How does Baaeed compare to the best horses in recent years?
Timeform ratings analysis | Best horses since Frankel
By Tony McFadden
18:42 · MON May 16, 2022
Following Baaeed's dominant victory in the Lockinge Stakes, Tony McFadden highlights which horses trained in Britain or Ireland have achieved the highest Timeform rating since the days of Frankel.
It is nearly ten years since Frankel put up the best performance in Timeform's history when he beat Excelebration by 11 lengths in the 2012 Queen Anne Stakes, earning a rating of 147.
Unsurprisingly, no horse since has come close to reaching that lofty figure. In fact, only a dozen other horses have reached the 140 benchmark since Timeform was founded in 1948.
However, Baaeed on Saturday staked his claim to being considered the best miler since Frankel, earning a Timeform rating of 134 for his Lockinge win, equaling the level reached by Kingman.
Here's how Baaeed's Timeform rating compares to the peak annual rating achieved by the best horses from Britain and Ireland in the last decade.
136 Battaash
Consistency may not have been his strong suit but Battaash was untouchable when at the top of his game – he was crowned Timeform's champion sprinter in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a champion sprinter, Battaash was at his blistering best when facing conditions that placed the emphasis on raw speed.
He had disappointed in the Nunthorpe in 2017 and 2018, but there was no reason why York's flat, speed-favouring five furlongs wouldn't suit and he set the record straight in scintillating style in 2019, lowering Dayjur's long-standing track record with a three-and-three-quarter-length success.
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That was the third time he ran to a Timeform performance rating of 136 – he had also done so in the King George Stakes and Prix de l'Abbaye in 2017 – and it highlighted his status as one of the best sprinters of recent memory.
136 Cracksman
Frankel signed off on his stunning career with victory in the Champion Stakes and his best son, Cracksman, was also hugely impressive in that event, winning by wide margins in 2017 and 2018.
Cracksman had come up just short in the Derby and Irish Derby, finishing third and then runner-up respectively, but he was learning on the job and stylish victories in the Great Voltigeur and Prix Niel suggested he was something special.
He proved that in no uncertain terms in the 2017 Champion Stakes, powering clear up the straight. His four-year-old campaign didn't go smoothly as he scrambled home in the Coronation Cup before meeting with defeat in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, but, given a break and fitted with blinkers, he returned to his best on Champions Day, winning just as impressively as he had the year before.
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134 Baaeed
Baaeed didn't make it to the track as a two-year-old, but he quickly made up for lost time at three. He only made his debut in June but had four wins to his name by the end of July, looking every inch a Group One performer in the making.
He comfortably handled the step up to Group One company in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp, but the QEII Stakes and a clash with the reigning champion miler Palace Pier would pose a much sterner test of his credentials. It was a test he passed with flying colours, getting the better of his top-class rival by a neck.
Baaeed returned with an impressive three-and-a-quarter-length success in the Lockinge Stakes on Saturday, taking his unbeaten record to seven and edging his rating up to 134. He is currently Timeform's highest-rated horse in training, passing the worldwide benchmark set by Flightline (133p) and the British one set by Adayar and Mishriff (131).
READ: Timeform's report of Baaeed's Lockinge win
134 Enable
Enable enjoyed a remarkable career, winning 15 of her 19 starts, including 11 in Group One company.
She showed admirable consistency, winning at the highest level at three, four, five and six. But she was perhaps at her very peak as a three-year-old when putting together a remarkable run that included wins in the Oaks, Irish Oaks, King George, Yorkshire Oaks and culminated with victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
That comfortable two-and-a-half-length success over Cloth Of Stars earned Enable her peak Timeform rating of 134, but it's worth remembering that she received a 3 lb fillies' allowance, so it would have taken a performance in excess of 137 for a male to have beaten her.
134 Golden Horn
Like Enable, Golden Horn was trained by John Gosden, ridden by Frankie Dettori and enjoyed a stellar three-year-old campaign.
Golden Horn raced only once at two and was retired at the end of his three-year-old season, but he packed plenty into that stellar summer of 2015, proving himself the best of his generation.
Golden Horn won six of his eight starts at three, including the Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
He consistently produced performances out of the top-drawer but, according to the figures, was at his very best in the Eclipse, when he comfortably brushed aside a high-class performer in The Grey Gatsby.
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134 Kingman
Baaeed and Kingman share the honour of being the highest-rated milers in the post-Frankel age, but there's a feeling that Kingman might have reached an even loftier figure than 134 given the opportunity.
Few horses in recent memory have been as exciting as Kingman, whose explosive turn of foot was a potent weapon and was seen to great effect in the St James's Palace Stakes when he exacted revenge on his 2000 Guineas conqueror Night of Thunder.
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The Irish 2000 Guineas, Sussex Stakes and Jacques le Marois were also run at a steady tempo, which suited Kingman who was far too fast for his rivals. But, on the other hand, there's a feeling that given a proper gallop Kingman could have shown the true extent of his superiority and rated even higher.
134 Muhaarar
Before Battaash and Baaeed, Muharaar carried Sheikh Hamdan's silks with distinction, dominating the sprint division in a manner rarely seen.
It can feel like sprinters sometimes take it in turns to win Group Ones, but in the summer of 2015 Muhaarar proved a class apart, winning the Commonwealth Cup, July Cup, Prix Maurice de Gheest and Champions Sprint.
He saved the best for last in the Champions Sprint, readily drawing a couple of lengths clear of Sprint Cup winner Twilight Son.
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134 Pinatubo
Pinatubo disappointed as a three-year-old, for all he was successful at Group One level in the Prix Jean Prat, but he was an exceptional juvenile.
In fact, the rating of 134 Pinatubo earned was the highest awarded to a two-year-old since Celtic Swing was rated 138 following his Racing Post Trophy romp in 1994.
Pinatubo was successful on all six starts as a juvenile, with the undoubted highlight coming in the National Stakes at the Curragh, which he won in remarkable style by nine lengths.
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