Ghaiyyath crowned the best in 2020 as Australian duo named highest-rated sprinters at World Racing Awards

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Ghaiyyath (Dubawi) has been named the world’s best racehorse at the Longines World Racing Awards after a stellar 2020 campaign which saw him win three Group 1s and achieve an official rating of 130. 

Australian performers Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) and Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) have been crowned the joint-best sprinters with a rating of 125. That puts the duo equal-third on the overall list, a position also occupied by the Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) winner Addeybb (Pivotal), who made headlines in Sydney last autumn when capturing the Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) for William Haggas. 

Kentucky Derby (Gr 1, 10f) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr 1, 10f) winner Authentic (Into Mischief) has been named the second-highest rated horse of the year with a mark of 126.

Owned by Godolphin, Ghaiyyath was a dominant winner of the Coronation Cup (Gr 1, 1m4f) at Epsom in June before getting the better of Enable (Nathaniel) in a pulsating clash in the Eclipse Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) at Sandown in July. 

On his next start, Ghaiyyath defeated star mare Magical (Galileo), Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) winner Lord North (Dubawi) and 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) hero Kameko (Kitten’s Joy) in the International Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) at York. That three-length success was rated the finest of Ghaiyyath’s career, with the race itself named the highest-rated contest of 2020 by Longines.

Trained by Charlie Appleby, Ghaiyyath was retired following the conclusion of Britain’s turf season and has since joined Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) among the ranks of Godolphin’s sires. 

Now based in Hong Kong with Casper Fownes but formerly trained by Les Bridge, Classique Legend gained his rating of 125 when producing a stunning turn of foot to win the fourth running of the $15 million Everest (1200m) by two and a half lengths in October. The James Cummings-trained Bivouac achieved the same figure when streaking away to a three and a quarter-length success in the Sprint Classic (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington in November. 

That Group 1 was rated the best race in Australia last year and equal-21st worldwide, marginally topping the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) and William Reid Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) from an Australian perspective. 

The exploits of Classique Legend and Bivouac mean this is the seventh time since Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) won the first of her four leading sprinter titles in 2010 that an Australian speedster has had at least a share of top spot in the sprinting division. 

The other horses to have been rated 125 include Kingman’s (Invincible Spirit) European stars Palace Pier and Persian King, the John Gosden-trained Stradivarius (Sea The Stars), who won his third Ascot Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2m4f) in June, and Belmont Stakes (Gr 1, 9f) and Travers Stakes (Gr 1, 10f) winner Tiz The Law (Constitution). 

The Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip (Nicconi) was joint-tenth on the list, achieving a rating of 124 for his victory in the TJ Smith Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Randwick last autumn. Star Japanese mare Almond Eye (Lord Kanaloa) and Hong Kong sensation Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro) are also included in that bracket. 

Te Akau Shark (Rip Van Winkle) fared best of the New Zealanders, with Jamie Richards’ star rated 118 for his wins in the Waikato Sprint (Gr 1, 1400m) and Chipping Norton Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m). 

The International Stakes has become the first British race to be named the top Group 1 of the year by Longines since the award was inaugurated in 2015. The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) collected the prize in 2015 and three ensuing years (2017, 2018, 2019), while the Breeders’ Cup Classic claimed the spoils in 2016. 

Longines World’s Best Racehorse rankings

1. Ghaiyyath 130
2. Authentic 126
3. Addeybb 125, Stradivarius 125, Bivouac 125, Classique Legend 125, Palace Pier 125, Persian King 125, Tiz The Law 125

Longines top ten Group 1s of 2020

1. Juddmonte International (1m2f), York 
2. Irish Champion Stakes (1m2f), Leopardstown
3. Japan Cup (2400m), Tokyo
4. Breeders’ Cup Turf (12f), Keeneland
5. Tenno Sho (Autumn) (2000m), Kyoto
6. Eclipse (10f), Sandown
7. Yasuda Kinen (1600m), Tokyo
8. Prix Jacques le Marois (1600m), Deauville
9. Champion Stakes (1m2f), Ascot
10. Arima Kinen (2500m), Nakayama