Ghaiyyath claims title of World Best Racehorse for 2020 – Authentic the runner-up

During a ceremony hosted by Francesca Cumani at the National Horse Racing Museum in Newmarket, England, Ghaiyyath was recognized yesterday as the 2020 Longines World's Best Racehorse. Authentic , the expected American Horse of the Year, was second.

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath, trained by Charlie Appleby, earned his rating of 130 in the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1), which was recognized as the 2020 Longines World's Best Horse Race. The Irish horse started his season in Dubai, taking the Dubai Millennium Stakes Sponsored by Jaguar (G3) at Meydan. The then 5-year-old completed the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) contest in 2:00:33, setting a new track record in the process. Following his victory in Dubai, the champion returned to Europe to win the Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup Stakes (G1) in his next start and defeated 2019 co-Longines World's Best Racehorse Enable in the Coral-Eclipse (G1).

The second highest-rated horse in the world in 2020, the Bob Baffert-trained Authentic, earned his rating in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), in which he led throughout. Authentic's rating makes him the highest-rated dirt horse in the world for 2020 as well as the highest-rated 3-year-old.

He was the first horse since 2015 Longines World's Best Racehorse American Pharoah  to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) and Classic in the same year.

The Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings are established by international handicappers according to the performance of the horses in top races. In the previous edition, Crystal Ocean, Enable, and Waldgeist were celebrated as the joint winners of the 2019 Longines World's Best Racehorse title.

The 2020 Longines World Racing Awards also celebrated Frankie Dettori as the Longines World's Best Jockey of the year. Dettori is the only four-time winner of the title, which was established in 2014, and he has now won it three consecutive times. The awarding of the Longines World's Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated group 1 and grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee.

Additionally, Longines and the IFHA celebrated the International Stakes, held at York Racecourse in England, as the 2020 Longines World's Best Horse Race with a rating of 125.25. The Longines World's Best Horse Race Award recognizes the best-rated race of the highest-rated group 1 international races as established by a panel of international handicappers. The ratings of the top four finishers in each race serve as basis for the assessment.

This is the first time an English race has won the title. France's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) won the award in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019, while America's Breeders' Cup Classic won in 2016.