Star three-year-old fillies Winter (148 points) and Enable (128) head the standings for the 2017 Cartier Racing Awards, Britain's equivalent to America's Eclipse Awards, following their recent G1 victories at Goodwood and Ascot respectively.
European horseracing's top awards are delivered through points earned by horses in Pattern races (30 percent), combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists/handicappers (35 percent) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus ITV Racing viewers (35 percent).
The 2017 Cartier Racing Awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony before an invited audience of 300 at the Dorchester Hotel, London, on Tuesday, November 14.
The awards were established in 1991. There are eight equine awards, ranging from the Cartier Horse Of The Year to the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.
In addition, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the special 15-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done the most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months.
Winter, owned by Coolmore Partners and trained by Aidan O'Brien, bagged her fourth consecutive G1 victory of 2017 in the Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on August 3, which was her first attempt at ten furlongs. Already a dual classic winner, having taken the Newmarket and Irish 1,000 Guineas plus the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Galileo filly heads the standings for both the Cartier Horse of The Year and Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly categories.
Hot on her heels in both categories is Enable, trained by John Gosden for owner Prince Khalid Abdullah. A daughter of Nathaniel, Enable was the comfortable winner of the Epsom and Irish Oaks before an overwhelming victory against all-aged opposition in the G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored by Qipco) at Ascot on July 29.
Enable's impressive four and a half-length victory from Ulysses (92 points) at Ascot saw her become only the third filly to win the Epsom Oaks and King George in the same season following Pawneese (1976) and Taghrooda (2014), proving her to be a filly out of top drawer.
Godolphin's Ribchester (110), trained by Richard Fahey, heads the Cartier Older Horse category, despite going down by a neck to Here Comes When (48) on very soft ground in the mile G1 Qatar Sussex Stakes on August 2. Godolphin also own Barney Roy (104), the current leader in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt category ahead of dual 2,000 Guineas victor Churchill (80), who was a late withdrawal from the Sussex due to the going and is now likely to be re-routed to the ten-furlong Juddmonte International at York on August 23.
The G1 Darley July Cup winner Harry Angel (68), also owned by Godolphin, is out in front in the Cartier Sprinter division, ahead of Brando (48), trained by Kevin Ryan for owner Angie Bailey, who put up a very good performance at Deauville on August 6 to land the G1 LARC Prix Maurice de Gheest. Battaash (24), a progressive 3-year-old son of Dark Angel, is creeping into contention after breaking the five-furlong course record in the G3 Coral Charge at Sandown Park in July and then coping impressively with soft ground in the G2 Qatar King George Stakes over the same trip at Goodwood on August 4.
Bill and Tim Gredley's Big Orange (72), trained by Michael Bell and the game winner of the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, is the clear leader in the Cartier Stayer division. The popular 6-year-old was last seen in the G1 Qatar Goodwood Cup on August 1, when he went down by a length and three quarters to the Gosden-trained 3-year-old Stradivarius (48), who is now being aimed at the final classic of the season, the G1 William Hill St Leger at Doncaster on September 16.
Harry Herbert, Cartier's racing consultant, said: "We have been fortunate to see two outstanding fillies in Winter and Enable carry all before them so far in 2017. It would be a mouth-watering clash if they ever raced against each other."
Current standings
Cartier Horse Of The Year
Winter 148
Enable 128
Ribchester 110
Barney Roy 104
Roly Poly 96
Ulysses 92
Churchill 80
Decorated Knight 80
Highland Reel 80
Thunder Snow 78
Cartier Older Horse
Ribchester 110
Ulysses 92
Decorated Knight 80
Highland Reel 80
Cloth Of Stars 56
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt
Barney Roy 104
Churchill 80
Thunder Snow 78
Brametot 72
Harry Angel 68
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly
Winter 148
Enable 128
Roly Poly 96
Rhododendron 48
Senga 44
Cartier Sprinter
Harry Angel 68
Brando 48
Caravaggio 40
Tasleet 32
Lady Aurelia 32
The Tin Man 32
Cartier Stayer
Big Orange 72
Stradivarius 48
Vazirabad 31
Order Of St George 28
Polarisation 24