Jim Bolger's Dawn Approach maintained the recent dominance of Irish juveniles as he was crowned the champion two-year-old on the European Thoroughbred Rankings.
Unbeaten in six races, including the National Stakes and Dewhurst, the Godolphin-owned son of New Approach received a respectable rating of 124 and was upwards of 6lb ahead of his peers.
Garry O'Gorman, the senior Irish handicapper who is part of the ratings process, said: "Dawn Approach is the seventh Irish-trained champion or joint-champion in the last eight years, which we're obviously pleased about, but it was not a vintage bunch of two-year-olds."
Below Dawn Approach is Aidan O'Brien's Kingsbarns (118), who took the Racing Post Trophy on his second start and is ante-post Investec Derby favourite and just behind Bolger's colt in the betting for the 2000 Guineas.
Richard Hannon's Olympic Glory and the Clive Cox-trained Middle Park winner Reckless Abandon were the highest-rated British juveniles among a bunch on 117.
Matthew Tester, the British Horseracing Authority's two-year-old handicapper, slightly disagreed with O'Gorman when he said: "It is quite difficult to establish outstanding credentials.
"Olympic Glory's only defeat came to Dawn Approach in the Coventry Stakes, and I think it's actually a very exciting crop of largely unbeaten horses, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens next. I don't think Dawn Approach will be 6lb higher than the rest at the end of this year.
"At Doncaster I thought Kingsbarns looked quite a raw horse, whereas before the Dewhurst, to my eyes Dawn Approach looked like a three-year-old. He looked bigger and stronger than the rest. He will either emulate his father New Approach, or the others will catch up. It will be exciting either way."
Thoughts on the World Thoroughbred Rankings for the three-year-old division were unanimous among the handicappers, with I'll Have Another, the American colt, the highest-rated on 125, ahead of the highest European horse, Camelot, on what was described as "a disappointing"124.
Camelot is held in huge regard by Aidan O'Brien, and O'Gorman said: "We go with what we see on a racecourse, Aidan goes with what he sees on the gallops at Ballydoyle. Camelot has yet to show on a racecourse enough to qualify for a rating to put him in the stratosphere. Personally, I don't think he was the same horse after the Irish Derby."
13 May 2013
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12 May 2013
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11 May 2013
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10 May 2013
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