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2008 Best Racehorses In The World - Our Rankings - 10-30-08
October 30 - There were some fantastic racehorses on show in 2008 and choosing the 12 best horses for the year was no easy task. Our rankings of the leading race horses in the world may well be different to those chosen by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities, but hey what do they know anyway? Their latest rankings for the 2008 World's Leading Racehorses lists Papal Bull as the joint 4th best horse in the world, thinks that Duke of Marmalade and Zarkava are on par, and doesn't even mention Goldikova or Conduit. It's a little outdated, in short.
Best racehorse in the world for 2008: ZARKAVA (131). She tops our list for three reasons. One, she was never beaten. Two, she crushed Goldikova who then went on to record the most impressive victory of the entire Breeders' Cup meeting. Three, she demolished the field in The Arc, and that race featured Duke of Marmalade, Youmzain, Soldier of Fortune, Papal Bull, and It's Gino.
The IFHA would have you believe that all of those horses are within 3lbs of one another in terms of their ratings. That's a load of papal bull. Zarkava is a better horse than Dylan Thomas based on her efforts, and certainly far superior to any horse she raced against this year. We rate her at 131.
2nd: CURLIN (130). Let's not forget all the races that Curlin won so emphatically this year including the Dubai World Cup, where he was majestic. But there is reason to believe that a long season found him out in the end, and that he may not have been as good this year as he was in 2007 when he won the Breeders' Cup Classic with a brilliant effort. His connections will say he lost this year's race due to the track surface, and he also showed a dislike for turf. That cannot be held against him, but the way he was mown down at Santa Anita by Raven's Pass has to have some bearing on his ranking. We rate Curlin at 130.
3. RAVEN'S PASS - 128
3. BIG BROWN - 128
5. DUKE OF MARMALADE - 126
6. HENRYTHENAVIGATOR - 125
6. GOLDIKOVA - 125
6. NEW APPROACH - 125
9. JAY PEG - 123
10. CONDUIT - 122
10. SOLDIER OF FORTUNE - 122
12. ARCHIPENKO - 121
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| | 2009/11/20 11:35:01 AM |
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