![]() | |
Type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Sports data and content provider |
Founded | 1948 |
Headquarters | Halifax, West Yorkshire |
Owner | Flutter Entertainment |
Website | Timeform |
Timeform is a sports data and content provider located in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Founded in 1948, it provides systematic information on form to punters and others involved in the horse racing industry. The company was purchased by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006. Since 2 February 2016, it has been owned by Flutter Entertainment.
Portway Press Ltd was formed in 1948 by Phil Bull, who wanted to establish a mathematical link to a horse's performance, based on the time the horse recorded. At a time when such data was virtually unheard of, Bull started publishing a racing annual, which evolved into the "Racehorses Of.." series. The company was purchased for a reputed £15 million by the sports betting exchange Betfair in December 2006. [1]
According to Timeform, one of its ratings represents "the merit of the horse expressed in pounds and is arrived at by careful examination of its running against other horses using a scale of weight for distance beaten which ranges from around 3 lb a length at five furlongs and 2 lb a length at a mile and a quarter to 1 lb a length at two miles". [2]
Timeform ratings for three-year-olds and up on the Flat: [3]
Timeform states that the very poorest horses may be rated as low as 30, with the very best horses rated 130 and above. [5] Two-year-old ratings are slightly lower than those for older horses. It also notes that only a very select number of horses have achieved a rating of 175 and above for hurdling (16) or 182 and above for chasing (20). [6]
The Beyer Speed Figure used in the United States is similar to a Timeform rating. The popular rule of thumb for comparing these two numbers is to add 12–14 points to the Beyer score to estimate the Timeform number.[ citation needed ]
Timeform maintains different scales for horses racing on the flat, over hurdles and over fences. The scores cannot be compared for the obvious differences between the race types. For instance, Arkle at 212, Flyingbolt at 210, Sprinter Sacre at 192 are then followed by Mill House and Kauto Star, both at 191, are the highest rated steeplechasers. The highest rated horses over hurdles are Night Nurse at 182, Istabraq and Monksfield, both at 180, and Persian War at 179. The table below lists scores for flat horses only starting with the highest, rated at 147 which is the British horse Frankel. [7]
Annually in March, the company puts out its book Racehorses of ...., which currently contains more than 1,200 pages and provides information and ratings on the top flat horses in Australasia, Dubai, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, North America and Scandinavia. Also, annually in October the company publishes Chasers and Hurdlers, a thorough review of every horse that ran under National Hunt rules in Britain, as well as the best National Hunt horses to have run in Ireland and France.
Timeform publishes a number of other books. Its Horses to Follow: Flat Season is composed of short essays on fifty horses deemed worthy of following in the upcoming year's classics. The horses are selected by Timeform's own team of experts along with five leading broadcasters. The book also provides a guide to the most significant two-year-old performances from the previous year.
Timeform also compiles a system based on speed and class which appears in the Daily Racing Form for all horse racing events run in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and the United Arab Emirates.
The figures below are the official all-time highest rankings for horses who raced in Australia, Dubai, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and Scandinavia, as supplied by Neil O'Connor of Timeform. Until very recently (approximately 2000), horses who raced exclusively in America were never given Timeform ratings, so they can not be compared directly to their European counterparts.
