Dubai: With just over a month to go for the highly-anticipated Cartier Racing Awards, several Dubai-owned horses remain in contention for a share of the honours at European racing’s premier event.
While, Enable, an emphatic winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, at Chantilly on Sunday staked her claim to be crowned winner of the prestigious Cartier Horse of the Year, Godolphin’s Barney Roy and Harry Angel continue to hold pole position in the strongly competitive Three-Year-Old Colt and Sprinter categories respectively.
Trained in Newmarket, England by John Gosden for owner/breeder Prince Khalid Abdullah
Enable took her tally to 208 Pattern Race points by winning her fifth Group 1 race of the year following the Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks, King George and Yorkshire Oaks.
She has a commanding lead over Winter (164), a four-time Group 1 scorer in 2017 and Eclipse and Juddmonte International winner Ulysses (152), who finished third behind Enable in the Arc.
Enable also dominate the standings for Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly, while Ulysses now displaced Godolphin’s star miler Ribchester (142) in the Older Horse division.
However, Godolphin still call the shots in the Three-Year-Old Colt category, with Barney Roy (116) ahead of dual Guineas winner Churchill (104)
Harry Angel (100), another star from the Dubai-owned Godolphin stable, heads a very strong Cartier Sprinter division, having scorched home in the Darley July Cup and Sprint Cup.
However, Battaash (56), a runaway winner of the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines at Chantilly on Sunday, looks to be a threat to his crown.
Big Orange (72) leads the way in the Cartier Stayer division, although his advantage is now down to a solitary point after Vazirabad (71) landed the Group 1 Prix du Cadran at Chantilly on September 30.
Another competitive division is the Two-Year-Old Colt category, with Beckford, Sioux Nation, US Navy Flag and Unfortunately inseparable on 48 points the Group 1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on September 30, where US Navy Flag finished ahead of Beckford (fifth), Sioux Nation (sixth) and Unfortunately (ninth).
Harry Herbert, Cartier’s racing consultant, commented: “Enable’s breathtaking victory at Chantilly was out of the top drawer and she must rank as one of the best three-year-old fillies of the modern era.
“She is set to be crowned Cartier Horse of the Year 2017, barring a truly sensational performance by another horse, and continue the outstanding record of Khalid Abdullah-owned and bred horses at European racing’s top awards.
“The season is far from over however with Newmarket’s Dubai Future Champions Festival and QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot to look forward to later this month.”
The 2017 Cartier Racing Awards will be presented on Tuesday, November 14.
