Timeform reveal the winners of this season's Flat awards, highlighting the highest-rated horses in Europe To summarise CHAMPION JUVENILE COLT: SHADOW OF LIGHT (120) Timeform Flat editor David Johnson (DJ) said: "Although Shadow of Light achieved a rare feat by winning both the Dewhurst and Middle Park – he was only the second horse to complete the double since Diesis back in 1982, the level of form he showed in doing so is on the low-side historically and a rating of 120 is the lowest awarded to a champion juvenile colt by Timeform since the turn of the century. That said he showed a terrific attitude to pull the Dewhurst out of the fire, and that will stand him in good stead for the Guineas, but the feeling is that there could be a few later maturing types ready to raise their game by next spring." CHAMPION JUVENILE FILLY: LAKE VICTORIA (119p) DJ: "If the juvenile colts look a below average crop, then the opposite looks the case with the fillies with Lake Victoria narrowly getting the verdict over Desert Flower and a meeting between them in the Guineas next spring is something that will give Flat fans something to look forward to over the winter. Lake Victoria is unbeaten in five starts, including an unprecedented Group 1 hat-trick at 6f, 7f and 1m while Desert Flower is yet to face defeat in four outings with her Fillies’ Mile victory over the Guineas course and distance the best recorded in that race since the prolific Group 1 winner Minding." CHAMPION SPRINTER: BRADSELL (124) DJ: "Bradsell was something of a forgotten horse in the lead up to the Nunthorpe having not been seen in Britain since his third in the race the previous year but after his back-to-back victories in that contest and the Flying Five at the Curragh there was no danger of him slipping under the radar. A narrow defeat in the Abbaye when forced into going hard and an easy-to excuse defeat at the Breeders’ Cup take little gloss off his achievements and his form was of a higher standard than the 6f performers who took it in turn to beat each other." CHAMPION MILER: CHARYN (127 DJ: "Charyn’s crowning as champion miler is a great example of the benefits of keeping horses in training and racing regularly. He came up short at Group 1 level on five occasions as a 3-y-o and even after gaining his first win at that level in the Queen Anne, few would have expected him to be rated higher than the 3-y-os Notable Speech and Rosallion. But wins in the second half of the season in the Jacques le Marois and QEII elevated him further. We can only speculate what Rosallion might have done had he been seen after Royal Ascot, but his neck victory over Henry Longfellow didn’t shine so brightly by the end of the season as it did in the immediate aftermath." CHAMPION MIDDLE-DISTANCE PERFORMER: CITY OF TROY (130p) DJ: "While City of Troy’s ranking among Aidan O’Brien’s best horses looks sure to continue to provide lively debate, few will disagree that City of Troy deservedly sits at the top of the rankings of Timeform’s middle distance horses in 2024. His rating of 130p is the highest of any horse trained in Europe as he became the first horse since Sea The Stars to follow up his Derby win in the Eclipse and Juddmonte International. "While his reputation at home arguably outweighed what he showed on the track, he retires to stud at the end of his 3-y-o season with the feeling that he could perhaps have raised his game further granted more suitable opportunities." CHAMPION STAYER: KYPRIOS (125) DJ: "It’s arguable that ratings undersell the superiority of Kyprios and his domination of the staying division. When both were at their best in the Gold Cup, Kyprios had just a length to spare over Trawlerman but that doesn’t tell the full story as it was just one of seven victories for him during a perfect 2024, four of them at Group 1 level as well as the Long Distance Cup which is overdue upgrading to that level. The staying scene has been blessed with horses like Yeats and Stradivarius this century, lauded for their longevity as much as their ability and Kyprios deserves to be recognised in a similar light." CHAMPION FILLY/MARE: BLUESTOCKING (123) DJ: "Rather like Charyn among the milers, Bluestocking’s standing rose as the season wore on, transformed from the filly narrowly beaten in Group 1s as a 3-y-o to a major force in them by the end of the season with victories in the Pretty Polly and Prix Vermeille surpassed only by her triumph in the Arc." RACE OF THE YEAR: JUDDMONTE INTERNATIONAL (126) The leading races of the year are judged on the average of the first three home based on their Timeform master rating. The Juddmonte International is consistently Britain’s top all-aged middle-distance contest and the latest renewal was Race of The Year (126) thanks in no small part to Horse of The Year City of Troy taking the record first prize of more than £700,000 ahead of French gelding Calandagan who was close behind in the ratings. A third three-year-old, Ghostwriter, also ran his best race of the season behind them in third, clear of some very smart older horses in the largest field for the race, 13, since it began life in 1972 as the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup. The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes was close behind on 125. While Goliath was a surprise winner on the day, he clearly relished the end-to-end gallop on the firmish ground, his much-improved effort making him the joint-best older horse (along with White Birch) of the season. The form proved rock solid too, with runner-up Bluestocking going on to win the Arc and the third Rebel Romance winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf for a second time. The Gold Cup (124), in which the season’s two best stayers Kyprios and Trawlerman, fought out the finish clear of Sweet William, himself winner of the Henry II Stakes and Doncaster Cup, was tied for third with the Coral-Eclipse. As in the following month’s Juddmonte International, City of Troy and Ghostwriter were first and third at Sandown, split by very smart four-year-old Al Riffa who showed similar form when winning a Group 1 in Germany on his next start. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not much to dispute there I suppose, although I have a strong feeling that had City of Troy ran in that King George, he would not have won. Goliath laghed at the Arc winner and 2 times Breeders Cup Turf winner, in a truly run race with time to back it up. Unfortunately we will never know
I suppose it is rather obvious that Timeform ‘Awards’ are going to go to whichever horses are top-rated with them in the categories at the time. My personal preference for Juvenile Filly would have been Desert Flower. Given that the Juddmonte International was won by their top-rated horse, chased home by their second top rated, it is no surprise as Race of the Year. We have still to see any proof that the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes win was not a fluke by Goliath and I cannot remember when White Birch last ran – he started the season one of the top rated but spent most of it sidelined with injury.
What do you mean by a fluke QM. He won easily in a fast time. So if he runs down the field in the Japan Cup will that indicate it was a fluke. Some horses are just not recognised for the ability they have shown, maybe because they hadn't been recognised beforehand or been hyped up? No doubt if COT had romped home in the KG, even in a slower time, he would have been one of the best ever
Afraid so. But the 2yo fillies might be something next year. It's around evs one of those top 2 winning. Not a great bet
Goliath won one race that was run at a fast pace thanks to the Coolmore pacemakers for the (once again) disappointing Auguste Rodin. He had no form comparable to that effort beforehand, having previously been well beaten over the course and distance by Isle of Jura at the Royal Meeting and only fourth in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly before that; and he has only raced once since, winning a Group 2 at Longchamp by half a length from Hamish. I note that the jockey Christophe Soumillon was already getting his excuses ready for the Japan Cup stating that the ground might be too firm for him in Japan. If Goliath is beaten, will Graffard start his post-race interview “Écoutez”?
Japan Cup, Sunday 24th November No word from Monsieur Graffard... It was a slowly run race, so Goliath obviously, therefore, had no chance as Do Deuce beat Shin Emperor and Durezza with a gap of at least two lengths back to the bunched finishers for fourth or less. Goliath was sixth and Auguste Rodin eighth.
