Australia’s time-honoured group 1 races have been overlooked in the top 20 of the 2020 Longines World Race Rankings, in which the Juddmonte International – won by the world’s best horse Ghaiyyath – was ranked No.1.
Flemington’s Darley Sprint Classic was ranked as Australia’s best group 1 race of 2020, featuring equal 21st on the world stage last year, just ahead of the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes and the William Reid, which finished equal 23rd.
Bivouac leaves Nature Strip in his wake in the Darley Sprint Classic at Flemington last spring.Credit:Getty
Randwick’s TJ Smith Stakes (equal 26th) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (equal 29th) rounded out the top five group 1 races in Australia last year. The Everest and the All-Star Mile were not considered due to their not being stakes races.
Bivouac, who won the Darley, also finished equal with Everest winner Classique Legend in the world’s best horse rankings with ratings of 125, with Nature Strip narrowly behind the pair on 124. Ghaiyyath’s best performance of 2020 rated 130.
