Thursday 28th January 2010
High rank for 2009 Stan James-sponsored 2000 Guineas
Sea The Stars - brillaint winner of the 2009 stanjames.com 2000 Guineas
THE 2009 stanjames.com 2000 Guineas has been assessed as the joint-third best race in the world for last year.
The assessment was calculated upon the methods deployed by the European Pattern Committee to measure the quality of races using the ratings provided by the World Rankings Supervisory Committee.
Sea The Stars began his epic journey of six straight Group 1 wins with success in the year’s first Classic, defeating Delegator with the top-class Rip Van Winkle and Mastercraftsman held in fourth and fifth respectively.
The 12th horse home that day, Lord Shanakill, went on to score in Group 1 company, while Monitor Closely (8th) and Finjaan (9th) won Group 2s and the 11th-placed runner Ouqba was successful in a subsequent Group 3 at Royal Ascot.
It is the second year on the trot that the Stan James-sponsored 2000 Guineas has featured among the top four races in the world.
Newmarket’s Director of Racing Michael Prosser said: "The 2009 Stan James-sponsored 2000 Guineas was a vintage renewal by anyone’s assessment and reaffirms its status as one of the world’s most important and prestigious races."
The Derby was rated the top race of 2009 ahead of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with the StanJames.Com 2000 Guineas and the Eclipse tied for third.
The Darley July Cup also took high rank as it was assessed the best turf sprint in the world last year.
Fleeting Spirit came home victorious leaving a host of Group One winners from across the world in her wake.
Among those beaten that day were Australian sprint stars Scenic Blast and Takeover Target, South African speedster JJ The Jet Plane and brilliant home-grown talent such as King’s Apostle and Paco Boy.
Prosser added: "Year after year Newmarket stages the very best contests and produces a host of stars – just like the magnificent and unforgettable Sea The Stars and the scintillating Fleeting Spirit."
