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Cartier Racing Awards 2018 2b2r6h |
| Tuesday 13th November | |
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Roaring Lion is the 2018 Cartier Horse Of The Year at the 28th annual Cartier Racing Awards, European horseracing's equivalent of the Oscars.
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Owned by Qatar Racing Limited, the outstandingly talented and consistent three-year-old colt becomes the fourth Cartier Horse Of The Year in the last five years to be trained by John Gosden at Newmarket, following on from Enable (2017).
Purchased as a yearling by Qatar Racing's racing manager David Redvers at the 2016 Keeneland September sale for US$160,000, the son of Kitten's Joy enjoyed an outstanding year with victories in three G1 contests over 10 furlongs in the space of just over two months from July to September - the QIPCO Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.
Roaring Lion followed up on those superb wins with a fourth straight G1 success when dropped down in distance to a mile for the Investec Derby at Epsom Downs in June.
Three of the other four nominations for Cartier Horse of the Year, Enable, Stradivarius and Cracksman - the 2017 Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt - are also trained by Gosden. The final nomination for Cartier Horse Of The Year honours was Alpha Centauri.
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But the brilliant filly takes the award for Cartier Older Horse in 2018. The Khalid Abdullah-owned and bred four-year-old was on the sidelines for much of the year, but she made a stunning winning reappearance in the G3 188Bet September Stakes on the All-Weather track at Kempton Park.
A month later, the daughter of Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, twice. She created more history as the first horse ever to follow up success in the Longchamp feature with victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs, USA.
The other Cartier Older Horse nominees were Cracksman, Lightning Spear.
Roaring Lion also gained the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt Award, seeing off Sands Of Mali.
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A record-equalling fifth equine win on the night for Gosden comes courtesy of Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in October.
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The only other trainer to achieve five equine Cartier Racing Awards in a year has been Aidan O'Brien, who had Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt: Churchill, Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly: Minding, Cartier Stayer: Order Of St George, Cartier Older Horse: Found and Cartier Horse of the Year: Minding in 2016.
If one horse lit up the summer of 2018, it was Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes by four and a half lengths.
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It was a close battle in the Cartier Sprinter division, with the honours going to Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp Longines, at Longchamp in October.
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The Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to David Oldrey. One of the greatest talents to have worked in the istration of British horseracing, Oldrey's impressive CV involved The Jockey Club and the British Horseracing Board as well as numerous other bodies in the racing industry. A successful owner-breeder and racing historian, he is a true polymath.
Harry Herbert, Cartier's Racing consultant commented: "What another outstanding year it has been for European horseracing.
"Congratulations to John Gosden and his team for securing a t-record five equine Cartier Racing Awards at the 28th annual Cartier Racing Awards. Roaring Lion truly lived up to his name, with four courageous G1 successes over the course of the season.
"Enable more than made up for missing the summer with her second Arc success followed by the Breeders' Cup Turf. What an outstanding filly she is. There was nothing to touch Stradivarius in the stayers' division, while Too Darn Hot looks hugely exciting for the 2019 campaign.
"Alpha Centauri towered over her rivals with several scintillating displays and congratulations to her owner-breeder the Niarchos Family and trainer Jessica Harrington, who has proved herself to be the outstanding dual-purpose handler of our age.
"Mabs Cross was superbly campaigned and earned her just reward at Longchamp. while Anthony and Sonia Rogers, such tremendous owner-breeders, have an outstanding filly in Skitter Scatter.
"Of course, horseracing does not function without great people behind the scenes. David Oldrey, who has dedicated himself to the istration of our great sport, is one such person. He is the deserved winner of the Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit.
"Congratulations to all our winners this year and thanks go to Cartier UK, headed by Laurent Feniou, for ing the Cartier Racing Awards for the 28th consecutive year."
2018 - CARTIER RACING AWARDS
Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt: Too Darn Hot
Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly: Skitter Scatter
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt: Roaring Lion
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly: Alpha Centauri
Cartier Sprinter: Mabs Cross
Cartier Stayer: Stradivarius
Cartier Older Horse: Enable
Cartier Horse of the Year: Roaring Lion owned by Qatar Racing Limited
Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit: David Oldrey
Past winners at the Cartier Racing Awards
