Frankel fully deserves his place on top of the world Lord Grimthorpe, Khalid Abdulla's racing manager, who was invited to the Soho Hotel to be paraded in front of the assembled press for one last burst of Frankel quotes, was in a no-lose situation, both Frankel and Dancing Brave having been owned by his boss. But, an hour and a half into this number-fest even the great man began to twiddle his rail ticket. Phil Smith, the senior British Handicapper, produced 18 A4 pages of statistics and four pages of graphs to back up his argument that horses had been generally overrated in the early years of the present system of ranking horses, which started in 1977, and that some recalibration was needed. "It became an imperative," Garry O'Gorman, the Irish Handicapper, said after it was revealed that some kind of adjustment had been on the agenda since Sea The Stars" dominance in 2009. It was not just to acknowledge, but to remedy the inconsistencies. If there is a criticism, it's that it should have been done before. They could, of course, have got around this problem by just giving Frankel a rating of 142 so he would have been 1lb above Dancing Brave's original 141. "It would have been dishonest," Smith said. By making him artificially high we'd have got the end result, but the one after that would have to have been even higher and our successors would not have thanked us for that. We would have created problems for the future. They have created a level playing field, but one where Frankel, quite rightly, stands at the highest point. Best horses since 1977 before revision 141 Dancing Brave 140 Alleged, Frankel, Shergar 138 El Gran Senor 137 Generous, Peintre Celebre, Three Troikas 136 Sea The Stars, Suave Dancer, Troy 135 Blushing Groom, Cigar, Daylami, Harbinger, Ile De Bourbon, Montjeu, Reference Point, Slip Anchor, St Jovite, Teenoso, The Minstrel Best horses since 1977 after revision 140 Frankel 138 Dancing Brave 137 Peintre Celebre 136 Generous, Sea The Stars, Shergar 135 Cigar, Daylami, El Gran Senor, Harbinger, Montjeu, St Jovite, Suave Dancer 134 Alleged, Dubai Millennium, El Condor Pasa, Helissio, Pilsudski 133 Hawk Wing, Mark Of Esteem, Old Vic, Reference Point, Sakhee, Zilzal Best Horses of 2012 131 Cirrus Des Aigles 130 Excelebration, Black Caviar 129 Wise Dan 127 Orfevre 126 Monterosso, Nathaniel, So You Think 125 Fort Larned, Hay List, I'll Have Another Best European 2yo of 2012 124 Dawn Approach 118 Kingsbarns 117 George Vancouver, Leitir Mor, Olympic Glory, Reckless Abandon 116 Moohaajim 115 Gale Force Ten 114 Certify, Designs On Rome, Loch Garman, Morandi, Parliament Square, Penny's Picnic, Steeler, Toronado, Van Der Neer 113 Anna's Pearl, Dundonnell, Indian Jade