3 minute read
The likes of Verry Elleegant, Bivouac, Arcadia Queen, September Run and Ole Kirk all have claims to the mantle after brilliant performances over the Spring Carnival.
But statistically, which horse leads the way?
Adam Blencowe, the Chief Handicapper for Timeform, joined Gerard Whateley to discuss who sits on top of the pile from a ratings viewpoint.
Fresh off a scintillating win under Glen Boss in the Darley Sprint Classic at Flemington on Saturday, Godolphin's star sprinter Bivouac currently holds the strongest rating.
"From a ratings point of view, I've got to make the case for Bivouac off the back of the weekend," he said on SEN's Whateley.
"I think we saved the best for last in terms of the Spring Carnival. We waited all Carnival for a performance like that and we got it there on the last day.
"It was a real spectacle with 'Bossy' waving to absolutely no one in the crowd, it was a real highlight of the spring.
"He ran to a Timeform rating of 128. That makes him (the best) off that one peak performance.
"Maybe measuring horses off one peak performance isn't the way to go about measuring who is the best. I suppose best is a fairly subjective term.
"But from a ratings point of view, I have to say that it's Bivouac."
Blencowe discussed some of the other options, highlighting their peak runs and where they sit in relation to Bivouac.
Classique Legend
"The other horse that would have to come into the mix is Classique Legend off The Everest," he added.
"He's still standing at Werribee so maybe he is still the best horse in Australia, for a short period of time anyway, until he gets on a plane and heads over to Hong Kong. Then he might be the best horse in Hong Kong.
"His performance beating Bivouac in The Everest rated essentially exactly the same as what Bivouac did in the Classic on Saturday.
"In Australia, our sprinters are superior to our stayers."
Verry Elleegant
"From a strict ratings term, she's a fair way off Bivouac in truth at a rating of 120 and he's at 128.
"So there's a fair difference there and we'd be pretty confident that we are somewhere in the ballpark of saying he is the better horse."
Arcadia Queen
"She's one that we haven't seen the absolute best of.
"Her form beyond a mile, she's won three Group 1s from four attempts. The only miss was the run in the Cox Plate where she clipped heels and the wet track probably didn't suit her.
"The Cox Plate was a brutally run race, it was a real last man standing job. The Caulfield Stakes and then the Mackinnon on Saturday became a test of late speed and when that was being tested, she was far and away the best.
"We had her run to 121, which is a little bit better than Verry Elleegant, but I think the way those races are being run is probably holding her superiority back."
September Run & Ole Kirk
"The way she's running her races suggests there's probably a lot more to come from her.
"She's really spiralling in the right direction.
"Ole Kirk won the Golden Rose and the Guineas but wasn't a vintage winner of either of those races.
"The three-year-olds, in terms of best horse in the country, I don't think they're in the conversation just yet."
Adam Blencowe on Whateley (09/11/20).
Online article taken from SEN.