Public voting for the 2017 Cartier Racing Awards closes at noon, British time, next Tuesday following the running of the Melbourne Cup, and with a strong European contingent involved there and at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, run at Del Mar Racecourse on Friday and Saturday, some last-minute changes to the standings for the awards can be expected.
Public online voting opened last week and please click on www.cartierracingawards.co.uk to have your say.
Aidan O’Brien – dominant force
Aidan O’Brien, who gained the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit at the 2016 Cartier Racing Awards, has a strong team at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Dual 2,000 Guineas victor Churchill (116) jointly leads the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt category and attempts to give O’Brien a first victory in Saturday’s 10-furlong G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on dirt.
Churchill – ready to win again?
Other runners for O’Brien in California include star five-year-old Highland Reel (92), seeking a second successive victory in the Gr1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf, and Roly Poly (128), who has already been successful three times at Gr1 level during 2017. The three-year-old filly contests the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Saturday.
O’Brien also has a number of starters in the juvenile contests headed by US Navy Flag (80), who tops the Cartier Two-Year-Old division. The War Front colt tries dirt for the first time in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over an extended mile.
The Ballydoyle maestro is responsible for the leader in the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly division, Happily (80), who goes for the mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf on Friday alongside stable companion September (24), while three-year-old filly Rhododendron (80) starts in the nine-furlong Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf the following day.
Outside of the O’Brien-trained challengers, Beckford (48) is Gordon Elliott’s first Breeders’ Cup runner in the mile Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Friday.
Godolphin’s star older miler Ribchester (166), followed by Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International scorer Ulysses (152), lead the way in the Cartier Older Horse division and they both start at Del Mar on Saturday, with Ribchester lining up in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile and Ulysses going for the Gr1 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf over a mile and a half.
Decorated Knight (128), a triple G1 scorer in 2017 and currently third in the Cartier Older Horse standings, also runs in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Flying fillies Marsha (76) and Lady Aurelia (48), who feature on the leaderboard for the Cartier Sprinter Award, clash again in Saturday’s five-furlong Breeders’ Cup Sprint on turf.
Cartier Racing Awards – points earned in Pattern races up to and including Sunday, October 29, 2017
Cartier Horse Of The Year
Enable 208
Ribchester 166
Winter 164
Ulysses 152
Decorated Knight 128
Roly Poly 128
Barney Roy 116
Churchill 116
Cracksman 108
Hydrangea 104
Cartier Older Horse
Ribchester 166
Ulysses 152
Decorated Knight 128
Highland Reel 92
Cloth Of Stars 88
Bateel 76
Persuasive 72
Aclaim 64
Poet’s Word 60
Zarak 54
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt
Barney Roy 116
Churchill 116
Cracksman 108
Harry Angel 100
Thunder Snow 90
Al Wukair 72
Brametot 72
Ice Breeze 68
Capri 66
Caravaggio 64
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly
Enable 208
Winter 164
Roly Poly 128
Hydrangea 104
Rhododendron 80
Sobetsu 56
Coronet 48
Lady Aurelia 48
Senga 48
Rain Goddess 44
Cartier Sprinter
Harry Angel 100
Marsha 76
Caravaggio 64
Tasleet 64
Battaash 56
Brando 48
Lady Aurelia 48
The Tin Man 40
Profitable 36
Librisa Breeze 32
Cartier Stayer
Vazirabad 87
Order Of St George 84
Big Orange 72
Stradivarius 60
Ice Breeze 48
Desert Skyline 36
Capri 32
Marmelo 32
Torcedor 32
Dartmouth 24
Polarisation 24
Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt
U S Navy Flag 80
Beckford 48
Saxon Warrior 48
Sioux Nation 48
Unfortunately 48
Verbal Dexterity 40
Cardsharp 36
Nebo 36
Havana Grey 32
Roaring Lion 32
Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly
Happily 80
Clemmie 56
Laurens 52
Heartache 36
Wild Illusion 34
Different League 32
Magical 32
Nyaleti 28
Polydream 24
September 24
