Three co-highweighted in World’s Best Racehorse Rankings; IFHA chairman Romanet retires

Mishriff, St. Mark’s Basilica, and Adayar share top billing in the latest release of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.

All three European horses are rated 127 with Mishriff moving up since the last ratings were released by an international panel of racing officials. In the August rankings Adayar, the Derby winner, and St. Mark’s Basilica, who has won the French Guineas, the French Derby, and the Eclipse Stakes against older rivals, were already rated 127. Mishriff moved up off a mark of 124 following his victory in the International Stakes.

Adayar had been set to contest the Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday at Leopardstown but was forced out of that start with a minor injury and is training up to next month’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. St. Mark’s Baslica is the Irish Champion favorite and meets just three rivals in that 10-furlong contest, among them the mare Tarnawa, heroine of the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Turf. Palace Pier, expected to make his next start in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes next month on the QIPCO British Champions card, is rated 125, with Knicks Go at 124 the highest-rated American-based horse.

season in Dubai begins on Nov. 4.

Romanet retires; Engelbrecht-Bresges new IFHA head

Louis Romanet has retired as chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and will be replaced by Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, chief executive of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

:: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more.

Romanet has been chairman since the IFHA was founded in 1994. The IFHA is a loose consortium of racing officials with a mission to create international standards in all phases of the sport. The IFHA also convenes a panel of racing officials that produce international ratings, released throughout the year as the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings.

Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of the HKJC since 2007, is chairman of the Asian Racing Federation and has held the IFHA position of vice chairman for Asian racing.