Found's decisive victory in the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly, France, on Sunday, October 2nd, has propelled the filly firmly into contention for top honours at the 2016 Cartier Racing Awards next month.

The four-year-old daughter of Galileo, owned by a Coolmore partnership, led home an unprecedented 1-2-3 for trainer Aidan O'Brien in the world's richest turf race and now heads the points' standings in the Cartier Older Horse category on 152.

Fellow Cartier Older Horse contender and this year's G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored by QIPCO) winner Highland Reel (104) chased home Found at Chantilly ahead of G1 Gold Cup hero Order Of St George (84), who leads the standings in the Cartier Stayer Award.

O'Brien's dominance has not been limited to the older division this year and Ireland's champion Flat trainer is responsible for four of the five leaders on points for Cartier Horse Of The Year, with three-year-olds Minding (188), The Gurkha (128) and Alice Springs (118), successful in the G1 Kingdom Of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on October 1, featuring alongside Found. Galileo Gold (136), trained by Hugo Palmer for Al Shaqab Racing, is the only horse preventing an O'Brien clean sweep.

The 26th annual Cartier Racing Awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony before an invited audience of 300 at the Dorchester Hotel, London, England, on the evening of Tuesday, November 8, 2016.

The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. There are eight equine awards, ranging from the Cartier Horse Of The Year to the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.

In addition, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the special 16-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done the most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months.

European horseracing's top awards are delivered through a tried and tested combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races (30%), combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists (35%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus Channel 4 Racing viewers (35%).

A scintillating weekend of racing at Chantilly also saw Darley July Cup winner Limato saunter to a three-length victory in the G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs. The Henry Candy-trained four-year-old, who races in the colours of Paul Jacobs, remains in contention for both the Cartier Older Horse Award (with 80 points) and the Cartier Sprinter Award (48) and could head to America next month for the Breeders' Cup, with both the turf sprint and the mile under consideration for the son of Tagula.

Mecca's Angel (64) beat Limato over five furlongs in the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes and the Michael Dods-trained mare came home third behind Marsha (36), from the Newmarket stable of Sir Mark Prescott, and the O'Brien-trained Washington DC (44) in the weekend's big sprint, the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, over the same trip. Quiet Reflection (96) still leads the way for the Cartier Sprinter Award.

Four-year-old filly Speedy Boarding (80), trained in Newmarket by James Fanshawe, annexed a second G1 win in France this season with a brave success in the Prix de l'Opera Longines, on her final appearance before retiring to her owner/breeder Mark Weinfeld's Meon Valley Stud.

A fruitful weekend for British-trained horses also saw Cartier Stayer contender Quest For More (56), owned by HRH Sultan Ahmad Shah and trained by Roger Charlton, beat Vazirabad (52) and gain a first G1 success in the Qatar Prix du Cadran over a marathon trip.

Two-year-old filly Wuheida (32) became a first juvenile G1 winner for her sire Dubawi when comfortably taking the Total Prix Marcel Boussac for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby, while National Defense (34) captured the colts' equivalent - the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere - for Criquette Head-Maarek in a rare French-trained success at the meeting.

The Dubai Future Champions Festival at Newmarket this week, October 7 & 8, could have a major bearing on the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly Awards, with the G1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes and G1 Dubai Fillies' Mile taking centre stage, while the G1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on October 22 is also set to play its part.

QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 15 looks a fitting finale to the UK season, with Minding, Almanzor (106), Galileo Gold, Quiet Reflection and Ribchester (80) among those set to feature among a tremendous cast for the four Group One races.

Harry Herbert, Cartier's Racing Consultant, commented: "Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe day never disappoints and this year's was no exception as Aidan O'Brien re-wrote the history books with another masterful piece of training. There were also some sensational supporting races which will live long in the mind, most notably Limato's impressive display in the Qatar Prix de la Foret. We now look forward to the Dubai Future Champions Festival, while QIPCO British Champions Day is shaping up to be a card to relish."