City Of Troy shared top spot in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2024 alongside Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River.
Aidan O’Brien hailed the son of Justify as the best he had ever trained following victories in the Betfred Derby, the Coral-Eclipse and the Juddmonte International.
Having powered home to Classic success at Epsom, he was more workmanlike at Sandown but then dominated York’s showpiece event, making all to see off Calandagan and earn a mark of 128.
Speaking at The Savoy in London, regular jockey Ryan Moore said: “The Derby is always special and that was a great day, that’s what he was bred to do and that’s what Aidan always believed he’d do and everyone always thought he could.
“But when he won the Juddmonte it was probably the best performance that I’d ever been involved with on a racehorse, he was very good that day, it was an exceptional performance and I was a little bit gutted that we didn’t get to see him again [in Europe], but he couldn’t have been any better that day.
City Of Troy was the star of the show in the Juddmonte International at York
“He was different from the first day I rode him at the Curragh. Obviously, we had the blip in the Guineas but apart from that, he always gave me that feel. Once he got into his rhythm, he was very hard to stop – he was relentless and a brilliant racehorse.”
For the first time since 2019, when Crystal Ocean, Enable and Waldgeist were co-winners, there was a tie at the top of the table.
While City Of Troy reigned supreme on turf before disappointing on dirt in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Laurel River made his mark on an artificial surface at Meydan in the opening three months of the year.
Trained by Bhupat Seemar and owned by Juddmonte, he followed up a couple of Group Three wins with a spectacular triumph in the Dubai World Cup, accounting for Ushba Tesoro of Japan and American ace Senor Buscador by more than eight lengths.
Despite not being seen again after that dazzling display at the end of March, the son of Into Mischief had done enough to stay at the summit.
Juddmonte CEO Douglas Erskine Crum said: “The most important thing probably about this horse is that he is one of the last home-bred horses that Prince Khalid (Abdullah) decided the mating, so it’s particularly important for us.”
Via Sistina fared best of the fillies and mares in third on 127, thanks mainly to a wide-margin victory in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.
That was one of five Group One strikes for Chris Waller’s charge during the calendar year, with other elite-level scores coming in the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill, Randwick’s Winx Stakes and the TAB-sponsored Turnbull Stakes and Champions Stakes, both at Flemington.
A stunning 25/1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes defeat of subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Bluestocking and multiple Group One winner Rebel’s Romance saw Goliath finish fourth on 126.
Calandagan, Breeders’ Cup Classic star Sierra Leone, fellow American ace Fierceness, Japan Cup hero Do Deuce and Hong Kong star Romantic Warrior were all tied for fifth on 125, while Roger Varian’s champion miler Charyn completed the top 10 on 124.
Frankel, who topped the ratings twice in 2011 and 2012, and 2022 leader Flightline remain the highest-ranked winners of this award, having both achieved a towering mark of 140 at the peak of their powers.
The Juddmonte International was named the Longines World’s Best Horserace for a second time.
Having previously topped the rankings in 2020, it returned to the summit following recent triumphs for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Japan Cup.
York chief executive and clerk of the course William Derby said: “It is such an honour that our flagship race, the Group One Juddmonte International, has been awarded the Longines World’s Best Horserace 2024.
“It is the ultimate recognition for the vision, commitment and investment by the York Race Committee and Juddmonte over the past four decades. So many people play a part in delivering fabulous horse races such as these at the global elite level; this is a credit to all of them.
“Of course, it would not be possible without the support of the connections of the horses themselves – we are incredibly grateful to those owners of the 13 fabulous thoroughbreds and to the trainers, jockeys and racing staff who contributed to the memorable spectacle, as well as everyone who supports racing at York.
“To win for a second time, so joining a small cohort of the world’s iconic races, only reinforces the commitment of everyone at York to top-quality sporting action.”
