Cloudy's Knight, Kip Deville top Canadian ratings

ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Cloudy's Knight and Kip Deville both were assigned figures of 119 to share the top overall spot in the 2007 Canadian Thoroughbred ratings. The ratings, compiled by Woodbine's racing secretary and director of racing Steve Lym, were announced by the Jockey Club of Canada on Wednesday.

Any horse who raced in a stakes in Canada last year was eligible to be rated on his or her best performance, with weight and beaten lengths factored in.

Using the numbers of the World Thoroughbred and North American ratings committees as starting points, Lym then slotted in restricted and non-graded Canadian races. The minimum rating for inclusion on the list was 95.

Ratings for 3-year-olds and upward are compiled in turf and main track divisions designated as Sprint (up to and including 7 1/2 furlongs), Mile (one mile to 1 1/8 miles), Intermediate (1 1/4 miles to 1 3/8 miles), and Long/Extended (longer than 1 3/8 miles).

Cloudy's Knight earned his rating in the Long/Extended turf category for his victory in Woodbine's Canadian International.

Kip Deville topped the Mile turf category for his second-place finish in the Woodbine Mile. Shakespeare won the Woodbine Mile by a length but carried 117 pounds as opposed to Kip Deville's 124 pounds and earned a 116 rating.

Horses could be listed in more than one division if other races that were not their top overall numbers were the best in a division for their age and sex.

True Metropolitan, a 5-year-old gelding, topped the Mile main track list with a 110 for his win in Woodbine's 1 1/16-mile Autumn and the Intermediate main track category with a 109 for his victory in Woodbine's 1 1/4-mile Dominion Day.

But True Metropolitan's highest rating, a 111 that topped the Long/Extended main track list, was for his second-place finish in the 1 3/8-mile B.C. Premiers at Hastings.

True Metropolitan was beaten a neck when carrying 129 pounds and conceding 13 pounds to Sir Gallovic, the 3-year-old who won the Premiers.

Horses also could appear in more than one distance division within the main track or turf categories if their performances yielded identical top ratings.

Test Boy was listed in both the Mile and Long/Extended main track categories after being assigned ratings of 96 for his victory in the 1 1/16-mile Don Fleming Memorial at Northlands and his second-place finish there in the 1 3/8-mile Speed to Spare.

Also, horses were eligible to be ranked in both the main track and turf categories for their highest ratings on either surface.

Financingavailable shared the top ranking with She's Indy Money in the Sprint main track category with a 107 for her victory in Woodbine's Ontario Fashion, and was listed in the Intermediate turf category with a 106 for her win in Woodbine's Grade 3 Victoriana.

Two-year-olds are ranked by sex for their best performance, with no distance or surface considerations.

Clearly Foxy topped the 2-year-old filly list with a 105 for her win in Woodbine's Grade 3 Natalma at one mile on turf.

Prussian, who headed the 2-year-old colt or gelding list, also earned his division-leading 109 rating for a victory in a one-mile turf race at Woodbine, the Grade 3 Summer.