Ryan Moore to be Awarded 2016 Longines World’s Best Jockey

Ryan Moore dominated his competition for much of the year en route to winning the title of 2016 Longines World’s Best Jockey. It is the second time in three years that the British jockey has won the award.

Moore won eight of the world’s Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races to claim the title, and his victories came in five different countries aboard six different horses. They include the Longines Hong Kong Mile (Maurice), Longines Hong Kong Vase (Highland Reel), Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (Real Steel), King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Sponsored by QIPCO (Highland Reel), Qatar Sussex Stakes (The Gurkha), Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Found), Queen Elizabeth II Sponsored by QIPCO (Minding), and Tenno Sho Autumn (Maurice).

The scoring process awards jockeys for finishing in the top three, and Moore was also second nine times and third four times in qualifying races. In all that gave him a total of 166 points, by far the largest margin of victory since the award was created. Moore won the 2014 title with 94 points, while Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori won in 2015 with 100 points.

Finishing second behind Moore in this year’s competition was Christophe Soumillon with 98 points.  Several of his qualifying victories came aboard Europe’s champion 3-year-old colt Almanzor. Hugh Bowman, the regular rider of Australia’s star mare Winx, finished third with 94 points. The full and final standings can be found at www.ifhaonline.org.

Moore will be recognized at a ceremony held during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races on 9 December 2016 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. 

The awarding of the Longines World’s Best Jockey is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from 1 December of the previous year until 30 November of the current year.  Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third. 

This system and the presentation of the Longines World’s Best Jockey Award were both established in 2014 and marked the first time a jockey was quantitatively recognized as the best among his or her global peers.

Source: International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA)