Godolphin stars in the running for Cartier Awards
RIBCHESTER AND HARRY ANGEL DOMINATE RESPECTIVE DIVISIONS
ignificant victories over the last weekend has propelled Godolphin’s star mile Ribchester and super sprinter Harry Angel into the reckoning for top honours at this year’s Cartier Racing Awards.
Ribchester, who is trained by Richard Fahey in England, has snatched the lead in the Cartier Older Horse division from Eclipse and Juddmonte winner Ulysses following his third Group 1 victory of the year in the Prix du Moulin at Chantilly on September 10.
He is now on 142 points (from 110) with the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Ulysses on 110. Ribchester is pencilled in to run in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October and the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar, USA in November. Good performances in these high-profile contests will further strengthen his hold on the category.
Rewarding excellence
The Cartier Racing Awards, were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing, will be presented on the evening of Tuesday, November 14.
Meanwhile, Harry Angel is the undisputed leader in the Cartier Sprinter division with a tally of 100 points (up from 68) and has also strengthened his position in the Three-YearOld Colt division where is lies in third place behind another Godolphin star, Barney Roy, who is the leader with 116 points, and second placed Churchill (104 points).
The Clive Cox-trained Dark Angel colt was effortless winner of the Group 1 Sprint Cup over six furlongs at Haydock Park on September 9.
The weekend of September 9 and 10 saw top-class racing in Ireland, France and Britain, which has had a significant impact on many of the other standings as well.
Winter (164), a four-time Group 1 scorer in 2017, still holds a narrow advantage in the prestigious Cartier Horse Of The Year category, despite her narrow defeat by 20/1 outsider and stable companion Hydrangea (56) in the Group 1 Matron Stakes over a mile at Leopardstown on September 9.
ThedaughterofGalileo,trained by Aidan O’Brien, is just ahead of fellow three-year-old filly Enable (160), also successful in four Group 1s this year for trainer John Gosden, including the Epsom Oaks, Darley Irish Oaks, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Darley Yorkshire Oaks — in both the Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Three-YearOld Filly divisions.
Knight moves up
Decorated Knight (128) moves up to fifth place in the Cartier Older Horse category following his 25/1 victory in the G1 QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 9. Trained by Roger Charlton for owners Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar, Decorated Knight was winning his second G1 contest in Ireland this season, having landed the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May.
Caravaggio, who won the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot before disappointing efforts at Newmarket and Deauville, got back to winning ways when taking the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh on September 10.
Harry Herbert, Cartier’s Racing Consultant, commented: “We were treated to tremendous racing across Europe over the weekend, with some stellar performances plus a few surprise results. “We are now entering the busy autumn period, which will play a pivotal role in helping to determine the champions at the 2017 Cartier Racing Awards.”