Barbaro gets 130 Timeform
By ALAN SHUBACK
Barbaro has nosed out George Washington by a margin of 130 to 129+ according to the Timeform ratings earned by the winners of their respective classic races on opposite sides of the Atlantic on Saturday.
Barbaro's Timeform rating of 130 is the highest awarded to a Kentucky Derby winner since 1998 when Real Quiet earned a 131. His margin over 2000 Guineas winner George Washington means that he would theoretically be weighted 1 lb. higher if the two were to meet in a handicap. The plus sign after George Washington's rating, however, means that the Timeform mavens believe that he may be better than they have rated it.

With the exception of Kings Best's Guineas rating of 130+ in 2000, the Timeform ratings of Barbaro and George Washington, both of whom were bred by Roy and Gretchen Jackson of West Grove, Pennsylvania, are the highest earned in either classic this century. Working backward in time, Timeform's Derby ratings are Giacomo 123, Smarty Jones 128, Funny Cide 125, War Emblem 128, Monarchos 129, Fusaichi Pegasus 127+. Timeform's concurrent 2000 Guineas ratings are Footstepsinthesand 120, Haafhd 129, Refuse To Bend 118+, Rock Of Gibraltar 124, Golan 122, King's Best 130+.