Victoire Pisa's emotional victory for Japan in the Dubai World Cup on Saturday was only the 11th best performance by a thoroughbred in the world since October, according to the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
Victoire Pisa's defeat of compatriot Transcend at Meydan Racecourse has been rated at the same level as Rocket Man's success in the Dubai Golden Shaheen on the same card.
The World Thoroughbred Rankings (WTR) were released yesterday and they regard the performance of Black Caviar in the Group 1 Lexus Sprint on March 12 at Flemington, Australia, as the best performance in the world.
Black Caviar is unbeaten in 11 runs and the five-year-old was rated at 130. In contrast, Victoire Pisa and Rocket Man were rated at 122, while Rewilding, the Dubai Sheema Classic winner, and Presvis, the Dubai Duty Free winner, were rated at 121.
"Winners at the Dubai World Cup meeting, US Breeders' Cup meeting, Hong Kong International and the Arc have all been rated inferior to Black Caviar," said Greg Carpenter, Australia's representative on the WTR committee.
The rankings are based on performances from October 1 to March 27, and the WTR release updated ratings seven times during one calendar year. The organisation then releases final figures for each year.
The last time a Dubai World Cup-winner topped the annual rankings list was as in 2008 when Curlin, the American horse, was rated alongside New Approach, owned by Princess Haya of Jordan, for his run in the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes in Newmarket, England. Both colts were rated at 130.
