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Winx rated the third best racehorse on the planet as the Cox Plate makes history

Winx at Moonee Valley.(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Editor
24th January, 2017
1

Champion mare Winx has been named the third-best racehorse in the world while the race she won in 2016, the Cox Plate, has created history.

Winx finished third in the ratings at the Longines World’s Best Horse Race Awards in London, coming in behind US runners Arrogate and California Chrome for the top prize.

Winx finished with a rating of 132 to round out the year, just two points behind the winner Arrogate on 134.

The rating is the equal highest for an Australian horse, equalling the record previously held by the legendary Black Caviar in 2013, who didn’t win the award that year either.

A big boost for Winx’s rankings was her record-breaking eight-length victory at the Cox Plate in October, extending her current winning streak to an incredible 13 races in a row.

That same race, the 2016 Cox Plate, also created history at the awards after being named the second-strongest race run anywhere in the world in 2016.

With a race rating of 124.75, the Cox Plate painfully fell short of the top honour by 0.5 of a point but did become the highest rated Australian race ever recorded.

The race picked up big rating points for the strength of the field, and despite the sheer domination of Winx, the rest of the race was very tightly run.

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The race contained another Aussie horse that finished in the top ten of the rankings, Hartnell, who came in second at the Plate.

The six-year-old British export finished equal eighth in the best racehorse rankings on 124 points, while third and fourth placed Yankee Rose and Vadamos from the Cox Plate also finished with strong rankings.

The ratings work off the performance of horses in elite races, which takes into account the quality of opposition and the personal achievements of each horse, the same goes for race ratings as well.

Arrogate was named the world’s best racehorse after only making his debut mid-way through the year. The colt won five races in a row, including the famed Breeder’s Cup Classic.

The Classic, containing the top two rated horses from the awards, unsurprisingly won the best race of the year award by that aforementioned half point.

World’s Best Racehorse 2016 Rankings

Rank Horse Rating Trained
1 Arrogate 134 USA
2 California Chrome 133 USA
3 Winx 132 AUS
4 Almanzor 129 FR
5= A Shin Hikari 127 JPN
5= Maurice 127 JPN
7 Frosted 126 USA
8= Found 124 IRE
8= Hartnell 124 AUS
8= Postponed 124 GB
8= Werther 124 HK
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