Just thought i would post the latest points standings for the 2011 Cartier Horse Racing Awards list... The closing date for the votes isnt until the 7th of November, so there is still time if anybody wants to vote... HORSE OF THE YEAR - Frankel.....................168 points So You Think.............162 Cirrus Des Aigles.........140 THREE YEAR-OLD COLT - Frankel.....................168 Dream Ahead.............112 Treasure Beach..........111 THREE YEAR-OLD FILLY - Blue Bunting..............110 Imortal Verse.............104 Together....................96 Danedream.................80 OLDER HORSE - So You Think.............162 Cirrus Des Aigles.........140 Goldikova..................112 SPRINTER - Dream Ahead..............80 Society Rock..............64 Prohibit.....................61 STAYER - Opinion Poll...............73 Fame And Glory.........59 Duncan....................48 TWO YEAR-OLD COLT - Power.....................80 Dabrisim..................72 Lilbourne Lad............46 TWO YEAR-OLD FILLY - Maybe....................56 Fire Lilly..................50 Lyric Of Light...........48 These are the top horses for each of the 8 awards, so are they about right or is there a horse you think should be in the top three and inline for an award...? I must admit that i have been impressed with Brown Panther - (5 starts, 3 wins and 2 seconds...) this year, and thought that he might be in the top 3 for the Three year-old colts. Or even Masked Marvel - (7 starts, 4 and wins...) who beat Brown Panther at Doncaster in the St Ledger Stakes. I cant see past Frankel for the Horse Of The Year, and so will be nailed on for the Three Year-old Colt as well... Are there any others that you think might or should be up there...? Be glad to hear any comments...
I think they are about right to be honest. Except i reckon Darbirsm might be a worthier recipient of the 2yo award than Power. I'd probably also have Fame And Glory above Opinion Poll, and Lyric Of Light above Fire Lily.
I thought Deacon Blues was worth at least a place in the sprinters list ....................... he's had a tremendous season Seems to be a lot of Ballydoyle & Godolphin "groupies" voting here. The Arc winner doesn't win best female filly?
General comment: This looks as though there is not a separate vote for horse of the year. If that is the case then it could have potentially thrown up a strange result. if it isn't the case it's a very strange coincidence that the votes for horse of the year are identical to the votes each horse received in their category. Eg had F&G not had 2 below par performances then, having beaten Opinion Poll convincingly on Champions Day, he might well have received 200 votes for Stayer of the Year. Would that have made him Horse of the Year? Specific comments: Horse of the Year. Surprised Frankel isn't walking this but see General comment. 3yo colt. No surprise there 3yo filly. Surprised Danedream is so far down the list Older Horse. Looks about right. Goldi clearly not so popular as I thought Sprinter. No surprise Stayer. Surely F&G 2yo colt and 2yo filly No surprise. Dabrisim a good runner up.
The current standings are based on the points they earn through winning certain races through the season Ron. The voting is then applied to determine the final winner, though i must admit to being uncertain as to the precise workings of it. Perhaps PN can explain more. That is why Danedream is only in 4th in the 3yo Fillies category. I suspect she got her full 80 points from winning the Arc. Also agree that Deacon Blues deserves to be in the 3 at the very least. I was forgetting about him!
PS. Yes very surprised that Deacon Blues isn't there fighting it out for second place, purely for his consistency. Not surprised Dream Ahead is top though; he's won 3 G1s whereas Deacon Blues hasn't even contested one. Also I rate Hoof It better than Deacon Blues.
Not yet. These are scores and then the voting is taken into account after. Even if Frankel were not on top on the scoring he would still be a certainty for both awards because he'd be receiving at the very least most of the votes.
I suppose my family & friends would vote for me for Sports Personality of the Year so, on that basis, Frankel would not get all the votes.
Agree with most of it. Dabirsim should be best 2yo colt. Fame and Glory should be best stayer, and Deacon Blues should be second best sprinter, the race at Ascot was pretty much a G1, and it will be upped to G1 for next season
Danedream - 80, and only in 4th position for top 3-y-o filly? That's about as dumb as it gets......absolutely absurd......
