St. Mark’s Basilica wins the Irish Champions Stakes at Leopardstown.
Irish Champion Stakes winner St Mark’s Basilica is the narrow leader in the Cartier Horse of the Year standings following the latest points update for the Cartier Racing Awards.
The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. There are eight equine awards – the Cartier Horse Of The Year, the Cartier Older Horse, the Cartier Sprinter, the Cartier Stayer, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly, the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.
The 31st annual Cartier Racing Awards will be awarded in November. Cartier continues its ongoing support with the presentation of the Cartier Racing Awards.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained St Mark’s Basilica boasts 160 points having recorded his fourth G1 victory of the season when getting the better of Tarnawa and Poetic Flare in a thrilling battle for the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Sept. 11. St Mark’s Basilica had already enjoyed G1 success this year in the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Poulains, Qatar Prix du Jockey Club and Coral-Eclipse.
Jim Bolger’s homebred Poetic Flare finished a creditable third at Leopardstown and the dual G1 winner is hot on the heels of St Mark’s Basilica with 156 points.
Other leading Cartier Horse Of The Year contenders include Palace Pier (144) who cemented his status as the world’s best miler when defeating Poetic Flare in the G1 Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville on August 15.
Hurricane Lane completed a G1 hat-trick when capturing the final British Classic of the season, the Cazoo St Leger at Doncaster on September 15. The Godolphin colt had previously won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby and Grand Prix de Paris and has 140 points.
English and Irish Oaks heroine Snowfall has 136 points but suffered a shock defeat in the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille at Longchamp on September 14 as she finished second to the Roger Varian-trained Teona.
Mother Earth (128), trained like Snowfall by Aidan O’Brien for a Coolmore partnership, endured a luckless passage when third to No Speak Alexander in the G1 Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes at Leopardstown on September 11.
Juddmonte International winner Mishriff has 108 points ahead of Godolphin’s Adayar (100) who has already captured the Cazoo Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes this term.
Palace Pier (144) also leads the way in the Cartier Older Horse standings ahead of Mishriff (108). The Aidan O’Brien-trained Broome has 88 points having finished second in the G2 Qatar Prix Foy on Arc Trials day at Longchamp, a contest which saw Jerome Reynier’s Skalleti (80) finish fourth. Love (80), who was runner-up in the G2 Moyglare “Jewels” Blandford Stakes at the Curragh on September 12, also has 80 points.
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St Mark’s Basilica (160) is a narrow leader over Poetic Flare in the Cartier Three-Year-Old category. Hurricane Lane (144) and Adayar (100) are also challenging for the award and the duo could clash in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday, October 3.
Aidan O’Brien holds a strong hand in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly category with four of the top five contenders. Snowfall leads the race with 136 points, ahead of Mother Earth on 128, with the Andrew Balding-trained Alcohol Free on 96 points. O’Brien is also responsible for Joan Of Arc (64), who finished seventh in the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille last time out and Santa Barbara (64), an easy winner of two G1 events in America this summer.
The Cartier Sprinter Award is headed by the Ed Walker-trained Starman on 64 points. The four-year-old landed the G1 Darley July Cup earlier this season and finished a short-head second on his latest start to Emaraaty Ana (52) in the G1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on September 4.
Dragon Symbol (56) is still chasing a first G1 success but continues to run well in defeat and took fourth in the G1 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh on September 12 – a race won by the Eddie Lynam-trained Romantic Proposal (40).
Subjectivist (60) remains the leader in the Cartier Stayer division following his success in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Godolphin’s Hurricane Lane has 48 points in this division following his Cazoo St Leger victory at Doncaster, ahead of Cedric Rossi’s Skazino (48).
Stradivarius is bidding to win the Cartier Stayer Award for the fourth successive year and has 40 points, having landed his second G2 Doncaster Cup at Doncaster on September 10. G1 Qatar Goodwood Cup hero Trueshan and Spanish Mission both have 36 points.
There is nothing to separate Native Trail and Perfect Power at the top of the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt category. Godolphin’s Native Trail is unbeaten in three starts and produced a seismic performance to capture the G1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes on Irish Champions Weekend at the Curragh on September 12, defeating Point Lonsdale (40) and Ebro River (40).
Meanwhile, the Richard Fahey-trained Perfect Power (48), followed up success in the G2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot with a smart victory in the G1 Darley Prix Morny at Deauville in August.
David Loughnane’s G2 scorer Go Bears Go, G2 Unibet Richmond Stakes winner Asymmetric and the Richard Hannon-trained Lusail, who was fourth in the G2 Champagne Stakes on September 11 at Doncaster, are others in contention with 32 points each.
The Joseph O’Brien-trained Agartha (40) tops the Cartier Two-Year-Old category following a second-placed finish to Jessica Harrington’s Discoveries (36) in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on September 11.
Also in contention are the Andrew Balding-trained Sandrine (32), who won the G3 Albany Stakes and G2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes earlier this term. Kirsten Rausing’s homebred was second to Zain Claudette (24) in the G2 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes at York last month.
The Cartier Racing 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/handicappers (35%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph (35%).
The participation of the public plays a crucial role in determining the winners of each year’s Cartier Racing Awards and gives horseracing fans the chance to put forward their favourite horses in a meaningful way.
In addition to the equine awards, 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.
The 10 most recent recipients have been John Gosden, Pat Smullen, Richard Hannon, Barry Hills, Team Frankel, Jim Bolger, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Jack Berry and Aidan O’Brien.
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