The Northern Hemisphere World’s Best Racehorse rankings were published on Tuesday with a not unexpected rebuke for the Australian racing thoroughbred.
It was the worst international result in nearly 20 years for racing down under, Australia’s best rated 120 – Via Sistina, a European anyway, and Antino, yes Antino.
It comes at a time when dramas around the Australian pattern, which has been ongoing for more than a decade, have drawn worldwide attention.
The question must be asked, are the rankings being used as a political instrument?
Racing Australia should show some backbone and stand up for our horses and our industry and ask questions.
Via Sistina won more top 100 races than any other horse in 2025, yet her rating went from 127, from the 2024 Cox Plate, to 120.
No horse in the ratings has had a bigger drop and she was winning.
It is a stunning fall, even given the outlier nature of her eight-length Cox Plate romp, which she’s never reproduced. But her number should be well into 120s on recent years.
Her rating directly affects where other horses can get to in the ratings, and also is reflected in the top 100 Group 1 races, which are judged on the best rating of the top-4 finishers.
That should concern racing regulators because it has a financial implication, given World Pool, as racing slowly lurches to a global model.
Australia had five races in the top 20 last year and only one this year, The Everest, which wasn’t part of the 2024 list.
The Queen Elizabeth Stakes fell from being rated the third best race in the world to number 47. This was mainly on the back of Via Sistina’s rating drop.
The Everest had to rely on visitor Ka Ying Rising to boost its rating. If it were left to the Australian horses, it would have been well into the mid 30s. That would have left the Memsie Stakes and Cox Plate our equal-best race.
There is a definite change in how Australian races were rated this year.
There are usually around half a dozen horses in the 120s from Australia and over the past five years, there has been a correlation with Timeform, its ratings have remained stable for Australia.
However, for season 2025-2026, Timeform ratings have horses’ performances already matching the past five seasons in terms of peak ratings after just four months.
Having said that Via Sistina wasn’t in the top 10 performers.
Yet, the world’s handicappers have shunned Australian racing.
It could be argued that the four-year-olds coming through this season are the best for many generations, not to mention Godolphin’s three-year-old Tentyris, Beiwacht and Tempted.
With the retirement of Via Sistina, the best horse in the country is up for grabs in the autumn and there are plenty of contenders.
The unbeaten Autumn Glow, which was rated better than at the same point before her Epsom win, Ceolwulf, Jimmysstar and Sir Delius.
Autumn Glow is an interesting study because it shows the same in the Australian landscape.
Winx went to a Cox Plate as a four-year-old and was rated 122, while Autumn Glow ran in the Golden Eagle against her own age, an option Winx didn’t have, and Autumn Glow is a 115 rater.
Australian racing is at the dawn of a golden era but the rest of the world doesn’t want to know.
