Orfevre & Co: underrated but out of this world

Follow @KemblaCoxy An Australian, Englishman and Frenchman walk into a bar, and bump into a bloke from Japan. It’s not the basis of a joke, but an interesting case study of the cultural differences officials face when working on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. Imagine if the rankings committee made its decisions in a bar: the Australian would be loudly extolling the virtues of “the best sprinters in the world”, the Englishman would scoff at the Australian arrogance, and the Frenchman would probably leave for a much cooler wine bar around the corner. All the while, the Japanese official would nod and say thank you, despite his horses appearing to be every bit as good, if not better, than the rest in nearly every category. Japan’s infamously insular attitude may imply they don’t even care where outsiders rate their horses, but this week they may get their due. A pair of powerhouse performances by Japanese heroes Orfevre and Lord Kanaloa have left the world’s official handicappers hastily convening conference calls as they decide where to place them before the final 2013 rankings are released on Thursday. The trouble with the awards for highest-rated horses in the categories of sprint, middle distance and staying distance events being handed out at the gala ball before the Hong Kong International Races last year is that there were still a few big races remaining for 2013, including Sha Tin’s four December features. Lord Kanaloa smashed a quality field in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint – and that was before Orfevre’s magnificent swansong in the Arima Kinen that we covered a few weeks ago. Lord Kanaloa’s rating is set to rise to 128 from a previous best of 120 on Thursday, but judging from these comments by trainer Takayuki Yasuda after his five-length rampage, he won’t have lost any sleep over it. “The rankings aren’t really relevant in Japan, whether it is 120 or 125 we are really not concerned,” he said post-race at Sha Tin. A rating of 120 had Lord Kanaloa equal 40th, along with fellow sprinters Lucky Nine, Epaulette and Shea Shea, and just behind Lethal Force and Pierro on 121. The expected move to 128 would place Lord Kanaloa behind unbeaten mare Black Caviar (130) and equal fourth with German star Novellist. So where will Orfevre fit in? It’s hard to say he can go better than 130 if that’s what Treve is rated after she smashed him by five lengths in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. What is interesting to note is the suggestion that the most endearing of Japanese qualities – politeness – could have contributed to lower ratings than some of the country’s horses deserve. Even their second and third stringers are a constant threat – think Delta Blues and Pop Rock running the quinella in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, or Rulership smashing rivals in the QEII Cup at Sha Tin in 2012. That aforementioned trio were all regarded as Group Two horses in their homeland, yet produced dominant displays. So along with an indifference to the ratings, when it comes time for the rankings committee to meet it’s easy to imagine some jurisdictions being louder than others, and the Japanese being a touch meek when it comes times to banging their fists on the round table and speaking up. Formerly known as the world thoroughbred ratings, and back in 1977 when they began as the International Classifications, they began as a way for English, Irish and French pattern committees to decide which races should be classed as Group One, Two or Three. In the modern era of globetrotting racehorses, they still help handicappers sort through overseas entries, but the far more important role is that of generating discussion and promoting racing overall. We not only get to argue over who is better – Black Caviar or Lord Kanaloa, despite them never racing against each other – but when the next unbeaten colt comes along, we get to line up where he ranks against Frankel. Just as tennis or golf fans can see where their heroes rank, racing fans should be able to do the same. So now to Orfevre. Where will his Arima Kinen performance rank? Hopefully, the extreme diplomacy of the Japanese racing officials is taken into account when it comes time to rate one of the greatest efforts of the past 12 months.