US ace Knicks Go edges out European stars to be named best horse in the world

Breeders' Cup Classic hero Knicks Go has been named the Longines World's Best Racehorse at an online ceremony hosted from the National Racing Museum in Newmarket.

The International Federation of Horseracing Authority's panel of handicappers awarded Knicks Go an end-of-season rating of 129, 2lb clear of a three-way tie featuring European Horse of the Year St Mark's Basilica, Adayar and Mishriff.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe shaded the Classic to earn the honour of Longines World's Best Horserace for the fifth time in seven years while Ryan Moore was presented with the award for World's Best Jockey.

Knicks Go is due to have his last start for trainer Brad Cox before retiring to stud in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park next Saturday and is the first US horse to top the international rankings since Arrogate in 2017.

Rated 124 heading into the Breeders' Cup, the son of Paynter came home two and three-quarter lengths clear of the late Medina Spirit (joint tenth), Essential Quality (joint 15th) and Hot Rod Charlie (joint 21st) at Del Mar.

In addition, Knicks Go racked up 2021 Group 1 wins in the Pegasus and Saratoga's Whitney Stakes, although he found Mishriff too hot to handle when only fourth in the Saudi World Cup last February.

Cox said: "His second half of the year was fantastic with a big win at Saratoga, [then] Churchill [Downs] and ultimately the Breeders' Cup Classic was the race that put him in a position to become the top rated horse in the world.

"He had a fantastic year and this was the cherry on the top in terms of what he could accomplish in 2021. It's a very prestigious honour to be mentioned along with past recipients of this award, past champions throughout the world. To be at the top is just a true honour and something to be very proud of."

Mishriff provides a fascinating thread to compare the top horses on turf and dirt, with his own 127 season-high rating earned thanks to a six-length defeat of Alenquer in the Juddmonte International.

St Mark's Basilica had John and Thady Gosden's versatile campaigner in behind when posting the same figure in the Coral Eclipse, one of four Group 1 victories in an unbeaten campaign, while Adayar's peak also came at the expense of Mishriff in Ascot's King George last July.

The World's Best Horserace rankings are devised by taking an average across the ratings of the first four home in a given Group 1, with the Arc once again coming out on top.

Joint sixth-ranked Torquator Tasso led home Tarnawa (joint 36th), Hurricane Lane (joint 15th) and Adayar (joint 2nd) for an aggregate figure of 124.75, 0.25 points higher than the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Awesome foursome: Torquator Tasso (yellow) comes to claim victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, which was rated the best race of the year for 2021Credit: Edward Whitaker

The depth of the Arc field is illustrated by the fact that, had Adayar faded to fifth behind subsequent Champion Stakes winner Sealiway, the revised rating would still have been enough for the race to qualify as the fourth best of the year, all of which suggests Torquator Tasso is fully entitled to his rating of 125 heading into his five-year-old career.

The top three is rounded out by the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the highest-rated race run in Britain in 2021, while the Qipco Champion Stakes and the QEII Stakes also made the top ten.

The strength of the three-year-old dirt division in the US last year is emphasised by the Kentucky Derby reaching fifth in the rankings, a remarkable achievement for a race restricted to three-year-olds.

That lofty position would come under threat should Medina Spirit ever be stripped of first place on account of returning a positive test for betamethasone.

The Epsom Derby is also recognised at number 14 on the list ahead of other major Classics such as the Tokyo Yushun (joint 20th) and the Prix du Jockey Club (joint 31st).

The strength of last year's three-year-old crop is further illustrated by the presence of Baaeed and Life Is Good in the top ten alongside Adayar, with all three due to race on in 2022.

World rankings: the key categories and winners

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