Horse | Born | Rating |
---|---|---|
Frankel | 2008 | 147 |
Sea Bird | 1962 | 145 |
Brigadier Gerard | 1968 | 144 |
Tudor Minstrel | 1944 | 144 |
Flightline | 2018 | 143 |
Abernant | 1946 | 142 |
Ribot | 1952 | 142 |
Windy City | 1949 | 142 |
Mill Reef | 1968 | 141 |
Dancing Brave | 1983 | 140 |
Dubai Millennium | 1996 | 140 |
Harbinger | 2006 | 140 |
Sea The Stars | 2006 | 140 |
Shergar | 1978 | 140 |
Vaguely Noble | 1965 | 140 |
Arrogate | 2013 | 139 |
Generous | 1988 | 139 |
Pappa Fourway | 1952 | 139 |
Reference Point | 1984 | 139 |
Alleged | 1974 | 138 |
Alycidon | 1945 | 138 |
American Pharoah | 2012 | 138 |
California Chrome | 2011 | 138 |
Celtic Swing | 1992 | 138 |
Cigar | 1990 | 138 |
Daylami | 1994 | 138 |
Exbury | 1959 | 138 |
Nijinsky | 1967 | 138 |
Star of India | 1953 | 138 |
Tulloch | 1954 | 138 |
Apalachee | 1971 | 137 |
Baaeed | 2018 | 137 |
Dayjur | 1987 | 137 |
Easy Goer | 1986 | 137 |
Ghostzapper | 2000 | 137 |
Grundy | 1972 | 137 |
Kingston Town | 1976 | 137 |
Mark of Esteem | 1993 | 137 |
Molvedo | 1958 | 137 |
Montjeu | 1996 | 137 |
Moorestyle | 1977 | 137 |
Never Say Die | 1951 | 137 |
Peintre Celebre | 1994 | 137 |
Pinza | 1950 | 137 |
Princely Gift | 1951 | 137 |
Ragusa | 1960 | 137 |
Reliance | 1962 | 137 |
Rheingold | 1969 | 137 |
Right Boy | 1954 | 137 |
Sunday Silence | 1986 | 137 |
Troy | 1976 | 137 |
Zilzal | 1986 | 137 |
Alcide | 1955 | 136 |
Allez France | 1970 | 136 |
Ballymoss | 1954 | 136 |
Battaash | 2014 | 136 |
Bering | 1983 | 136 |
Black Caviar | 2006 | 136 |
Black Tarquin | 1945 | 136 |
Bustino | 1971 | 136 |
Cracksman | 2014 | 136 |
Crepello | 1954 | 136 |
El Condor Pasa | 1995 | 136 |
El Gran Senor | 1981 | 136 |
Floribunda | 1958 | 136 |
Gentlemen | 1992 | 136 |
Habibti | 1980 | 136 |
Hafiz | 1952 | 136 |
Hawk Wing | 1999 | 136 |
Helissio | 1993 | 136 |
Herbager | 1956 | 136 |
Manikato | 1975 | 136 |
My Babu | 1945 | 136 |
Northjet | 1977 | 136 |
Old Vic | 1986 | 136 |
Relko | 1960 | 136 |
Sakhee | 1997 | 136 |
Slip Anchor | 1982 | 136 |
Suave Dancer | 1988 | 136 |
Tantieme | 1947 | 136 |
Texana | 1957 | 136 |
Thatch | 1970 | 136 |
Warning | 1985 | 136 |
All Along | 1979 | 135 |
Arazi | 1989 | 135 |
Arbar | 1944 | 135 |
Arctic Prince | 1948 | 135 |
Chanteur | 1942 | 135 |
Charlottesville | 1957 | 135 |
Cirrus des Aigles | 2006 | 135 |
Coronation | 1946 | 135 |
Dahlia | 1970 | 135 |
Intikhab | 1994 | 135 |
Known Fact | 1977 | 135 |
Kris | 1976 | 135 |
Lady Aurelia | 2014 | 135 [8] |
La Tendresse | 1959 | 135 |
Le Moss | 1975 | 135 |
Match II | 1958 | 135 |
Nashwan | 1986 | 135 |
Never So Bold | 1980 | 135 |
Pebbles | 1981 | 135 |
Petingo | 1965 | 135 |
Petoski | 1982 | 135 |
Right Royal | 1958 | 135 |
Royal Anthem | 1995 | 135 |
Sagace | 1980 | 135 |
Sassafras | 1967 | 135 |
Shadeed | 1982 | 135 |
Shahrastani | 1983 | 135 |
Shareef Dancer | 1980 | 135 |
Sicambre | 1948 | 135 |
Sir Ivor | 1965 | 135 |
Souverain | 1943 | 135 |
St Jovite | 1989 | 135 |
Supreme Court | 1948 | 135 |
Teenoso | 1980 | 135 |
Tenerani | 1944 | 135 |
The Bug | 1943 | 135 |
The Minstrel | 1974 | 135 |
Trempolino | 1984 | 135 |
Youth | 1973 | 135 |
The figures below are official all-time high weights for horses racing under National Hunt rules on chase courses. [9]
Horse | Born | Rating |
---|---|---|
Arkle | 1957 | 212 |
Flyingbolt | 1959 | 210 |
Sprinter Sacre | 2006 | 192p |
Kauto Star | 2000 | 191 |
Mill House | 1957 | 191 |
Desert Orchid | 1979 | 187 |
Dunkirk | 1957 | 186 |
Burrough Hill Lad | 1976 | 184 |
Long Run | 2005 | 184 |
Moscow Flyer | 1994 | 184 |
Don Cossack | 2007 | 183 |
Master Oats | 1986 | 183 |
Azertyuiop | 1997 | 182 |
Best Mate | 1995 | 182 |
Captain Christy | 1967 | 182 |
