• Most notable mover on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary global rankings
+7 John Size
Star of the week on the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s exclusive global rankings is 11-time Hong Kong champion trainer John Size (+7pt, #17 from #24), who enjoyed a high-profile treble on Sunday’s lucrative card at Sha Tin.
A long-awaited G1 victory for Hot King Prawn in the Centenary Sprint Cup was supplemented by a Size-trained one-two in the HK Classic Mile, in which Excellent Proposal led home staying-on stablemate Lucky Express.
As a result, the Australian expat jumps into the world’s Top 20. His third winner – which doesn’t count for rankings purposes – was Sight Success in the concluding handicap.
The first leg of the HK 4-Y-O Classic series, the Classic Mile does not have international G1 status as it is restricted to HK-based horses. Its prestige, however, is undeniable – and so is its prize-money which stands at HK$12 million (about £1.13m)
Among those down the field behind Excellent Proposal were high-profile former European-trained horses such as The Summit, Russian Emperor and Maximus, who were eighth, ninth and tenth respectively.
Also getting 7pt boosts lower down the charts were Antonio Fresu (#261 From #391), who partnered Military Law to victory in R1 of the Maktoum Challenge at Meydan, and Japanese trainer Masayuki Nishimura (#150 from #206), for whom Auvergne scored in G2 company at Chukyo.
Unsurprisingly, equine movers were headed by Pegasus World Cup winner Knicks Go (+155pt, #25 from #125).
However, perhaps more notable in overall terms is the relatively small registered by Golden Sixty (+11pt, #3 from #5) in Hong Kong’s G1 Stewards’ Cup.
As a result, the superstar miler moves up to #3 on the overall list behind only Almond Eye and Enable – and, crucially, ahead of Breeders’ Cup heroine Tarnawa, which means he is now the #1 active racehorse in the world.
• Visit thoroughbredracing.com for the full global rankings
TW3: On the record: Ghaiyyath, Golden Sixty, Steve Asmussen and I Kirk
World top 20 racehorses | World top jockeys and trainers
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