Which racehorses have earned the most money?

The explosion of international racing in the last 40 years has led to much greater opportunities for the cream of Flat performers to extend their careers and rack up huge earnings.

Starting in the 1980s with the Arlington Million and the Breeders' Cup in the United States, a global circuit has been created with the growing importance of Dubai, Japan, Australia and Hong Kong, while the arrival of the Saudi Cup card has further broadened the financial horizons.

So just how much prize-money have the best racehorses won?

10: Enable, Queen of the Turf

Earnings: £10,724,320

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe first emerged as a contender to be considered Europe's greatest all-aged race in the years after the Second World War and its standing was cemented in a golden era during the early 1970s by legends such as Mill Reef and Allez France.

Winning the Arc more than once in the modern era is a mark of true greatness and Enable became the eighth horse to achieve that feat in 2018, and only the third since Ribot's second triumph in 1956.

Her bid for a historic hat-trick came up just short when she was overhauled by Waldgeist in 2019 and she could finish only sixth at the age of six the following year.

Enable: star mare's longevity helped her build an incredible portfolio of big-race triumphsCredit: Edward Whitaker

But her longevity helped build an incredible portfolio of big-race triumphs, including an unprecedented three King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, as well as the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs.

Remarkably for a horse in the top ten, that was her only start outside Europe and it is a testament to owner Khalid Abdullah, trainer John Gosden and jockey Frankie Dettori that she was able to climb so high without ever racing for the riches on offer in the Middle or Far East.

9: Mishriff, racing's Mr Versatile

Earnings: £11,158,059

In 2021, Mishriff eclipsed Enable as the second most financially successful thoroughbred in Europe (and in John Gosden's yard) thanks to his twin Middle Eastern strikes in the Saudi Cup – a $20m dirt race that looks guaranteed to shape the top of the global rich list in the coming years and which currently dwarfs any other in value – and the $5m Dubai Sheema Classic back on turf.

Testing a horse's ability to perform on both surfaces at the top level is extremely rare and most attempts end in failure, although two of Europe's finest at the beginning of the century, Giant's Causeway and Sakhee, both came agonisingly close to winning a Breeders' Cup Classic on American dirt.

Money-spinning Mishriff and David Egan storm to victory in the Juddmonte InternationalCredit: Edward Whitaker

While the bulk of Mishriff's earnings come from those victories in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, he has achieved glittering success in Europe too, with the Prix du Jockey Club and Juddmonte International trophies on owner-breeder Prince Faisal's mantelpiece.

Mishriff is the biggest earner currently active and, while he finished last on his return to the Saudi Cup in 2022, he still has chances to go much higher. Should Gosden and Prince Faisal fancy a first try at the Arc, a place in the all-time top three is not beyond him.

8: Kitasan Black, a horse worth singing about

Earnings: £11,454,079

The strength of the punting Yen and thus the high levels of prize-money available in Japan are only two of the most obvious reasons why horses trained in that nation feature so prominently in our top ten.

A not inconsiderable factor is the Japanese preference for keeping even their top-notchers in training until at least the end of their five-year-old season, with the riches on offer in Grade 1 races every bit as enticing as the fees that can be charged in the breeding sheds.

Even allowing for such factors, to have Kitasan Black at number eight demonstrates the strength of Japan's financial muscle, given that he never raced abroad.

Kitasan Black: Japanese ace gained popularity on account of his gutsy front-running styleCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

A son of the unheralded sire Black Tide – whose main claim to fame was as a brother to the mighty Deep Impact – Kitasan Black gained immense popularity on account of his gutsy front-running style, his association with legendary jockey Yutaka Take, and (most unusually) his owner.

A well-known singer of sentimental ballads, Ono Shoji would serenade Kitasan Black after every major success – and there was plenty to sing about. His career highlights included three Emperor's Cups – two Tenno Sho Spring titles over two miles and a Tenno Sho Autumn at a mile and a quarter – as well as a Japan Cup and an emotional swansong in the 2017 Arima Kinen.

7: Orfevre, the sublime and the ridiculous

Earnings: £12,185,908

The €5m Arc remains an important part of the big-money circuit, ensuring that dual runner-up Orfevre eclipses Kitasan Black as the third-richest retiree in Japan, a country with fabulously lucrative opportunities for those who never leave home.