Carvill's Hill | 1982 | 182 |
Douvan | 2010 | 182 |
Kicking King | 1998 | 182 |
See More Business | 1990 | 182 |
Well Chief | 1999 | 182 |
The figures below are all-time ratings accorded by Timeform for race horses that competed under National Hunt rules on hurdle courses. [10]
Horse | Born | Rating |
---|---|---|
Night Nurse | 1971 | 182 |
Istabraq | 1992 | 180 |
Monksfield | 1972 | 180 |
Persian War | 1963 | 179 |
Comedy of Errors | 1967 | 178 |
Le Sauvignon | 1994 | 178 |
Constitution Hill | 2017 | 177p |
Lanzarote | 1968 | 177 |
Limestone Lad | 1992 | 177 |
Birds Nest | 1970 | 176 |
Bula | 1965 | 176 |
Faugheen | 2008 | 176 |
Golden Cygnet | 1972 | 176 |
Baracouda | 1995 | 175 |
Gaye Brief | 1977 | 175 |
Salmon Spray | 1958 | 175 |
Sea Pigeon | 1970 | 175 |
Dancing Brave was an American-bred, British-trained thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which lasted from the autumn of 1985 until October 1986, he ran ten times and won eight races. Dancing Brave was the outstanding European racehorse of 1986, when he won the 2000 Guineas, the Eclipse Stakes, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His only defeats came in the Derby and the Breeders' Cup Turf. A successful sire of winners in Europe, he was later exported to Japan, where he died on 2 August 1999.
Sea-Bird (1962–1973) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from 1964 until October 1965, he ran eight times and won seven races. Sea-Bird is most famous for his victories in two of Europe's most prestigious races, the Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. His Timeform rating of 145 remains the second highest flat figure behind Frankel's rating of 147 awarded by that publication.
Sea Pigeon (1970–2000) was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse who excelled in both National Hunt and flat racing. In a racing career which lasted from 1972 until 1981 he competed in eighty-five races, and won thirty-seven times. He was best known for his performances in hurdle races when he won the Champion Hurdle on two occasions. He was also one of the best flat stayers of his era winning major handicap races under weights of up to 140 pounds. As a gelding, he was ineligible to compete in the most prestigious flat staying races, such as the Ascot Gold Cup. On his retirement he was described as Britain's "best known horse after Arkle and Red Rum.
Kauto Star was a French-bred National Hunt champion racehorse trained by Paul Nicholls in Somerset and owned by Clive Smith. He was known for his versatility and longevity, being the only horse ever to be top rated over 2 miles, 2.5 miles and 3 miles in the same season. He is also the first horse ever to win a grade 1 race in 6 consecutive seasons - he then added 2 more the following season to make it 7. His Racing Post rating of 192 is the highest ever awarded to a National Hunt horse. He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, in 2007 and 2009, becoming the first horse to regain the cup, beating Denman by thirteen lengths in 2009, after losing it in 2008 by seven lengths behind Denman. He tried for three more years to win the race again, but the best placing he could achieve was in 2011, coming third behind Long Run. He also won the King George VI Chase a record five times. He was one of the most successful steeplechasers of modern era finishing his racing career with a National Hunt record of £3,775,883 in earnings, which consisted of £2,375,883 in race prize money, £1,000,000 bonus for the completion of the 2006/2007 Stayers Chase Triple Crown and also a £400,000 reward for heading the BHA Table of Merit in the same 2006/2007 season.
