Page 30 - Demo

simon says...
appear not to be as good as he once was.
It proved to be a memorable end of season for Japanese horseracing in other respects with Lys Gracieux (Heart’s Cry) following up her win in the Cox Plate (G1) in Australia in October with a magnificent 5l victory in the Arima Kinen at Nakayama, earning a 128 rating from Timeform which would in effect be 132 with her sex allowance factored back in.
Almond Eye (Lord Kanola) finished only ninth in the Arima Kinen weakening late on in a strongly-run race at the longest distance attempted. She is better judged on her 129-rated comfortable win in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo the time before.
There were also big wins
at home from Suave Richard (Heart’s Cry) (another to finish behind in the Arima Kinen subsequently) in the Japan Cup at Tokyo in November and by Indy Champ (Stay Gold) (an also-ran in the Hong Kong Mile a few weeks later) in the Mile Championship at Kyoto,
both of which were assessed at 125.
THE TAIL-END of the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival provided notable wins for Nature Strip (Nicconi) in the Darley Sprint Classic and for the admirably tough Irish-trained filly Magic Wand (Galileo) (who was short-headed by Win Bright in the Hong Kong Cup just a few weeks later) in the Mackinnon Stakes.
Their Performance Ratings – those achieved in the races themselves – were 128 and 119 respectively, and that Nature Strip win has him bang in contention for best sprinter in Australia and, so it follows, one of the best speedsters in the world.
Timeform has him level with
Hawwaam (Silvano) became Timeform’s joint-top-rated South African horse of the century on a rating of 126, alongside 2010’s trailblazer
J J The Jet Plane
Santa Ana Lane on account of that one’s clear-cut T J Smith Stakes win at Randwick in April, with both of them ahead of the colt who beat them in the Everest at Randwick in October, Yes Yes Yes (Rubick).
Yes Yes Yes was a 2016 produce and there looks to be quite a bit of strength in depth among that cohort.
Exceedance (Exceed And Excel) earned the same 125 rating as Yes Yes Yes by winning the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington in November from Bivouac, while Bivouac himself is on 124 and the winner of
the Golden Rose at Rosehill in September from Yes Yes Yes and Exceedance.
South African-trained horses have made less of an impact on the world stage of late than
has sometimes been the case, but there are a couple of good ones around at present, both carrying the Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum colours.
Hawwaam (Silvano) became Timeform’s joint-top-rated South African Horse of the Century on a rating of 126, alongside 2010’s trailblazer
J J The Jet Plane, by rattling off a succession of wins in 2019 from 1200m to 2000m.
Soqrat (Epaulette) is not
far behind him judged on his performances in victory
and defeat under big weights.
Any discussion of the most improved global performer
in the last year has to include
the remarkable Skalleti (Kendargent), whose eight wins out of nine started on the All-Weather at Marseilles Vivaux in January, took in success
in the Group 2 Prix Dollar
at Longchamp on Arc weekend, and culminated with a 124-rated victory in the Group 3 Premio Roma in Italy in November.
Finally, it is worth making due note of the victory of Nao da Mais (T.H. Approval) in the latest installment of the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional at San Isidro in outer Buenos Aires, Argentina, just before Christmas.
His Timeform Performance Rating in the race of 115 is almost bang on the decade average for winners of a race that has been described as “South America’s equivalent of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe”.
NatureStrip:clear-cutwinnerof theDarleySprintClassic.ThegeldingbyNicconiisthebestsprinterinAustralia
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