Golden Sixty Tops World's Best Racehorse Rankings

Following Flightline  's retirement from racing late last year, there is a new top-ranked horse in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings, based on racing Jan. 1-March 5.

Golden Sixty is on top with a ranking of 125, ahead of fellow Hong Kong-based horses Romantic Warrior and California Spangle. Golden Sixty, featured in the ratings since 2020, began 2023 with a one-length victory over Romantic Warrior (123) in the Stewards' Cup (G1), with California Spangle (122) a neck back in third. Golden Sixty subsequently defeated Romantic Warrior by a head in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1). 

The United States-based Art Collector , a decisive winner of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), is the top-ranked dirt horse with a 121 rating, placing him in a tie for fourth overall with Mostahdaf . Last month, the latter took the Neom Turf Cup (G3) by seven lengths in Saudi Arabia.

Mostahdaf's performance in Saudi Arabia was deemed narrowly superior to victories from the U.S.-trained Elite Power  and Japan's Panthalassa  in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G3) and Saudi Cup (G1), respectively. They each were rated at 120.

Forte  is the lone 3-year-old among the initial rankings, receiving a 117 rating following his victory in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2).

The World's Best Racehorse Rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee and are published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The full rankings can be found online.