Victor Espinoza, California Chrome’s Dubai triumph and best of the year in horse racing

Almanzor, ridden by French jockey Jean-Bernard Eyquem, crosses the finish line during the French Derby on June 5, 2016, in Chantilly, north of Paris. Alain Jocard / AFP

Other than Japan’s Arima Kinen, the fans invitational race staged at Nakayama racecourse on Christmas Day, top-class flat thoroughbred racing is almost done for the year.

With next month’s Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan on the horizon it is time to dish out the plaudits for 2016.

Horse of the year

Arrogate sits just ahead of California Chrome on top of the world rankings thanks to his half-a-length win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November.

The two horses rightly head the tables but their superiority in California, where they pulled over ten lengths clear of Keen Ice, only highlights what a weak division they dominate.

In terms of sheer quality, there is not a better horse on the planet right now than French turf performer Almanzor.

Jean-Claude Rouget’s three-year-old colt beat the toughest field assembled anywhere in the world when he held off subsequent Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Found in the Irish Champion Stakes in September.

He showed that he could accelerate off a strong pace that day, and confirmed his ability when beating Found again in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in England in October. He is to be campaigned with the 2017 Arc in mind.

Ride of the year

Try crouching in the position of an elite jockey for two minutes, while you read this. That was what Victor Espinoza had to do without a saddle for the duration of the 2 minute, 01.83 seconds record time it took California Chrome to win the Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March.

Almost as soon as the gates opened, Espinoza’s saddle slipped back to leave the Mexican rider in a stress position in the closing stages.

Espinoza opened up a huge lead in the straight as insurance if his legs gave away in the dying stages, but fuelled by adrenaline, he made it to the wire for an impressive win.

Performance of the year

There were several superb efforts in 2016. Lady Aurelia’s blitz of the Queen Mary field at Royal Ascot was one, while Dubai-bound Tepin’s audacious victory, also in England in June, dispelled any myth she could not run without Lasix, on a straight, uphill course on rain-softened ground.

There was Pakistan Star’s last-to-first exploits in Hong Kong, where Maurice powered to victory in the Mile at Sha Tin earlier this month and who Arrogate’s monstrous win over California Chrome in the Breeders’ Cup Classic was an epic tussle.

Frosted’s Met Mile demolition in America deserves a mention, as does Winx’s destruction of the Cox Plate field in Australia.

For a standout, however, nothing can match A Shin Hikari’s freak run in the Prix D’Ispahan in France in May.

The Japanese raider had never run on soft ground before, but from nowhere he powered to a seven-length win from five horses who went on to win themselves at the highest level this year.

Trainer of the year

Aidan O’Brien deserves all the praise he gets but with all of the resources he has at his state-of-the-art training facility at Ballydoyle, the myriad Galileo progeny sent his way and Ryan Moore in the saddle his success is not a surprise.

That said, the Irishman pursued Bobby Frankel’s record 25 wins with gusto this year, and unlike the late American trainer, he saddled his winners around the world. There were Group 1 wins in Ireland, England, France and America and he had runners in Dubai, Australia and Hong Kong, too.

Jockey of the year

Ryan Moore bestrides the European scene like a colossus. He has ridden primarily for Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute there and even had two rides for Godolphin this year.

Moore’s capable hands and tactically-astute brain are coveted elsewhere, too. He is the go-to rider for several trainers in Japan, and at Royal Ascot he was booked to ride Miss Temple City for Dubai World Cup-wining trainer Graham Motion.

Moore won the Hong Kong Jockeys Challenge at Happy Valley this month against a stellar field of riders. It was richly deserved.