Orfevre quickly took high rank for trainer Yasutoshi Ikee as a three-year-old in 2011, winning the Japanese Triple Crown and topping off his three-year-old campaign with victory in the Arima Kinen at Christmas.

Ikee is the son of Deep Impact's trainer Yasuo and had travelled to France in 2006 as assistant when his nation's greatest-ever thoroughbred launched an ill-starred bid for the Arc, finishing third before being disqualified after testing positive for a substance that at the time was not banned in Japan.

Orfevre being reeled in by Solemia (white sleeves) in a dramatic finish to the Arc of 2012Credit: Edward Whitaker

Orfevre gave Ikee his own dreams of Arc glory and went so close to making them true in 2012. The son of Stay Gold overcame a wide trip and rain-sodden Longchamp turf to surge clear, only to suffer some form of equine brain-fade close home and hand victory to Solemia by a neck.

The following year he returned in excellent shape in his attempt to go one better, but again had to settle for second behind a rampant Treve.

Orfevre rounded off his career with an eight-length stroll in the Arima Kinen and may be one of the most talented Arc runners never to win the race Japanese horsemen covet more than any other.

Apart from a place in the history books, victory in either of those two attempts would have moved him up from seven to three on the all-time earnings list.

6: Gentildonna, a winning machine in Japan and Dubai

Earnings: £12,224,036

Japan may boast eye-watering levels of prize-money but it is a winning trip to Dubai – and now Saudi Arabia – that has the power to make a top earner into an equine plutocrat.

Like Orfevre, Gentildonna raced in the red crossbelts of the Sunday Racing syndicate, an offshoot of Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm breeding empire.

Trained by Sei Ishizaka, the daughter of Deep Impact blazed a trail through her three-year-old season in 2012, winning the Triple Tiara of fillies' Classics before edging out Orfevre by a nose in the Japan Cup.

Gentildonna: Sheema Classic winner and the first horse to land back-to-back Japan CupsCredit: Edward Whitaker

That run of success came under jockey Yasunari Iwata but even better was to follow a year later as she became the first horse to win back-to-back Japan Cups, this time under Ryan Moore, a switch that came after a four-length defeat to Just A Way in the Tenno Sho Autumn.

Gentildonna was first sent abroad at the age of four but had to settle for second behind St Nicholas Abbey in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

With Moore again booked there was no stopping her in the same race 12 months later as she glided clear of Cirrus Des Aigles, laying to rest any suggestion she could not reproduce her home form outside Japan.

5: Gun Runner, the slow burner

Earnings: £12,238,136

Many of the horses in our top ten struck up formidable partnerships with one particular jockey – think Frankie Dettori and Enable or Yutaka Take and Kitasan Black – and here is another.

French-born Florent Geroux has flourished since moving to his adopted home in the United States and one of the major drivers in his rise to the top was the career of Gun Runner.

The son of Candy Ride broke his Grade 1 duck on the final attempt of his nine-race three-year-old campaign in the Clark Handicap, before going on a lucrative winning spree the following season that saw him crowned 2017 Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards.

Florent Geroux celebrates Breeders' Cup Classic victory aboard the brilliant Gun RunnerCredit: Edward Whitaker

Trainer Steve Asmussen campaigned Gun Runner aggressively again in that marquee year and, having chased home Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup, he collected four straight Grade 1 victories, tearing through the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs, the Whitney and the Woodward at Saratoga and then an all-the-way success in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

Gun Runner's lofty rank among the top earners was secured on his final start before retiring to Three Chimneys Farm when he pouched more than £5m in the Pegasus World Cup, a race that for three years exceeded the Dubai World Cup as the richest prize on the thoroughbred planet before sinking back to more mortal sums in 2020.

4: Thunder Snow, the Prince of Dubai

Earnings: £12,671,800

Number one on the European earnings list – and number four globally – is Thunder Snow, whose back-to-back wins in the Dubai World Cups of 2018 and 2019 accounted for more than £10.1m of his £12.6m haul.

Put another way, 80 per cent of his win and placed prize-money boiled down to just over four minutes of racing.

