Stephen Hunt rates our leading horses from the season
Stephen Hunt • August 1st, 2025 11:27 AM • 4 min read
Performance Ratings – Top 10 Rated 2YO’s for season 24/25
- Based on the AVG of their top two, unless just one career start, where that figure is used.
- Always fascinating with 2YO’s to consider who has shown their best? Who will elevate to top class levels?
Return To Conquer recorded four wins from as many starts this season, culminating with the Group 1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) on Champions Day. Early in his campaign the colt showed plenty of gate speed, either at the trials or in his first two races when leading and dominating his rivals, but later he showed his adaptability and tactical versatility, highlighted in the Sistema Stakes when settling mid-field and asserting himself in a fast run race, a testament to his class. Although his ratings have yet to reach elite territory, posting 84.5, 91 and 93 (twice) from his first four starts is a notable achievement. The level of consistent quality is rare in a young horse, suggesting that there is still untapped potential as he matures.
La Dorada dominated her opposition in the Group 1 Sires over 1400m with a 93 rating win by 3.5 lengths, outstripping her previous best rating of 90 (Matamata Breeders) by 1.5 lengths. As visually impressive as she was, measures on the clock didn’t quite back up the Trentham performance. The seven-year winner average before this year was 96.2, approximately 1.6 lengths higher. This aligned with the ongoing trend of this season's two-year-old crop underperforming compared to past generations.
Performance Ratings – Top 10 Rated 3YO’s for season 24/25
- Based on average of their top two rated performances (Australian runs included).
Alabama Lass entered the season widely regarded as one of the country’s most promising three-year-olds fillies, following a light two-year-old campaign highlighted by a debut 98 rated win at Matamata. She appeared ready to realise her full potential with a 98.5 rated first-up victory at Taupo over 1100m. Then ran 99.2 when winning the Group 3 Gold Trail Stakes at Hastings. However, that performance remained her peak for that preparation, as subsequent runs delivered ratings of 94.7 in the Group 2 Soliloquy Stakes over 1400m, 94.1 in the Group 1 1000 Guineas over 1600m. Her 1400/1600m efforts reignited my original belief that she was better suited to 1200m, which was the distance when exploding to a new peak rating of 103 with an emphatic win in the Group 3 Kings Plate. This was a significant leap from her previous best of 99.2, dominating the race by 5.7 lengths. The fact that she was able to put such a big margin on Crocetti with the supporting figures on the clock, it was impossible to rate any lower. This also marked the top performance by any horse of any age in New Zealand this season, surpassing Grail Seeker’s 102 when winning the Telegraph. She then concluded the season by bringing her strong New Zealand form to Australia and justifying her market backing with a 98 rated win over 1100m at Flemington. While this fell short of her impressive 103 peak, it aligned with some of her earlier NZ wins, but more importantly the race gave her valuable black type print from across the Tasman.
Savaglee had an outstanding season, with five wins and three placing from eight starts. The high point was arguably his 98.2 rated win in the Group 1 2000 Guineas, where that day he towered above his opposition on ratings, and the race played out that way, justifying his favouritism with a comfortable 2.8 length win which also continued the tremendous record favourites have in the race, winning 11 of the past 13 editions. Later in the season he surpassed that rating with a 98.6 2nd placing in the $1M Australian Guineas at Flemington over 1600m. Other notable performances included a 95.5 win (Hawkes Bay Guineas), a 98 win (Sarten Memorial) and a 95 win (Levin Classic), reinforcing his reputation for being consistent at the highest level.
Willydoit provided trainers Shaun & Emma Clotworthy with the biggest win of their career, when taking out the Group 1 NZ Derby. However, leading in there were trepidations after the Tarzino gelding ran well below expectations in the Avondale Guineas, but supporters stuck strong with Willydoit, sending him out as a $3.70 favourite for Derby redemption. With the Avondale Guineas run at a crawl, Willydoit thrived on the much stronger pace and pressure of the Derby, rating an impressive 98. He followed up with a 94.6 rating in his next start, a 4th in the ATC Australian Derby (excuses caught wide). His ideal distance remains uncertain - while his peak performance sits at 2400m, a brilliant 96 win over 1600m at Ellerslie suggested he could excel at shorter trips. It will be intriguing to see how the Maher stable maps out his Spring campaign.
Damask Rose delivered one of the standout moments of the season with her breathtaking win in the inaugural NZB Kiwi. Blake Shinn’s bold decision to make a rails run from the 500m mark was masterful, but half the credit belonged to Damask Rose, who made the daring ride look even more spectacular by producing a peak 96 WFA Performance Rating, up from the 92.7 she ran to win the NZB Karaka Million.
Performance Ratings – Top 10 Rated older horses (4YO+) for season 24/25
- Based on average of their top two rated performances.
- Horses with only one NZ run for the season are omitted. They include Here To Shock (101).
- It's a crowded bunch behind this top 10 with nine other horses between 93 and 96, including dual Group 1 winner Provence (93.1).
El Vencedor affirmed his position as the best rated middle-distance galloper in the country with a 101 rating win in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes and a 101.8 win in the Fulton Family Stakes over 1500m. Those wins gave him the two highest rated middle-distance performances this season, ahead of Snazzytavi’s 100 rating win in the Livamol Classic. His consistency over the summer period at the elite level was remarkable, something we don’t often see.
Grail Seeker, etched her name in the history books with victory in the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy, running an overall time of 1:21.46, the fastest since 2006 when Seachange ran 1:21.13. Her performance earned a rating of 97.5 when normalised to weight-for-age, surpassing her previous best rating of 92.0, achieved as a three-year-old. She then made a brilliant return (119 days), winning the Group 1 Telegraph over 1200m. I landed on a rating of 102, the clock was stronger than that but I’m not sure I trust it entirely with Sacred Satono rating half a length off its best and Navigator producing a big new peak (91.8 to 96). Her 102 rating is the highest in the race since at least 2016 and sits 1.7 lengths above the race average. Levante (101.5 in 2022) and Avantage (101.5 in 2020) are the next best. Despite not meeting expectations after her Telegraph win, the combined ratings of 97.5 and 102 still positions her second only to El Vencedor. She’ll have another chance to build on his early promise when she looks to defend her title in the first Group 1 race of the new season.
Snazzytavi established herself as a top tier WFA performer this season with an impressive 100 rated win in the Group 1 Livamol Classic over 2040m at Te Rapa. She delivered yet another top-class performance with her 1.8 length victory in the Group 2 Cal Isuzu Stakes, running a 97 rating, then she recorded her second 100 rating from her win in the Group 1 Zabeel Classic where she ran down La Crique, but unfortunately this was to be her final run of the season as she got struck with an acute case of laminitis.
La Crique was involved in a couple of epic showdowns with El Vencedor (Bonecrusher Stakes) and Snazzytavi (Zabeel Classic) but was a close 2nd on both occasions. In fact, La Crique finished runner-up in four straight Group 1 races, beaten 0.1 lengths, 3 lengths, 0.1 lengths and 0.3 lengths. Her season PB was a 99.4 rating from her 2nd placing in the Bonecrusher Stakes, well short of her 102.2 peak when winning the G1 Arrowfield Stud Plate back in 2022.
