Timeform Awards launched to celebrate leading performances of 2023

Racehorse ratings experts Timeform will crown the leading horses and performances of the year at the inaugural Timeform Awards on Wednesday 20 December.

The Timeform Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate the Flat season’s success stories and will be announced digitally across Timeform’s social media channels. Articles analysing the achievements of the winners, and outlining how they were chosen, will be available on Timeform .com on 20 December.

Ever since Timeform was established in 1948, great care has been taken to keep the level of Timeform ratings consistent from one season to the next so that comparisons can meaningfully be made between contemporaries and between different generations. That has helped to earn Timeform ratings a long-held reputation as the definitive assessment of a horse’s ability.

There are eight awards on offer, and a top three will be announced for each category.

Leading contenders

Japanese superstar Equinox announced himself to a wider audience when lowering the track record in a high-class renewal of the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March and has continued to impress on the clock and on the eye.

Ace Impact also earned plenty of admirers throughout a flawless six-race campaign which began at Cagnes-Sur-Mer in January and ended with success in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp before he headed off to stud. He was the first Arc winner since Rail Link in 2006 who didn’t race as a juvenile.

Auguste Rodin was another to enjoy a memorable campaign. He bounced back from a flop in the 2000 Guineas to win the Derby, while he also added the Irish Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf to his haul. His trainer Aidan O’Brien also had another strong batch of juveniles in 2023, including City of Troy and Henry Longfellow who won the Dewhurst and National Stakes respectively.