Eleven Group races at ParisLongchamp on Arc Weekend (seven of them G1s) dominated last week’s international racing, dwarfing even the 28th consecutive win of Winx in Australia, the return to form of Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero Roy H at Santa Anita, and a mighty seasonal reappearance from Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year, Beauty Generation, at Sha Tin. Yet three of the four of James Willoughby’s performers of the week awards go to U.S. individuals. They are based on movements in the TRC Global Rankings.
TRC JOCKEY OF THE WEEK
Honourable mention to William Buick for three wins, but #7 JOSE ORTIZ gets the nod for landing the G1 Beldame (Wow Cat) and G1 Champagne (Complexity) at Belmont, plus the G3 Bourbon (Current) at Keeneland. He has 34 Graded/Group wins in 2018 – second in the world to #1 Ryan Moore (40).
TRC OWNER OF THE WEEK
#2 Godolphin had five wins, but we like to share the honours in this category, so this week the award goes to U.S.-based entity MICHAEL DUBB ET AL (#15 from #19, +5pts). From four runners, his partnerships annexed the G1 Flower Bowl Stakes (Fourstar Crook) and the G1 First Lady Stakes (A Raving Beauty) - both very smart mares. This ownership now has 12 winners on the year – joint-fourth in the world.
TRC TRAINER OF THE WEEK
Four wins – all G1 – and three places from 13 runners makes world #4 U.S. trainer Chad Brown a clear choice. Brown was known as a turf specialist, but this haul gives lie to this status. On dirt, he annexed the Beldame (Wow Cat) and Champagne (Complexity) at Belmont; on turf, he took out the Flower Bowl (Fourstar Crook) there and the First Lady (A Raving Beauty) at Keeneland.
TRC SIRE OF THE WEEK
It is great to single out 25-year-old Cheveley Park, Newmarket, staple Pivotal (#31 from #43, +15pts) for four winners – in four different countries. His runners landed the G2 Prix Dollar (Alignement) at Longchamp, France, the G3 Silbernes Pferd (Nikkei) at Hoppegarten, Germany, the G3 Cumberland Lodge (Laraaib) at Ascot, Britain, and the G3 Bart Cummings (Avilius) at Flemington, Australia.
Click here for a list of all last week’s biggest TRC Global Rankings points gainers.
Click here for a list of all the week’s Group and Graded winners.