American Pharoah has been given the highest rating of any horse in the world by Timeform following the latest outstanding display by the Triple Crown winner in Sunday night’s Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. The racing ratings experts’ American correspondent believes the brilliant colt, now on a new figure of 136, has the potential to overtake the legendary Cigar (138) as the firm’s highest-rated runner from that continent.
American Pharoah has edged ahead of the Derby and Coral-Eclipse Stakes winner Golden Horn (133p) in Timeform’s world rankings via his new figure following his weekend rout of a high-class field and, with seemingly no limit to how high he can climb, he has even had the firm talking on Monday about him in the same breath as Frankel, who reached 147, in 2012, and is the highest-rated horse in Timeform’s history.
Mark Milligan, Timeform’s handicapper for American racing, said: “The thing with American Pharoah is that he makes everything look so easy. His high cruising speed and exceptional stride set him apart from his peers, and it probably isn’t going overboard to say he has a touch of the Frankel’s about him. I wouldn’t be at all surprised were he to finish the year having surpassed Cigar’s 138, and become Timeform’s most highly rated North American horse ever.”
Stride comparisons between Secretariat & future @coolmorestud stallion American Pharaoh. @JustinZayat pic.twitter.com/BYng1U2Xro
— Coolmore (@TomMagnier) August 3, 2015
The trainer Bob Baffert will now weigh up the options for his stable star along with Justin Zayat, who is racing manger for owner Zayat Stables. Baffert admitted in comments he made immediately after Sunday’s race that he expects encouragement to run in the Pacific Classic which takes place in just under three weeks at his Del Mar base but the shrewd money is on the colt returning at Saratoga for the Travers Stakes on 29 August.
“When I get home, I’m sure Del Mar will put a lot of pressure on us, too,” said Baffert, who has indicated he would prefer to stay in three-year-old company.
“We’ll get him home first, see how he bounces out of it. We’ll just play it race by race. As long as he’s still at the top level, I’ll lead him up there. As long as he’s at the top of his game, that’s my main concern. We have something really special. We owe it to him.”
American Pharoah’s Timeform ranking makes him the most highly rated horse in North America since Ghostzapper (137), the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. Ghostzapper, in turn, was the highest-rated North American horse since Cigar (138), the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 1996 Dubai World Cup winner. Timeform ratings were not produced for North American horses before the advent of the Breeders’ Cup in 1984.
Among US horses this century, Wise Dan (2012 and 2013), Point Given (2001) and Curlin (2008) all achieved annual ratings of 134. The fillies Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra earned ratings of 131 and 130 respectively in 2009 and would have received an additional sex allowance when competing against males.
