Multiple Grade I winner Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Good Magic (Curlin), both finalists for Eclipse champion 2-year-old honors, were ranked co-toppers of The Jockey Club’s 2017 annual Top 2-Year-Old Rankings. The rankings were formerly known as the Experimental Free Handicap.
Both colts were listed at 126 pounds, three pounds ahead of GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy). GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filles winner Caledonia Road (Quality Road) was the top-rated filly on the list at 123 pounds.
The Jockey Club’s annual Top 2-Year-Old Rankings are a weight-based assessment of the previous year’s leading 2-year-olds, with the weights compiled for a hypothetical race at 1 1/16 miles. All 2-year-olds of 2017 who started in graded or listed stakes races run in the United States and Canada are eligible to be weighted.
The racing secretaries on the weighting committee were P.J. Campo of the Stronach Group, Ben Huffman of Churchill Downs and Keeneland, Steve Lym of Woodbine Entertainment, Martin Panza of The New York Racing Association Inc., and Thomas S. Robbins of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
Kentucky-foaled juveniles outranked all other states and provinces with 149 weighted males and 132 fillies; Florida was second with 18 males and 18 fillies. Ireland led foaling countries outside of North America with 16 fillies and nine males. Scat Daddy was the leading sire of weighted males with six and Malibu Moon led fillies with five.
The complete rankings can been on the resource section of The Jockey Club’s website.