Henbit was an American-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse, best known for winning the Derby in 1980. After winning one minor race as a two-year-old, he showed improved form in 1980 to win the Classic Trial Stakes and the Chester Vase. He won the Derby in a fast time but sustained a leg injury in the race which ruled him out for the rest of the year. He failed when returning as a four-year-old and was retired to stud, where he had limited success as a sire of winners.
Sagaro (1971–1986) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred racehorse. He is regarded as one of the best stayers ever in Europe on the Flat.
Night Nurse was an Irish-bred English-trained National Hunt racehorse. Night Nurse garnered 35 wins, winning a total of £174,507 viz. He won 3 races on the flat at 3 and 4-years old and placed 3 times; he also won 32 National Hunt races, 19 wins over hurdles and 13 wins in steeplechases from 64 starts. He was awarded the highest Timeform rating ever given to a hurdler and has been acclaimed amongst the greatest ever hurdlers.
Frankel is a retired champion British Thoroughbred racehorse and current sire. He was unbeaten in his fourteen-race career and was the highest-rated racehorse in the world from May 2011. In 2010 he defeated a field including subsequent Group 1 winners Nathaniel and Colour Vision on his debut before winning the Royal Lodge Stakes by ten lengths and the Dewhurst Stakes in which he defeated the Middle Park Stakes winner Dream Ahead. As a three-year-old, he won the Classic 2000 Guineas by six lengths, the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, defeated the outstanding older miler Canford Cliffs in the much-anticipated Sussex Stakes at Goodwood and won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. Frankel extended his unbeaten record in 2012 by winning the Lockinge Stakes, the Queen Anne Stakes and then the Sussex Stakes for a second time. In August he was moved up to a mile and a quarter for the first time and won the International Stakes at York. In October he won the Champion Stakes at Ascot, again over a mile and a quarter, following which his retirement from racing was announced.
Phil Bull, born West Yorkshire, England, was a professional gambler, racehorse owner and publisher, who founded the Timeform private handicapping system for British horseracing. Since 1948, Timeform have produced performance ratings for every racehorse in Great Britain and, increasingly, internationally. Timeform ratings have become adopted as the British horseracing industry's unofficial, but authoritative, measure of racehorse performance. It was said of Bull in 1976 that "there is no more familiar figure on English racecourses than the stocky, bearded one of Mr Phil Bull". Many racing aphorisms can be attributed to Bull, such as "at the racecourse, keep your eyes open and your ears closed".
Black Caviar is a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was undefeated in 25 races, including 15 Group Ones, an Australian record. She was the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 WTRR World Champion Sprinter. Black Caviar was trained by Melbourne-based trainer Peter Moody. Other than in her first two runs and in one race in 2010, she was ridden by Luke Nolen. The mare was retired on 17 April 2013. According to an ABC Catalyst episode from 2015, she was never whipped.
Aurelius was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1961 and for becoming one of the few classic winners to compete in steeplechases. As a two-year-old he finished fourth in his only appearance but was one of the best colts in Britain in the following year, winning the Craven Stakes and the King Edward VII Stakes before taking the St Leger. He was even better in 1962 when he won the Hardwicke Stakes and was narrowly beaten in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He was retired to stud but had serious fertility problems and later returned to the racecourse where he had a reasonably successful career in National Hunt racing.
Shardari was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was unraced as a two-year-old before winning four of his six races as a three-year-old in 1985 including the Cumberland Lodge Stakes and St. Simon Stakes. In the following year he was tried at the highest level, winning the Princess of Wales's Stakes and International Stakes and finishing second to Dancing Brave in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. He was retired to stud at the end of 1986 but had little success as a sire of winners.
