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Hong Kong triumphs take Werther and Maurice to top three in world rankings

14/05/2016

Hong Kong’s Group 1 spring majors feature prominently in the latest edition of the 2016 LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (WBRR), with Werther’s stunning performance in the G1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and Maurice’s exemplary victory in the G1 Champions Mile both earning 124 ratings and equal third-place status in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities’ (IFHA) official list.

Werther slammed world-class opponents to win the 2000m AP QEII Cup at Sha Tin racecourse by four and a half lengths. His beaten rivals included the previous three winners of the race, as well as Japan’s champion 10-furlong horse, Lovely Day.

The John Moore-trained four-year-old now ranks equal second on Hong Kong’s own all-time list, behind the standout Able Friend (career peak 127) and matching past champions Ambitious Dragon, Good Ba Ba and the horse that chased him home in this year’s AP QEII Cup, Military Attack.

Maurice, Japan’s Horse of the Year in 2015, earned his 124 rating with an imperious success in the G1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin on 1 May. Noriyuki Hori’s charge did not put a foot wrong in kicking off his 2016 campaign with a seventh consecutive win, his previous start having been the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile at the same course last December.

Mr. Anthony Kelly, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Director, Racing Business and Operations, said: “It is great to see Werther and Maurice rank in the world’s top three for their recent wins at Sha Tin. Their 124 ratings recognise the brilliance of their respective performances and reflect the world-class standard of Hong Kong’s Group 1 races.

“This year’s Audemars Piguet QEII Cup was, by all accounts, the best ever renewal of the race and in winning so comprehensively Werther stepped out as a prospective champion. Maurice was already proven in that elite bracket before his victory, but Japan’s Horse of the Year had to post a career-high rating to win the Champions Mile as impressively as he did against a top-class field of rivals.”

As well as Werther’s and Maurice’s brilliant wins, Chautauqua took the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) at Sha Tin on Champions Mile Day with a ground-devouring last-to-first surge. The Australian ace is joint seventh in the latest edition of the WBRR on a rating of 121.

California Chrome and Winx share top billing in the latest rankings, which relate to performances between 1 January and 8 May. North American star California Chrome earned a rating of 126 for his brilliant win in the G1 Dubai World Cup (2000, dirt) at Meydan in March, while Australia’s darling, Winx, matched that figure with a superb weight-carrying performance in winning the G1 Doncaster Mile on 2 April.

Unbeaten G1 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic hero Postponed also currently share third place with ratings of 124.
LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings (Leading Horses): 1 January to 8 May, 2016

Rank Horse                Trained    Rating
1     CALIFORNIA CHROME USA         126
1     WINX                                AUS               126
3     MAURICE                 JPN         124
3     NYQUIST                 USA         124
3     POSTPONED               GB          124
3     WERTHER                 HK          124

The victory of Werther in the 2016 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup earns him equal third-place status in the LONGINES World��s Best Racehorse Rankings.
Photo 1:
The victory of Werther in the 2016 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup earns him equal third-place status in the LONGINES World��s Best Racehorse Rankings.

 

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