The Prix du Jockey Cub is without any doubt the preeminent stallion-making race for middle-distance horses in Europe. The reason is simple. It is a 10.5-furlong race and a proven success in the stallion-making business since it became so. St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Vadeni (Fr) and Ace Impact (Ire) are the next three in line. All will be given a proper shot.

Westover is just the latest example of an Irish Derby winner who was both unloved and unwanted by European breeders. The present format makes no sense for owner, breeder, fan or even for the breed in Europe.

Shorten the Irish Derby. 

Patrick Cooper, BBA Ireland

Do you agree or disagree with this view? Please let us know your thoughts by emailing emmaberry@thetdn.com.

 

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Westover Retired With Injury Sustained in the Arc

Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), winner of the G1 Irish Derby and G1 Grand Prix de Saint Cloud, has been retired after sustaining a “career-ending injury” when finishing runner-up in Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Announcing his retirement on Thursday, the colt's owner-breeder Juddmonte stated that stud plans for the 4-year-old would be announced at a later date.

Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said, “It's devastating news, unfortunately he suffered a career-ending injury on Sunday and he'll have to be retired. Long-term he'll be fine and he'll be okay for a stallion career, but we had such good days with him this year and last year, we had an exciting end to the season planned and we were all very excited about it. Unfortunately it's come to an end.

“We were looking at the Breeders' Cup and we actually only entered him in the Japan Cup on Tuesday. We were planning on doing a bit of travelling and seeing a bit of the world with him, but unfortunately that's not to be.”

A winner on debut at two, the Ralph Beckett-trained Westover came to greater prominence on his 3-year-old bow when winning the G3 Classic Trial at Sandown. An imposing son of Frankel and the Lear Fan mare Mirabilis, herself a stakes winner in both France and America, he went on to finish third behind Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in last year's Derby before claiming his own Classic victory in the Irish equivalent at the Curragh.

Westover's career has also included a number of gallant runs in defeat: he was second in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic to Japanese superstar Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) and was also runner-up to Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in a memorable running of the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom this June. He claimed his second Group 1 prize in France after that before adding another two admirable second-place finishes to his record when beaten a head by Hukum (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G1 King George and Queen Elizabeth S. and, finally, on Sunday behind Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) in the Arc.

Mahon added, “I'd say he'll be a top-class stallion. He's one of Frankel's best sons and, as we saw with Ace Impact, Frankel's sons are off to a flying start.

“He's been beautifully trained by Ralph, Rob Hornby has obviously built up a good association with him last year and this year, and Colin Keane was exquisite on him the day he won the Irish Derby. It's been a great story for a lot of people, none more so than Juddmonte. We're very lucky to have had him.”

A fourth-generation Juddmonte homebred, Westover is a full-brother to the Group 3 winner Monarchs Glen (GB), who was one of Frankel's earliest Royal Ascot winners in the Listed Wolferton S. Their dam is a half-sister to the G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Prix du Moulin winner Nebraska Tornado (Storm Cat) and to the G2 Prix Eugene Adam winner Burning Sun (Danzig).

Westover's trainer Ralph Beckett said, “I am very proud of the horse and what he has achieved, he gave his all every day at home and on the racecourse and we will all miss him.”

 

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All Roads Lead to ParisLongchamp for Westover

Last year's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is poised to head directly to France where he'll get a second chance at the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 12 months after running sixth in last year's renewal over unsuitably testing ground.

The Ralph Beckett-trainee is currently enjoying a break at his trainer's Kimpton Down base and the connections are keen to follow last year's route to the Bois de Boulogne–with a trip to Santa Anita for the Breeders' Cup also in the planner following his attempt at Europe's richest middle-distance contest on Oct. 1.

A head second to multiple Group 1 winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in Ascot's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., hopes are high that the son of Frankel can build on last year's finishing position.

“He came out of the King George great and he's having a little break now at Ralph's,” said Barry Mahon, the European racing manager for owners Juddmonte. “He's been on the go early this year having been to Dubai and then recently had two quick runs, so I think he's thinking he'll freshen him up and go to the Arc then on to the Breeders' Cup.”

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