Highly rated around the globe - it’s official

Q. What do the following have in common: the highest-rated two-year-old in the world; the leading horses in Ireland, Hong Kong and Italy; the best horse in the world on an artificial surface; the leading three-year-old filly in America, and the champion three-year-old sprinter anywhere in the world?

A. Yes, you’ve guessed it, they are all by Darley sires.

There’s no question that Dawn Approach is one of the most exciting horses currently in training and an official stamp of approval comes from the committee of the World Thoroughbred Rankings, who rated him the best two-year-old in the world in 2012, with an official mark of 124 – six pounds clear of the second best, Kingsbarns.

The unbeaten son of New Approach was one of six Darley-sired juveniles to feature among the top 20 two-year-olds of 2012, with Moohaajim (Cape Cross, pictured) in seventh on 116 and Certify (Elusive Quality) topping the fillies’ chart on 114. The same rating was given to Kheleyf’s crack French juvenile Penny’s Picnic, to Raven's Pass’s first stakes winner Steeler, and to Loch Garman, a G1-winning son of Teofilo.

Havana Gold was another star performer for Teofilo last season and he was given a mark of 110, as were the stakes-winning Exceed And Excel colts Bungle Inthejungle and Heavy Metal.

Among the older horses, it was no surprise to see Frankel rule the world, but Exceed And Excel’s Excelebration, the fantastic miler who ran second to him in four G1 contests, as well as winning three G1s of his own, is rated the equal of the unbeaten Black Caviar on 130 to make him joint-third on the list and the best horse trained in Ireland.

Sharing a mark with such outstanding names as Nathaniel and So You Think is Dubawi’s Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso. His rating of 126 makes him the highest-rated performer on an artificial surface.

Slickly’s G1-winning son Meandre is rated 122, equal to Japan’s Horse of the Year Gentildonna, and second only to Cirrus Des Aigles among the French-trained horses. Leading the way in Italy was Crackerjack King (Shamardal) with 118, while in Hong Kong the highest-rated horse was Lucky Nine, by Dubawi, who had ten four-year-olds and up in the World Thoroughbred Rankings – more than double the number of any other stallion.

Over in America, Questing, a first-crop daughter of Hard Spun, was queen of the Classic generation of distaffers on a mark of 119, the same rating given to the 2,000 Guineas and dual Derby winner Camelot.

Finally, the world champion three-year-old sprinter with a rating of 122 is not just by a Darley stallion, he now is a Darley stallion: step forward Sepoy, the dazzlingly fast son of Elusive Quality.