Star three-year-old fillies Winter (148) and Enable (128) head the standings for the 2017 Cartier Racing Awards following their Group 1 victories at Goodwood and Ascot respectively.
European horse racing's top awards are delivered through a 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/handicappers (35%) and votes from the public.
Winter, owned by a Coolmore partnership and trained by Aidan O'Brien, bagged her fourth consecutive Group 1 victory of 2017 in the Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood.
Already a dual classic winner, having taken the Newmarket and Irish 1,000 Guineas plus the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Galileo filly heads the standings for both the Cartier Horse of The Year and Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly categories.
Enable - 20 points behind Winter
Hot on the heels of Winter in both categories is Enable, trained by John Gosden for owner Prince Khalid Abdullah. A daughter of Nathaniel, Enable was the comfortable winner of the Epsom and Irish Oaks before an overwhelming victory against all-aged opposition in the G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored by QIPCO) at Ascot. Enable's impressive four and a half-length victory from Ulysses (92) at Ascot saw her become only the third filly to win the Epsom Oaks and King George in the same season following Pawneese (1976) and Taghrooda (2014), proving her to be a filly out of top drawer.
Godolphin's Ribchester (110), trained by Richard Fahey, heads the Cartier Older Horse category, despite going down by a neck to Here Comes When (48) on very soft ground in the Qatar Sussex Stakes. Godolphin also owns Barney Roy (104), the current leader in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt category ahead of dual 2,000 Guineas victor Churchill (80), who was a late withdrawal from the Qatar Sussex Stakes and is now likely to be re-routed to the 10-furlong Juddmonte International at York on August 23rd.
The Group 1 Darley July Cup winner Harry Angel (68), also owned by Godolphin, is out in front in the Cartier Sprinter division, ahead of Brando (48), trained by Kevin Ryan, who put up a very good performance at Deauville to land the G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. Battaash (24), a progressive three-year-old son of Dark Angel, is creeping into contention after breaking the five-furlong course record in the Group 3 Coral Charge at Sandown Park in July and then coping impressively with soft ground in the G2 Qatar King George Stakes over the same trip at Goodwood.
Bill and Tim Gredley's Big Orange (72), trained by Michael Bell and the game winner of the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, is the clear leader in the Cartier Stayer division.
Cartier Racing Awards
Points earned up to and including Sunday, August 6th, 2017
Cartier Horse Of The Year
Winter 148
Enable 128
Ribchester 110
Barney Roy 104
Cartier Older Horse
Ribchester 110
Ulysses 92
Decorated Knight 80
Highland Reel 80
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt
Barney Roy 104
Churchill 80
Thunder Snow 78
Brametot 72
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly
Winter 148
Enable 128
Roly Poly 96
Cartier Sprinter
Harry Angel 68
Brando 48
Caravaggio 40
Cartier Stayer
Big Orange 72
Stradivarius 48
Vazirabad 31
Order Of St George 28
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