Meet the top-ranked racehorse in the world

Ask racing fans about Laurel River and you’ll get many a blank stare. Yet a nag with that name is officially the best racehorse in the world – according to the Longines Best Racehorse Rankings of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

A few racing nerds might remember Laurel River as winning the Dubai World Cup. The six-year-old appeared from obscurity, started at long odds but hammered his rivals by more than eight lengths in the 2024 version of the famous race, then disappeared from view again.

He went from nowhere on the Longines top 50 list in March to the pinnacle in April with a ranking of 128. And he’s still on top of the latest pile released this month – ahead of Aidan O’Brien-trained superstar City Of Troy (127), who won the recent Juddmonte International Stakes in York in a new record time, and before that the Grade 1 Coral Eclipse and the Epsom Derby.

Further down the log are the French-trained duo Calandagan and Goliath, American Travers Stakes winner Fierceness and Irish hero Rebel’s Romance.

Racing publics in America, Australia, Europe and Japan will be puzzled.

USA to Dubai

Laurel River, bred and owned by Juddmonte, the well-endowed racing operation started by the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, is still being trained in the UAE by young local Bhupat Seemar.

There is talk of targeting the current world’s richest race, the $20-million Saudi Cup, in February 2025.
And one presumes he’ll then defend his title at Meydan.

Laurel River has the right blood to be a champion, with his father being five-time American champion stallion Into Mischief. He raced in the States for a while, as a sprinter-miler, winning four from seven including a Grade 2 race.
After being suddenly switched to Seemar’s yard in Dubai, the colt was not seen on a racecourse for a full 17 months – before popping up in the Dubai Carnival, qualifying for the World Cup with a single win and then snatching it from under the noses of a battery of elite racers from all corners.

There are no South African horses in this month’s Longines rankings, which name a top 40.

Charles Dickens

Earlier this year, the massively popular colt Charles Dickens was featured – seventh in March, 11th in April and 15th in May, before he retired to stud at Drakenstein.

The 102 races around the world that the Longines judges use for their rankings make for interesting reading – and raise questions as to how the calculations are made.

Currently the only South African race on the roster is the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge at Greyville – at No 97. In previous years, the likes of the King’s Plate and the Premier’s Champions Challenge have featured.

The top-ranked race is the Japan Cup in Tokyo, with the Dubai Sheema Classic in second, followed by the Prix de la Arc de Triomphe, the King George VI Stakes and the Takarazuka Kinen.

Four of the top 10 races are in Japan, two each in Britain and France and one each in UAE and Ireland. The US gets a look in at No 11 with the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Aussies at No 24 with the Cox Plate and the Kennedy Champions Mile. The Dubai World Cup is at No 33.