Baaeed’s shock defeat last weekend on the final start of his glorious career at Ascot means that American superstar Flightine is the new world #1 on Thoroughbred Racing Commentary’s exclusive Global Rankings.
Flightline had already recorded the highest-rated performance of 2022 with his spectacular 19¼-length triumph in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, which earned a TRC Race Rating of 136.
That figure dwarfs Baaeed’s best (133) – but the British-based four-year-old’s overall body of work in starting his career with ten unbeaten runs meant he had retained the top position since his victory in Newbury’s Lockinge Stakes in May.
Now, though, Flightline can claim clear top spot ahead of his attempt to extend his own unbeaten record to six in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on November 5, for which he is a short-priced favourite.
Baaeed enters his stud with six G1 victories to his name but his career ended in failure in testing conditions in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday [Oct 15] when the son of Sea The Stars failed to show his usual elan in the closing stages and was beaten about two lengths into fourth place behind Bay Bridge.
He had been sent off 1-4 favourite for the £1.3m contest. “It is deflating, but he is still a good horse,” said trainer William Haggas. “I’m sad he didn't win for him and his connections, as well as all the people at the yard who have worked tirelessly to get him there. There you go, it's horse racing.
Jockey Jim Crowley added: “The ground, simple as that. I turned into the straight and normally where he would pick up, normally he would be able to do it on good to soft, that kick just wasn't there. It was heavy weather, really.
“In the past, it has just been instant. It just wasn't there, simple as that. I pressed the button today and it wasn't there.”
As a result, Baaeed’s TRC rankings portfolio loses 147pts, meaning his total is now 2153 – enough for him to forfeit top spot to the brilliant Flightline (2165pts).
“It is unbelievable the journey we have been on,” added Crowley. “He is a very special horse and it is sad that he does not finish his career unbeaten as we have come so far. For me today, it was just sad as that kick I know he has wasn't there.
"Baaeed has captured the imagination and I'm sorry we couldn't do it today. He is a special horse still.”
Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques.
Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
They are formulated from the last three years of races we consider Group or Graded class all over the world and update automatically each week according to the quality of a horse’s performances and their recency, taking into account how races work out.
Flightline is the 20th different horse to top the rankings since we started collating racehorse rankings in 2014; the top three horses by weeks at #1 are Winx (162), Enable (56) and American Pharoah (42).
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View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires