(Edited press release)
The Jockey Club of Canada announced Feb. 7 the 2006 edition of the Canadian Thoroughbred Ratings. Any horse that competed in a stakes race in Canada in 2006 was eligible to be rated on their best performance at any distance.
Collier Hill and Go Deputy tied for the top rating overall in Canada at 117 for their first and second place performances in Pattison Canadian International (Can-I) on Woodbine's E.P. Taylor turf course. Arravale, Canada's Horse of the Year and champion female turf horse in 2006, received a top rating of 113 in the intermediate distance category for her winning performance in the E.P. Taylor Stakes (Can-I).
Judiths Wild Rush, Canada's champion sprinter in 2005 and 2006, leads the sprint distance category with a rating of 109 for his first place finish in the Vigil Stakes (Can-II), while Fast Parade earned a rating of 112 for his sprint distance performance on the turf in the Nearctic Stakes (Can-II).
In the intermediate distance category, the 5 year-old horse Cryptograph earned a rating of 109 for his third-place finish in the Dominion Day Stakes (Can-III). In the long distance category, Canada's 2006 champion male turf horse, Shillelagh Slew, earned a rating of 105 for his victory in the Canadian Derby (Can-III), and True Metropolitan, Canada's 2006 champion older male Horse, also earned a rating of 105 for his third-place finish in the Valedictory Stakes.
True Metropolitan and Shillelagh Slew tied in another category, the mile distance, with a rating of 108 for their first-place performances in the Woodbine Slots Cup Stakes (Can-III) and Ontario Derby (Can-III), respectively. Ad Valorem leads the mile distance category on the turf with a rating of 116 for his third-place finish in the Woodbine Mile Stakes (Can-I).
Two-year-old filly Dreaming of Anna earned a rating of 107 for her win in the Summer Stakes (Can-III), and 2-year-old colt Skip Code earned a rating of 108 for his victory in the Grey Breeders' Cup (Can-III).
The ratings were complied by Steve Lym, racing secretary for Woodbine Entertainment Group, and are published by The Jockey Club of Canada. The ratings are determined by applying a criteria similar to that used by the World Thoroughbred Rankings panel to rate horses using the following distance categories: sprint, mile, intermediate, long, and extended. Sprint ratings cover races up to 7 1/2 furlongs, mile distances include those greater than 7 1/2 furlongs and less than 1-3/16 miles, and intermediate distances range from 1 3/16 miles to 1 5/16 miles.The long and extended categories are combined and cover any distance longer than 1 5/16 miles. Weight concessions and a beaten-lengths formula are also factored into the ratings.