Not that there was any fluke about either of those victories, while trainer Saeed bin Suroor and owner Godolphin deserve credit for the ambitious way they campaigned Thunder Snow.

Thunder Snow: Dubai World Cups wins accounted for more than £10.1m of his £12.6m haulCredit: Edward Whitaker

Having rounded off a six-race juvenile campaign with success in the Group 1 Criterium International, the son of Helmet enjoyed his trips to France the following summer, winning the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat and finishing third in the Prix Jacques le Marois.

But by then a win in the UAE Derby had already proved Thunder Snow's effectiveness on dirt and, in addition to his two World Cup victories, he also ran a courageous third in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic.

3: Almond Eye, Japan's darling

Earnings: £13,100,836

No Japanese-trained horse since Deep Impact has had such a global impact as Almond Eye, even though she raced only once outside her homeland.

The brilliant daughter of Lord Kanaloa became the record-holder for the number of Japanese Grade 1 victories with eight and every new success brought even greater desire from her foreign fans to see Almond Eye board a plane.

Her three-year-old season in 2018 was a procession, as she matched Gentildonna's feat of scooping all three fillies' Classics and then shattered the world record for a mile and a half when stopping the clock at 2m 20.6s in the Japan Cup.

Her next start was the Dubai Turf at Meydan and jockey Christophe Lemaire and trainer Sakae Kunieda were the toast of the town in the run-up to what became a straightforward dismissal of compatriot Vivlos and the evergreen Lord Glitters.

Almond Eye: Dubai trip revealed the potential for the leading Japanese mare to overheatCredit: Edward Whitaker

Unfortunately that trip revealed the potential for Almond Eye to overheat and, while it was only a mild temperature that prevented her from travelling to Hong Kong at the end of the year, any plans to visit Europe with her ended in the desert.

Two of her three subsequent starts in 2019 ended in defeat but she did pick up the first of a pair of wins in the Tenno Sho Autumn.

Her 2020 campaign as a five-year-old was a farewell tour of majestic proportions, with the Victoria Mile and a successful defence of the Tenno Sho Autumn serving as an appetiser before she beat a pair of Triple Crown winners in Contrail and Daring Tact to seal an emotional farewell success in the Japan Cup.

2: Arrogate, explosive and brilliant

Earnings: £13,622,542

In the early 1980s the trailblazing John Henry added his fortune brick by brick over a career spanning 83 starts, winning the inaugural Arlington Million in 1981 and becoming the first thoroughbred to pass $4m in earnings.

Arrogate earned the vast majority of his astonishing haul in four explosive starts, starting with a 13½-length romp in the 2016 Travers Stakes at Saratoga.

Arrogate: overcame a slow start to pass the entire field and win the 2017 Dubai World CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Khalid Abdullah's classy grey son of Unbridled's Song then ran down reigning Horse of the Year California Chrome in an epic Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, a result he comprehensively underlined when the pair met again in the inaugural $12m Pegasus World Cup in January 2017, winning by four and three-quarter lengths as California Chrome trailed in ninth.

Arguably his finest hour came in the Dubai World Cup two months later when he overcame a slow start to pass the entire field including Gun Runner, who as we have already seen was no slouch at number five on the all-time global earnings list.

1: Winx the wonderful

Earnings: £14,564,743

Real-term increases in prize-money have promoted Australia's best horses of recent seasons into the upper reaches of the global elite.

The buy-in riches of the Everest were twice scooped by Redzel, putting him at number 15 on the list, while in the early part of 2022 Nature Strip and Verry Elleegant have continued to climb the rankings at some pace.

But the achievement of Winx in overhauling Arrogate without ever leaving home is testament to much more than the riches on offer in Australia.

Winx: Aussie wondermare won a world record 25 Group 1 races including four Cox PlatesCredit: Scott Barbour (Getty Images)

A phenomenal 33-race winning streak stretched from the Group 3 Sunshine Coast Guineas in the autumn of her three-year-old season all the way to her final start when she landed the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at seven.

During those four years she won a world record 25 Group 1 races including four victories in the Cox Plate, Australia's premier weight-for-age race.

Her mammoth final total put her nearly £1m clear of Arrogate, having never been asked to contest Australia's richest race, the Melbourne Cup.

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