New Zealand-bred gelding I Wish I Win is sitting on top of the world following the latest LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.
The Waikato Stud-bred and raced son of Savabeel was thrust into the top 10 overall after a huge win in the Gr.1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick a fortnight ago, a performance which resulted in his rating of 121, taking him to the top in the sprinting category.
His rating surpassed the 120 reached by star American sprinter Elite Power, who most recently won the Gr.3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint (1200m) in Dubai.
It’s a remarkable feat for trainer Peter Moody’s Kiwi import, who has been somewhat reinvented into a sprinter this preparation after being stretched to a mile last campaign when he also won the A$10 million Golden Eagle (1500m).
“It’s pretty crazy, especially for a horse who this is his first preparation trained as a sprinter,” Moody’s assistant trainer Katherine Coleman told Racing.com.
“Personally, I didn’t expect it, not sure whether Pete would’ve. I personally was excited to see where they ranked him, but the fact he’s the best sprinter is really exciting.
“It just shows how versatile he is and talented that he’s able to do that, it’s only his second preparation with us too, so a lot of credit has to go to the team back in New Zealand.”
The top 10 rankings had a distinct Kiwi flavour, with New Zealand-sourced Hong Kong Champion Golden Sixty ranked second in the world with a rating of 125, while New Zealand-bred gelding Lucky Sweynesse sits fourth-equal with a rating of 123 following his victory in the Gr.1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m).