Superstar miler has brought order to the chaos after the most volatile period in world rankings history, as James Willoughby explains in his in-depth analysis
After the most volatile period in its history, TRC Global Rankings is led by a world #1 who is there to stay. The G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot confirmed that Baaeed belongs in the superstar bracket and it is hard to see what is going to usurp him.
In truth, there wasn’t a single moment when the William Haggas-trained colt looked likely to be beaten. As usual, he travelled strongly in behind the lead, was still going within himself while all about started to struggle approaching the final furlong, then had the luxury of idling in front as he coasted imperiously across the line.
Royal Ascot review: watch all the action as world #1 Baaeed keeps top spot
This was one of those performances dripping with brilliance. TRC Computer Race Ratings pegged his performance at 127, but that was only because he remained so composed, and he has two other efforts worth 131 on the same scale as the IFHA’s World’s Best Racehorse Ratings. These figures of 131 are higher than each of the last four annual leaders of the sport’s de facto official figures.
After the race, some racing experts opined that Baaeed had defeated nothing of note in the Queen Anne. Well, we don’t feel the runner-up Real World (#47 from #61) deserves to be referred to like that, for one. The five-year-old has yet to be defeated by a horse not named Baaeed in eight starts on turf, including three Group-race victories. And third was the 2020 G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner in Order Of Australia (#260).
Baaeed will be given the chance to silence any remaining naysayers when stepping up in trip for the G1 Juddmonte International at York in August, but it was a horse stepping down in trip who proved the co-star of Royal Ascot’s opening stanza in newly minted #2 Nature Strip.
The G1 King’s Stand Stakes over five furlongs at Royal Ascot wasn’t new to the Australian sprinting galactico, but it was over furlong further that he had posted an impressive win on his previous start in the G1 T J Smith Stakes at Randwick, making for a hat-trick of victories in one of the country’s most important races.
But Nature Strip has speed to burn, and after the vaunted match with US speedball Golden Pal (#28 from #16) was rendered moot by that one missing the break, he was left in complete control throughout.
While Britain’s domestic sprinters are hardly world-class, it is not easy to win any five furlong G1 on fast ground by more than four lengths. So, Nature Strip earned his TRC race rating of 127 which is the joint-best of his career, and he climbed two places in the rankings on the back of it.
Baaeed (2197pts) and Nature Strip (2031pts) now sit a #1 and #2 ahead of star Hong Kong miler Golden Sixty (1979pts) and top US dirt sprinter Jackie’s Warrior (1965pts). These margins are not insurmountable for those behind the incumbent, but Baaeed has run in only six races we consider of Group class and he can earn plenty more points still with further success. TRC Global Rankings considers the entire portfolio of a horse’s performances to be important – not just the best one as the IFHA do. And more good wins reduce the uncertainty of where a horse stands.
A total of 19 horse have reached the top of TRC Global Rankings since their first iteration in 2014. Yet there have been no fewer than eight horses at #1 since the start of 2021 and five in this year alone. While Palace Pier (three weeks), Life Is Good (nine weeks), Nature Strip (three weeks) and Golden Sixty (three weeks) made only fleeting appearances at the head of affairs, Baaeed’s six-week stay promises to be longer than the others combined.
There were plenty of other top performances at Royal Ascot, of course, which were all covered in our review article. Such is the standard of this fixture that the other categories of our rankings cannot fail to be affected too.
Five of the top six stallions in our overall sires’ table had Group winners at the meeting. #1 Dubawi provided six-furlong G1 Platinum Jubilee winner Naval Crown (#87 from #545) as well as the runner-up Creative Force (#115 from #178) and showed his versatility with G2 Queen’s Vase 1-3 Eldar Eldarov (new #241) and Hafit (new #1273) over 14 furlongs. Notably, he also had the G1 St James’s Palace winner Coroebus (#18 from #33) over a mile.
#2 Galileo also had three winners, but in his case at a mile and a half and up, via G1 Gold Cup scorer Kyprios (#57 from #451), G2 King Edward VII hero Changingoftheguard (#118 from #274) and the winner of the fillies’ equivalent, the G2 Ribblesdale with Magical Lagoon (new #431). Note that the 1-2 in the King Edward had run down the field in the G1 Derby at Epsom which gave the latter race a form boost and sent its winner, Desert Crown from #17 to #11.
Rounding out the hegemony of the world’s leading stallions at Royal Ascot, #4 Frankel was responsible for hugely impressive G1 Coronation Stakes winner Inspiral who returned to the rankings at #27 on her seasonal debut. #5 Sea The Stars has Baaeed, of course, while #6 Kingman contributed G3 Jersey Stakes scorer Noble Truth (#364 from #1834).
Among the jockeys, world #1 James McDonald excelled with three winners altogether at the meeting, with Nature Strip backed by outside rides on Dark Shift and Missed The Cut in valuable handicaps. William Buick (three Group wins among five Ascot victories, #3 from #5) and Ryan Moore (four Group-race wins among seven altogether, #8 from #9) were also to the fore.
Further down the scale, mention must be made of Daniel Tudhope. A world ranking of #165 is testament only to a relative lack of opportunities in qualifying Group races; he had four winners at Royal Ascot, among them Dramatised, impressive winner of the G2 Queen Mary Stakes, and Holloway Boy, who won the Chesham Stakes (Listed) on debut. Both were trained by Karl Burke, while Tudhope also rode Queen Anne second Real World.
Among trainers, #2 Charlie Appleby scored three times (plus a handicap) including twice at G1 level – still not enough the wrest back top spot from Chad Brown, who took over after his prolific form at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival the previous weekend.
#5 John & Thady Gosden may not have enjoyed the success they would have liked – hence the subsequent schism with Frankie Dettori – but the erstwhile partnership was still on the G1 board with Inspiral.
#6 Aidan O’Brien supplied five winners at the meeting, highlighted by Kyprios, but Baaeed’s trainer #8 William Haggas was left ruing his luck, for both the G1 St James’s Palace third and fourth, My Prospero (new #1307) and Maljoom (#248 from #288), as well as the G2 Ribblesdale bridesmaid Sea Silk Road (new #1230) went close to winning. Haggas did hit the mark again with six-length handicap winner Candleford, though.
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