Horses of the decade: The highest-rated over jumps

First published Sunday, December 22

192 Sprinter Sacre

Sprinter Sacre produced the highest Timeform rating over jumps in the modern era, behind only Arkle and Flyingbolt, when winning the 2013 Champion Chase by 13 lengths, easily beating former winner Sizing Europe. He also achieved the notable feat of winning top-level races at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown that season, proving his dominance in no uncertain terms. He never quite reached those heights again from a ratings perspective, but he did remarkably well to recover from a heart issue to win all four starts during the 2015/16 season, notably recapturing his Champion Chase crown.  

And who can remember when Sprinter Sacre produced a memory to last a lifetime in the Champion Chase? 😍pic.twitter.com/iquiBjm2H1

— CheltenhamRacecourse (@CheltenhamRaces) March 11, 2019

191 Kauto Star

Kauto Star actually achieved his peak rating of 191 six days before the start of this decade, when bolting up by 36 lengths in the 2009 King George, but he was deemed capable of running to that level in this decade, so he is included. It would be difficult to omit Kauto Star as, while the bulk of his victories, including two Gold Cup wins, occurred in the previous decade, he still achieved plenty in this timeframe, notably a scarcely believable fifth King George in 2011. That would be the final victory of a remarkable career notable for its longevity and unprecedented success, with his 16 Grade 1s achieved at distances between two miles and three and a quarter miles.

184 Long Run

Long Run’s achievements are sometimes overlooked as he had the misfortune of being around in the same time as Kauto Star and Denman, but he was a top-class chaser who won the King George twice and the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup. His Gold Cup success was all the more noteworthy as he became the first six-year-old since Mill House in 1963 to land the contest.

WATCH: The remarkable story of Long Run’s 2011 Gold Cup win told through the eyes of his rider @swaleycohen!

🎥 @CheltenhamRaces pic.twitter.com/7ZOhBLNFA3

— Great British Racing (@GBRacing) March 2, 2019

183 Don Cossack

Don Cossack always had a huge reputation and, while it took him time to live up to his billing, he eventually achieved everything expected of him, winning the 2016 Gold Cup to make amends for his late exit in the King George. Don Cossack had started to fulfil his promise the previous season, winning the Melling Chase by 26 lengths before comfortably landing the Punchestown Gold Cup, and it’s Timeform’s belief he would have won the King George, in which Cue Card edged out Vautour, had he not fallen when challenging at the second-last. It’s a shame he never raced again after his comfortable Gold Cup success but he had already proved himself to be an outstanding performer.

182 Douvan

Injury has so far prevented Douvan from winning the prizes his talent deserves, but he has already shown a rare level of ability. He won his first 13 starts for Willie Mullins and was never hard pressed to prevail. His victory in the 2016 Paddy Power Cashcard Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting reads especially well as Sizing John was beaten eight lengths. The score between the two – admittedly over distances short of Sizing John’s best - stands at 7-0 to Douvan.

182 Imperial Commander

Like Long Run, Imperial Commander’s legacy has suffered due to him being around at the same time as Denman and Kauto Star, and a lack of consistency has perhaps also contributed to him not being remembered as fondly as he deserves. However, he was a top-class horse on his day, and he enjoyed a few special occasions, none more so than in the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup, when everything clicked and he put on a relentless display of galloping to beat Denman.