Designs On Rome's Audemars Piguet QE II Cup-winning performance has him rated higher than Ambitious Dragon and Vengeance Of Rain at the same stage of their careers and will likely see him ranked in the world's top 10 for the year to date.
Ratings for the race will secure the QE II Cup's place as the equal 31st-highest rated race in the world, but to keep that level up, quality foreign competition is required for comparison, and the Jockey Club admits some attention will be given to raising the prize money for the QE II Cup for the first time in 12 years.
The staging of The Championships in Sydney, with a similar race over 2,000m worth double the QE II money, and a rise to US$6 million for the two longer turf races in Dubai next year, have put pressure on the club.
"With four foreign horses, we did not have quantity, but we certainly did have quality and we acknowledge there is more competition to attract top-class horses," said chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges.
"And so I think you'll see a significant increase for this race, and others, when we announce our general prize money changes at the end of May."
Jockey Club handicapper Nigel Gray said the international classifications would be ratified and published on May 8, but his preliminary figure for Designs On Rome was an international rating of 123, which would rank his win the equal third best performance of 2014 on the most recent list released earlier this month.
"That list was headed by Just A Way on 130, Game On Dude on 125 and Military Attack's Gold Cup win on 124," Gray said on Monday.
"Since then, we've had major races in Australia, the QE II Cup and the Prix Ganay in France where Cirrus des Aigles beat Treve, so there are quite a few new performances to consider, but 123 would definitely make it into the world's top 10."
Gray said his first impression was that Cirrus des Aigles - an invitee to the QE II Cup who was scratched to stay home and take on the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, Treve - probably would return a rating of 123 for the Prix Ganay.
"That was his best in 2013, although he was obviously much higher the year before, and that would have put him in a photo-finish in our race on Sunday had he turned up and done the same," Gray said.
At a 123 rating, Designs On Rome is well ahead of the 119 figures returned in the QE II Cup by the only other Derby winners to have won both in the same season.
"Vengeance Of Rain and Ambitious Dragon both received 119 and, looking back at what they beat and what happened subsequently, that seems the right figure, so Designs on Rome has an edge at the same stage," Gray said.
"And that 123 figure seems very reasonable taking a line through not only Military Attack, who looked to run very well, but perhaps down a couple of pounds from his Gold Cup rating of 124, and Vercingetorix, who I think ran to the 118 that he took into the race.
"Designs On Rome had gone into the QE II Cup with a 117 from the Derby, so now it will be exciting to see whether Able Friend can make the same step forward in the Champions Mile."
