Hong Kong superstar Beauty Generation sits alongside champion Australian mare Winx as the world’s best miler after the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings were announced in London on Wednesday night.
John Moore’s six-year-old was given a mark of 127 for his stunning victory in December’s Hong Kong Mile, matching the rating given to Winx after her performance in the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes (1,600m).
That number means Beauty Generation is ranked as the equal fourth-best horse on the planet, alongside Gun Runner from the USA and Europe’s Horse of the Year Roaring Lion.
Winx and British star Cracksman shared the title of World’s Best Racehorse for 2018 after posting peak ratings of 130, with America’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Accelerate third on 128.
Beauty Generation’s mark of 127 also matches Able Friend as being Hong Kong’s highest-rated horse of all-time.
Moore, who trained both of those champions, was delighted to see Beauty Generation recognised alongside the mighty mare Winx.
“That’s quite something, to match Winx as the best of the world’s milers. He’s the pride of Hong Kong and he’s the pride of our stable. Anything near Winx is something special because she is the greatest mare racing on the planet, and to be ranked around her rating is remarkable,” Moore said.
“I think it’s fair that he’s rated the same as Able Friend because he too was very good and it’s great for Hong Kong racing and the fans here that we have another horse of that stature. Able Friend had a terrific turn of foot whereas this fellow comes off a high speed and grinds the opposition.
“If he was racing anywhere in the world he’d be a force to be reckoned with in the top races.”
The awards are given out based on a horse’s best individual performance in each category, as judged by a panel of international handicappers.
Winx received her rating 130 for winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in Sydney, while Cracksman got his after dominating the Champions Stakes at Ascot.
A total of 25 Hong Kong gallopers feature on the list of horses rated 115 or higher, an increase of three from last year and one shy of the 26 who featured in 2016.
The World’s Top 100 Group One Races list was also announced, with the Hong Kong Mile, the Champions Mile and Hong Kong Gold Cup sharing honours as Sha Tin’s best.
Internationals? Home team reigns supreme, sweeping HKIR for the first time
The three ranked equal 29th on the list with a mark of 119.25 in 2018 (which is determined by the average year-end ratings of the first four finishers).
The highest-rated race last year was the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with an average of 125, which was won by British star Enable.
In total, 11 of Hong Kong’s 12 Group Ones were included in the top 100, with only the QE II Cup missing out.
“The Hong Kong Jockey Club is committed to staging world class sport and the fact that we have 11 Group One races in the world’s top 100 is testament to this,” Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said.
“The high rankings of the Champions Mile, one of three Group One features on Champions Day, and the Hong Kong Mile at our long-established Hong Kong International Races, show that our elite races continue to hold a strong position in a competitive global marketplace.”
