Dubai: Longchamp racecourse in Paris is gearing up to host one of the major weekends in European racing this weekend, which could have a significant impact on the build-up to the 2015 Cartier Racing Awards.
The historic 19th century venue stages seven Group 1 races on Sunday, with the showpiece race being the €5 million (Dh20.48 million) Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the world’s richest turf race and second richest horse race behind the $10 million (Dh36.7 million) Dubai World Cup.
Several leading contenders for Cartier glory will be seen in action on Saturday and Sunday, among them being sprint contender Muthmir, who is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance.
Muthmir (40 points) takes on several top speedballs including Mecca’s Angel (40) and Sole Power (40) in the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp in a bid to close the gap on Shaikh Hamdan’s star sprinter Muhaarar (96), who comfortably leads the division.
The Marcel Boussac and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere are perennially won by leading Classic contenders for the following year, while the scintillating card also features the Prix de l’Opera Longines and the Prix de la Foret.
Harry Herbert, Cartier’s racing consultant, said: “With autumn in the air, the big end-of-season finales of the Flat season are now approaching thick and fast.
“We have witnessed brilliant performances throughout the year and all the ingredients are there for a magnificent climax to the Cartier Racing Awards.”
Meanwhile, Newmarket’s Cambridgeshire meeting last week shook up the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly standings as Shaikh Hamdan’s Lumiere (40) bravely beat Illuminate (40) and Besharah (44 and the new leader) to throw open the division.
Newmarket’s autumn season has already produced some outstanding performances and the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes takes place at the course on Saturday, when Esoterique (92) will hope to strengthen his chances in the Cartier Older Horse standings, which is headed by the brilliant Solow (152).
The 25th annual Cartier Racing Awards will be presented before an invited audience of 300 at the Dorchester Hotel, London, on November 10.
The awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horse racing. In addition to the eight equine awards, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the 17-strong Cartier jury, has 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 decided through a combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races throughout 2015 (30 per cent), combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists (35 per cent) and votes from readers of the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 Racing viewers (35 per cent).
