EL SEGUNDO'S emphatic victory in the 2007 Cox Plate was rated the best individual performance of last season in the ANZ Classifications, released yesterday. The Colin Little-trained gelding, which won't be seen this spring due to injury, returned a rating of 123, the same as that handed out by the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings.

El Segundo accounted for Wonderful World and $44 million stallion Haradasun in the Cox Plate, with the latter franking the performance when venturing to Europe and winning the group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Horse of the Year elect Weekend Hussler, which won six group 1 events last season, received an ANZ Classifications rating of 122, while Apache Cat, which strung together five successive majors last season, came in on 121.

"In the previous three years, only Makybe Diva [124 in 2005-06] had achieved a rating higher than 120," said Greg Carpenter, the chairman of the ANZ Classifications committee. "Having three individual horses -El Segundo, Weekend Hussler and Apache Cat - rated above that mark this season underlines the growing reputation of Australian horses."

Haradasun and Melbourne Cup winner Efficient were both given a mark of 120, while Gai Waterhouse's Golden Slipper winner Sebring was the highest-rated two-year-old on 115.

Efficient was one of 14 horses owned by Lloyd Williams to work at Moonee Valley yesterday, with the team also including cups contender Zipping and New Zealand Derby winner C'est La Guerre.

"We chased the course proper at Flemington with them last Friday and the grass today," Williams said yesterday, revealing Efficient was set to become a Clerk of the Course mount in Victoria when it retires. "It is not easy, these horses getting grass."

Efficient's return will see a clash with Light Fantastic in the Makybe Diva at Flemington on September 6, while C'est La Guerre steps out for the first time in the Williams colours in the Memsie Stakes on Saturday week, with Weekend Hussler awaiting.