The Livamol Classic at Hastings has received an international tick of approval.

 

The weight-for-age Livamol (2040m) has been named among the top 100 Group I races in the world for 2018.

 

It is the first New Zealand race to make the top 100 since the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) introduced annual race rankings four years ago. The rankings are based on the international ratings of the top four placegetters.

 

The 2018 Livamol was won by Savvy Coup from Lizzie L’Amour, Danzdanzdance and Scott Base.

 

Savvy Coup was a dual Group I winner in 2018 and Lizzie L’Amour had a runaway Group I win, in the Herbie Dyke Stakes, and five seconds, all at Group level, from her eight starts in 2018.

 

Danzdanzdance franked the Livamol form by winning Group I races at her next two starts and was placed in the NZ Derby earlier in the year, and Scott Base was a Group II winner in 2018.

 

The Livamol Classic’s rating of 116.50 put it in 91st place and in good company. It was on the same mark as the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, which had been ranked 25th or better in each of the previous three years, and the Doomben Cup and Moir Stakes, two Australian Group I races.

 

The Livamol rated ahead of the Santa Anita Derby, in California, and the Australian Cup, Underwood Stakes and Toorak Handicap from Melbourne. It was marginally behind four Australian features, including the Tancred Stakes and Manikato Stakes, and the Hong Kong Vase and English St Leger, which were all at 116.75.

 

 “It was fantastic news,” Hawke’s Bay Racing CEO Butch Castles said. “It has been the icing on the cake after what was a very successful spring carnival [at Hastings], both from a racing and attendance point of view.

 

“The Livamol is a race with a long history and it is important for the New Zealand industry. Savvy Coup showed it can still be used as a springboard into the Cox Plate. It’s a credible pathway through to Melbourne.”

 

The race sponsor, International Animal Health Products (IAHP), was also delighted with the accolade. “It was a thrill for us, and we were also thrilled for the club, which has worked very hard to a build up the Livamol Classic and the spring carnival in general,” IAHP managing director Chris Lawlor said.

 

“It was a great step for the race and also for New Zealand racing.  It’s good for [New Zealand] racing to hear positive things. There’s a tendency for people to get too tied up in the negative.”

 

IAHP, which includes Livamol and BioWorma among its products, is based in Australia but has a New Zealand division. The company has been sponsoring the Livamol Classic for five years and is keen to maintain the association. “We are committed to the race,” Lawlor said. “It’s drawing good crowds and good fields.

 

“There are some good things happening in New Zealand racing and some of the best stayers in the world are produced in New Zealand,” added Lawlor, who was a vendor in the Book 1 session at Karaka this week. “I went to the Karaka Million meeting last weekend and it was well attended and had a real atmosphere.”

 

The Arc de Triomphe, in France, was the highest rated Group I race run in 2018, a position it has held in three of the past four years.

 

Races from 11 countries made the top 100, with Australia having the most, with 31. Great Britain (19), United States (14), Hong Kong (11), Japan (10), France (6), Germany (3), South Africa (3), United Arab Emirates (3) and Ireland (2) were also represented.  Because of a seven-way tie for 97th, there were 103 races on the list.