3YO Power Rankings - November

We have had a Kiwi winner of the Victorian Derby and two 3YO Group 1's since the last edition of the Power Rankings. It has been a pretty good couple of weeks for Fastnet Rock with two of his progeny becoming Group 1 winners in the Guineas races. Once again this is a count down from ten to one, brackets to indicate the ranking last month.

Power Rankings
Dropped from Rankings: Holy Moly (6), Shuka (7), Artistic (10)
Honourable Mention:  Abeautifulred (hardest omission), Artistic (confusing run), Shanghai Bund (another great John Sargent middle distance horse?), Prestigious Miss (Not nominated for anything, injured?). Shuka (give another chance)

Number 10 - Burgundy (3) - He didn't have it in the 2000 Guineas, however he has to stay in the rankings because it appears he may have an excuse. Not sure when he will be back, but his performances up until this point indicate he will be a contender in whatever event that is.

Number 9 - Dollario (N/A) - Brilliant and gutsy leading run in the 2000 Guineas. As others were dropping out of it he seemed to keep finding more, we may look back at that third and the two who beat him in a years time and understand that he was simply beaten by two outstanding horses.

Number 8 - Duckworth Lewis (N/A) - Obviously he was not eligible to run in the 1000 Guineas, however after looking at his past two starts you cannot help but feel the conditions would have suited him. He has really emerged recently and should be an interesting contender in the Levin Classic. 

Number 7 -President Lincoln (8) - Another Gelding who the connections might have wished was a Filly after looking at the track conditions in Christchurch on the weekend. Like Duckworth Lewis he will be very interesting at the Levin Classic in a couple of weeks if we have a wet November.

Number 6 - Planet Rock (HM) - The Wellington run is the real enigma, lesser company than the victory on the weekend in the Thousand Guineas, both runs were on Heavy tracks, I think I will chalk it up to targeting the Guineas and getting fitter from that Wellington run. The run on the weekend was an interesting performance as she rode three wide without cover, that actually seemed to work to her advantage as she found herself on better ground for the finish despite having to cover more distance than some of the others, you have to give the credit to Hayden Tinsley who described it has an 'underrated' place to be.

Number 5 - Anabandana (2) - Scratched from the Thousand Guineas on the weekend due to track conditions. Seemed well placed throughout the 2000 Guineas and just couldn't quite overcome a strong performance from Rock'n'Pop.

Number 4 - Rock'n'Pop (9) - Got the dream run in the 2k Guineas and won well with Anabandana chasing hard. He is nominated in the Levin Classic, it is hard to know how he rates against Antonio Lombardo as they both were able to overcome Anabandana by similar margins last start.

Number 3 - Dowager Queen (4) - Since winning her last start in New Zealand in September she has traveled to Australia and performed very well placing in four of her five starts at Group level. It is not clear what she will be looking at when she returns to New Zealand, however she will shape up well against other 3YO's.

Number 2 - Antonio Lombardo (1) - Lost top spot in the rankings only on the strength of the victory of the top ranked horse. Currently aiming at the Levin Classic (which is shaping up to be a special race), it is not clear if we will see this colt before November 25th. 

Number 1 - Sangster (4) - Held on to win the Victorian Derby impressively, that warrants a jump up the rankings. Hard to know when we will next see this 3YO, however one would assume that the Auckland Derby is a distinct possibility.