The Longines Worlds Best Racehorse Rankings are for 3yos and upwards which raced between 1 January and 10 May 2015. The latest rankings were published on 14 May 2015.
The past month of exciting racing has resulted in a number of newcomers being included in the third edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2015. However, ABLE FRIEND (AUS) [125] and SHARED BELIEF (USA) [125] remain atop the rankings.
Able Friend is now unbeaten in his last six starts, and his domination in Hong Kong continued with an easy romp in the Gr1 Champions Mile on 3 May. His other Group 1 victories during this winning streak include the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup, Longines Hong Kong Mile and Stewards’ Cup. It was confirmed 12 May that if all stays well, Able Friend will travel to England and take part in Royal Ascot this June.
Earlier in the year, Shared Belief easily won both the Gr1 Santa Anita Handicap and the Gr2 San Antonio Invitational. In the San Antonio, he defeated America’s 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome (USA) [121]. Unfortunately, the gelding is on the sidelines after being pulled up during the Gr2 Charles Town Classic on 18 April. He was later diagnosed with a non-displaced fracture on the point of the right hip.
Another star from the United States joins the top three this month, though. AMERICAN PHAROAH (USA) [124] is now joint third with SOLOW (GB) [124] after he won the Gr1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands on 2 May by a length over FIRING LINE (USA) [122]. With his victory, American Pharoah became the first U.S. 2-year-old champion to return the next year to win the Derby since Street Sense in 2006/2007.
The same day, GLENEAGLES (IRE) [122] took the Gr1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas in England to lay claim to the title of highest-rated 3-year-old on the turf.
Meanwhile in France, CIRRUS DES AIGLES (FR) [121] had a successful seasonal debut in the Gr1 Prix Ganay on 3 May. It was the venerable 9-year-old gelding’s third victory in the race and launched him into the top 10 of the rankings.
Among others joining Cirrus des Aigles in the joint ninth spot is BLAZING SPEED (GB) [121], who put up an impressive victory in the Gr1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong on 26 April.
CRITERION (NZ) [120] rounds out the newcomers to the top of rankings, after winning the Gr1 Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes by a dominant 2 ½ lengths over Red Cadeaux on 11 April in Australia.
| LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Leading Horses | |||
| Rank | Horse | Rating | Trained |
| 1 | ABLE FRIEND (AUS) | 125 | HK |
| 1 | SHARED BELIEF (USA) | 125 | USA |
| 3 | AMERICAN PHAROAH (USA | 124 | USA |
| 3 | SOLOW (GB) | 124 | FR |
| 5 | DESIGNS ON ROME (IRE) | 123 | AUS |
| 5 | LANKAN RUPEE (AUS) | 123 | AUS |
| 7 | FIRING LINE (USA) | 122 | USA |
| 7 | GLENEAGLES (IRE) | 122 | IRE |
| 9 | BLAZING SPEED (GB) | 121 | HK |
| 9 | BRAZEN BEAU (AUS) | 121 | AUS |
| 9 | CALIFORNIA CHROME (USA) | 121 | USA |
| 9 | CIRRUS DES AIGLES | 121 | FR |
| 9 | DOLNIYA (FR) | 121 | FR |
| 9 | FLINTSHIRE (GB) | 121 | FR |
| 9 | PRINCE BISHOP (IRE) | 121 | UAE |
Click here for complete rankings.
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The LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings are compiled by the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee and published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA).
The full list and further information on the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings are available on the IFHA website.
The next edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings will be published on Thursday, 11 June 2015.
(source: IFHA)
