Australia's sprint star rated just 3lb inferior to Dayjur

Australian sprint sensation Black Caviar [130] is setting a scorching pace in the race to be the highest rated horse of the year. Now the winner of all her eleven starts to date, including four at Group One level, Black Caviar put up her best performance yet when eased down to win the Lexus VRC Newmarket Handicap by three lengths under top weight, following on from a three and a quarter length romp in the Coolmore VRC Lightning Stakes, and she has already followed it up with a length and three quarter victory in the Pulse Pharmacy William Reid Stakes.

Black Caviar's rating of 130 puts her just 3lb behind Dayjur (USA) [133], the highest rated sprinter in the last thirty years. Dayjur topped the International Classifications in 1990 when he won six races, including the King's Stand Stakes, Keeneland Nunthorpe Stakes, Ladbroke Sprint Cup and the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.

J J The Jet Plane (SAF) [122] and Rocket Man [122] share second place in the sprinting division. J J The Jet Plane did not need to run to his best to take the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan on the Dubai World Cup card, having achieved his 122 rating for his victory in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December, while Rocket Man, who had finished just a short head behind the South African sprinter in Hong Kong, went one better with a decisive success in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, in which he had finished second the previous year.

The feature at Meydan, the Dubai World Cup, fell to Victoire Pisa (JPN) (122), who made a decisive move from the tail of the field in the back straight, and held all comers at bay in the straight to win by half a length from his fellow countryman Transcend (121), with strong finishing Monterosso [121] a diminishing neck away in third place.

Two other winning performances from the same meeting also make it into the current top 50, namely those put up by Presvis (121) and Rewilding (121). Presvis made it third time lucky in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes, putting up a career best performance in the process, while Rewilding recorded the widest margin win of the night in the Dubai Sheema Classic, defeating ultra consistent Redwood (115) by three and a quarter lengths.

Other notable highly rated victories so far in 2011 have come from Whobegotyou [120], Big Drama (USA) [119], Bold Silvano (SAF) [119] and Shocking (AUS) [119], all of whom reproduced their best from 2010.

Shocking gained his first success under weight-for-age conditions at the top level when the two length winner of the Dubai Australian Cup at Flemington in March, while Whobegotyou took the Blamey Stakes at the same course earlier that afternoon.

Big Drama ran away with the Mr Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park in January by four lengths, while Bold Silvano (SAF) was the impressive winner of the Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan in February.

World Thoroughbred Rankings, 27 March 2011