2009 World Thoroughbred Ratings

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities has published the 2009 World Thoroughbred Ratings for three-year-olds and up who raced between 1 January and 31 December 2009.

To make the WTR list, horses must have a rating of 115 or better and of the 333 horses listed there were 50 Australian horses. Retired Irish horse Sea The Stars heads the list with a rating of 136 as he raced 6 times for 6 wins in 2009 and they were all at Group 1 level.

Australian-Bred Horses Dominate 2009 WTR Sprint Category

There are 5 distance categories in the WTR and the shortest is the sprint category (1000m to 1300m). The best rated Australian horse was Scenic Blast with a rating of 122 sharing the position of top sprinter with Hong Kong trained Sacred Kingdom. Sacred Kingdom was bred in Australia and was the top rated sprinter in both 2007 and 2008.

Scenic Blast won at Group 1 level in both hemispheres during 2009, winning the VRC Lightning Stakes and Newmarket Handicap before going to England and winning the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. 3rd best sprinter rated at 121 was Australian-bred Rocket Man who races in Singapore.

Australian sprinters All Silent, Apache Cat and Takeover Target were rated at 119 as was Australian-bred Happy Zero who races in Hong Kong.

2009 Top Rated Mares

The best rated Australian mare was Typhoon Tracy at 118.The French-trained mare Goldikova was the highest-rated female coming second on the overall ratings list at 130. The next female on the list is US trained Zenyatta (128) in equal 4^th place ahead of US filly Rachel Alexander (127) in 6^th place.