Teleprompter was a British thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the fifth running of the Arlington Million in 1985, a victory that helped change the rules of racing in Europe. After being beaten in his only race as a two-year-old he was gelded and returned in 1983 to become a successful handicapper, winning four races. In the following year he made the transition to group races and won Pacemaker International Stakes, Desmond Stakes, Prix Quincey and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. At a time when most of the top races in Europe were not open to him, the gelding recorded his greatest success in 1985 when he traveled to the United States to win the Arlington Million, one of the most valuable horse races in the world. Teleprompter won only one race after Arlington but continued to run in major races until his retirement in 1987. He died in 2003 at the age of twenty-three.
Gildoran was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. A specialist stayer he won the Ascot Gold Cup in 1984 and 1985. His other wins included the Sagaro Stakes and the Goodwood Cup. In all, he won seven races in a twenty-two race career which lasted from 1983 until 1985, during which he showed an aptitude for extreme distances and fast ground. He made little impact at stud.
Longboat was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist over extreme distances, who produced his best form on fast ground, he completed the "Stayers' Triple Crown" in 1986 when he won the Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Doncaster Cup. In all he won nine of his eighteen races between October 1983 and September 1986, with his other major wins coming in the Alycidon Stakes, Sagaro Stakes and Henry II Stakes. He was exported to Australia where he was retired from racing following an injury. He proved a failure as a breeding stallion.
Jupiter Island was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won fourteen of his forty-one races in a six-year racing career which lasted from 1981 until 1986. He showed useful but unexceptional form until the late summer of 1983 when he won the Ebor Handicap and followed up with a win in the St. Simon Stakes. He reached his peak as a six-year-old in 1985 when he won the John Porter Stakes, Hardwicke Stakes and Prix du Conseil de Paris. His final season was disrupted by injury problems, but he ended his career with his biggest success when he became the first British-trained horse to win the Japan Cup.
Buckskin was a French-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Unraced as a two-year-old, he was trained in France in 1976 and 1977 before being transferred to race the United Kingdom in 1978 and 1979. A specialist stayer, he overcame serious physical problems to win several major long-distance races including the Prix du Cadran (twice), Prix de Barbeville, Prix Jean Prat, Doncaster Cup, Jockey Club Cup and Henry II Stakes. He was also the beaten favourite in three successive runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup. After his retirement from racing, he became a very successful sire of National Hunt horses.
Gunner B was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from May 1975 until October 1978 he contested thirty-three races, winning fourteen times, finishing second five times and third seven times. Originally trained in Yorkshire, he won twice as a two-year-old in 1975 before becoming a highly successful handicapper in the following season, when he won the Cecil Frail Handicap, Andy Capp Handicap and the Doonside Cup. He won three races in 1977 including the Group Three Diomed Stakes but appeared to have been well-exposed as a tough, consistent horse who was some way below the best. After joining the stable of Henry Cecil in 1978, however, he emerged as a genuinely top-class horse winning the Earl of Sefton Stakes, Brigadier Gerard Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes, Eclipse Stakes and Valdoe Stakes as well as finishing second in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup and third in the Champion Stakes. After his retirement from racing, he became a very successful sire of National Hunt horses. He died in 2003 at the age of thirty.
Relkino was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was the highest-priced European yearling of his generation and won four of his sixteen races between July 1975 and October 1977. After winning one race as a two-year-old in 1975 he showed improved form in the early part of the following year, winning the 2000 Guineas Trial Stakes and finishing second to Empery in The Derby. The rest of his three-year-old career was disappointing but he reached his peak in 1977, winning the Lockinge Stakes over a mile and then recording an upset victory in the Benson and Hedges Gold Cup. After his retirement from racing, he had some success as a breeding stallion.
Altior is an Irish-bred British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt races. After winning one of his three National Hunt Flat races he was unbeaten in five hurdle races including the Sharp Novices' Hurdle and Supreme Novices' Hurdle. In the 2016/2017 National Hunt season he won six consecutive steeplechases including the Henry VIII Novices' Chase, Wayward Lad Novices' Chase, Game Spirit Chase, Arkle Challenge Trophy and the Celebration Chase.