Cox Plate champion Via Sistina has officially been crowned the top-rated horse in Australia, as revealed in the latest release of the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings on Thursday night.
The Chris Waller-trained mare received a rating of 119 following her victory in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, her third Group 1 triumph of 2025, earning her equal 16th spot on the global leaderboard.
Notably, Via Sistina is the only Australian-trained runner to appear in the world’s top twenty, a list otherwise dominated by elite performers from Hong Kong, Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France and the UAE.
Her outstanding season has also sparked interest among betting sites, with punters keen to follow her path toward future spring features.
Leading the international ratings is Japanese sensation Forever Young, who sits atop the list with a rating of 127 after his dominant win in the Saudi Cup. Just behind him is Romantic Warrior, last year’s Cox Plate winner, who was beaten narrowly in the Saudi Cup and is now rated 126.
Romantic Warrior shares second spot with fellow Hong Kong star Ka Ying Rising, the David Hayes-trained sprinter who posted his 126 rating courtesy of a victory in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
Ka Ying Rising is expected to travel to Australia for the upcoming spring carnival, adding even more international flair to the season. His planned arrival could spark exciting matchups with the likes of Via Sistina, who has become a marquee name on the domestic scene.
