Christophe Lemaire left to ponder Equinox's greatness after Japanese superstar wins World's Best Racehorse award

Christophe Lemaire said the 135 rating Equinox received at the World's Best Racehorse awards on Tuesday afternoon could easily have been surpassed had he asked the Japanese superstar for maximum effort. 

The four-year-old was rated 7lb clear of the superb Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact and Prince of Wales's and Juddmonte International hero Mostahdaf at a ceremony in London, where the Japan Cup was also named the world's best race for the first time. 

"He’s rated 135 but he wasn’t challenged last year," the jockey said. "We don’t know how far or fast he can go and for me it’s only numbers but I can tell you he could have been better if I’d have pushed him hard or used the whip.

"I always think about the next race. Once the race has been won, there’s no need to push hard. He was a superstar because of his performances. He had an aura and an attitude. The way he won made him a movie star, a superstar."

Equinox received the accolade following a spellbinding season, which also included successes in the Sheema Classic, Takarazuka Kinen and Tenno Sho (Autumn), which all featured in the top ten world rankings for best race. 

Although 5lb lower than Flightline, who was named the world's best racehorse last year when equalling Frankel's 140 figure from 2012, Equinox became the next highest-rated winner since runaway King George scorer Harbinger in 2010. 

He now stands alongside him at Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido for a record-breaking opening fee of ¥20 million (approx. $140,000), and Lemaire described the Tetsuya Kimura-trained star as 'the perfect racehorse'.  

"Riding him was quite enjoyable," he said. "Each time he ran there was big expectation but I had so much confidence that I had no fear. The way he ran was just amazing. I tried to do my job as well as possible and it was a great journey.

"My job was just to get him a good start and get him into the right position to let him express his talent. He was the perfect racehorse."

It marks the second time the award has been given to a Japanese-trained horse after Just A Way took the honours in 2014. Equinox's rating was the highest a horse from the nation has achieved under the current system, beating El Condor Pasa's figure of 134 in 1999.

That year Daylami and Montjeu shared the award, reaching the same 135 rating as Equinox. It puts him 1lb behind the figure the mighty Sea The Stars achieved in 2009 and 1lb superior to American Pharoah, who was top ranked after winning the Triple Crown in 2015, and Arrogate, who was successful following lucrative campaigns in 2016 and 2017.

Equinox was paraded during his retirement ceremony at Nakayama Racecourse last year

Ace Impact and Mostahdaf shared second place in the best racehorse rankings on 128. Big Rock and Hukum received a rating of 127, Golden Sixty and Westover were next on 126, while Lucky Sweynesse and Auguste Rodin were joint-eighth on 125. Cody's Wish, Do Deuce, Paddington, Titleholder and White Abarrio completed the leading pack on 124.

Longines World's Best Racehorse rankings

135 Equinox
128 Ace Impact
128 Mostahdaf
127 Big Rock
127 Hukum
126 Golden Sixty
126 Westover
125 Auguste Rodin
125 Lucky Sweynesse
124 Cody's Wish
124 Do Deuce
124 Paddington
124 Titleholder
124 White Abarrio

Read more . . .

City Of Troy on 125 and 5lb clear of his rivals at the top of weakened European two-year-old classification 

'I realised again how strong he is' - world's best racehorse Equinox delivers another stunning win in Takarazuka Kinen

Christophe Lemaire: 'Equinox has the same qualities as Frankel and Treve'

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