Yup, it's a points based thing at the moment, with points awarded according to wins and places at group level. At the current standings, in theory SO YOU THINK could overtake FRANKEL for horse of the year if he runs well at Breeders' Cup. As for the voting, the vast majority of votes are cast by racing journalists and a special panel appointed by Cartier (my boss sat on it a few years ago). They will allow the public to cast votes for Horse of the Year, if memory serves correctly, but not on every category. This is the press release that came out yesterday along with the current points standings as in the OP: Frankel took yet another unfaltering stride towards greatness at the inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday, October 15, with a brilliant victory in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by QIPCO. Such was the complete dominance of Khalid Abdulla’s homebred colt against a field of crack milers that the packed Ascot stands erupted into impassioned applause with the best part of half a furlong still to race. If that is an accurate indication of public and professional sentiment, the unbeaten star of European racing will be hard to surpass in the two Cartier Racing Awards that he has headed through most of the season; the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt division and the Cartier Horse of the Year category. Established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing, the Cartier Awards are determined by points earned by horses in Pattern races throughout 2011, combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists and votes from readers of the Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph. In addition to those eight equine awards, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the special 18-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done the most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months. European horseracing’s equivalent of the Oscars will be presented on the evening of Tuesday, November 15, during a glittering ceremony before an invited audience at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Sir Henry Cecil has produced Frankel (168 points) to win on each of his nine starts and Saturday’s four-length demolition of a high-class field was the latest impressive top-flight success. Last year’s Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt Award winner powered clear of the Marco Botti-trained Excelebration (86 points), who had won the Group One Qatar Prix du Moulin at Longchamp on his previous start and was also victorious in the German 2,000 Guineas in the spring. A further three and a half lengths back in third place was the hugely talented French raider Immortal Verse, a strong contender for Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly honours with 104 points. Robert Collet’s charge has twice captured Group One races this term and conquered the great Goldikova in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville in August. Frankel’s closest pursuers for Cartier Horse of the Year honours are So You Think (162) and Cirrus Des Aigles (140) who went head to head in the Group One QIPCO Champion Stakes over 10 furlongs at Ascot, around 35 minutes after his stunning display. So You Think, the Australian champion who has won three Group One races in Europe since switching to Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable at the start of this year, may have more points than his French rival but it was Cirrus Des Aigles who took the spoils at Ascot. The five-year-old, trained by Corine Barande-Barbe, has raced a remarkable 10 times this year - winning five and running the likes of Goldikova and Sarafina close at the highest level - and gained a deserved Group One triumph under Christophe Soumillon as he finished three quarters of a length in front of So You Think. Last year’s Cartier Horse of the Year, Goldikova, is still an outstanding athlete at age six and the Freddy Head-trained mare has 112 points, equal to the three-year-old colt Dream Ahead who defeated the champion in a thrilling renewal of the Group One Qatar Prix de la Foret at Longchamp earlier this month. Dream Ahead, who has proved a brilliant sprinter this year with further wins in the Darley July Cup and Betfred Sprint Cup, was officially ranked Frankel’s equal by the international handicappers at the end of 2010. Frankel, whose five wins this term also include the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and QIPCO Sussex Stakes, is 56 points clear of his rival in the race to be crowned champion Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt. The Cartier Older Horse standings see So You Think 22 points ahead of Cirrus Des Aigles while 2009 and 2010 winner Goldikova, who has 14 career Group/Grade One wins to her name and is aiming for a phenomenal fourth victory in the Grade One Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs next month, lies in third place, ahead of the multiple Group/Grade One heroine Midday (106). Immortal Verse has closed to within six points of Blue Bunting (110) who heads the Cartier Three-year-Old Filly Award standings after her third place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by QIPCO. Godolphin’s Blue Bunting, trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, landed Group One wins in the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas, Darley Irish Oaks and Darley Yorkshire Oaks earlier this year. Together (96) is next best after her victory in the Grade One Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, USA, on October 15, while the strong division sees impressive Group One Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Danedream in fourth place on 80 points. The Cartier Stayer Award category was also impacted by events on QIPCO British Champions Day with Group One Gold Cup hero Fame And Glory (59) returning to form with a brilliant front-running victory under Jamie Spencer in the Group Three QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. In winning that two-mile contest, Aidan O’Brien’s charge held division leader Opinion Poll (73) in second, as he had in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June. Between times, Opinion Poll has landed the Group Two Artemis Goodwood Cup and Group Two Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup at York. The O’Brien-trained Power, winner of the Group One Goffs National Stakes in September, heads the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt division with 80 points after his recent runner-up finish to the Jim Bolger-trained Parish Hall (44) in the Group One Dubai Dewhurst Stakes. Only eight points behind Power is the unbeaten and incredibly impressive dual Group one winner Dabirsim (72) from the stable of Christophe Ferland, while the Richard Hannon-trained Lilbourne Lad, runner-up to Crusade in the Group One Emaar Middle Park Stakes, has 46 points. There is a close race for the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly Award with the O’Brien-trained Maybe leading the way on 56 points. The unbeaten Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes heroine has six points more than Fire Lily, who was runner-up in that race, while Godolphin’s Lyric Of Light has 48 points thanks to her Group One Shadwell Fillies’ Mile success. Further Group One winners La Collina and Lightening Pearl both have 44 points. Dream Ahead leads the Cartier Sprinter Award points standings, 16 points clear of Group One Golden Jubilee Stakes winner Society Rock. Group One King’s Stand Stakes winner Prohibit has 61 points, while Bated Breath commands 46 points after filling the runner-up berth in the Darley July Cup, Betfred Sprint Cup and Grade One Nearctic Stakes. Harry Herbert, Cartier’s racing consultant, commented today: “Ascot’s inaugural QIPCO British Champions Day more than lived up to expectations with a stunning line-up which included six of the top 10 horses racing in the world. “Everyone is again talking about Frankel and the reception he received in victory confirmed he is a bona fide superstar held in the highest regard by an adoring public. “But the day was not just about Khalid Abdulla’s brilliant colt; a fantastic QIPCO Champion Stakes produced an epic battle between Cirrus Des Aigles and So You Think. If either of that pair is to capture the Cartier Older Horse Award, they may well have to fend off the Breeders’ Cup-bound Goldikova. “All in all it has been an incredible year and the wonderful thing is that it is not over yet. There are still major races to be decided, including 15 Breeders’ Cup contests in Kentucky on the first weekend in November when three-time Cartier Award winner Goldikova will bid for a phenomenal fourth win in the Mile.”
So what happens, if Danedream wins the Japan Cup? Arc-Japan Cup Double Arc in record time by 5 1/2 lengths two additional Group One destructions by a combined 12 lengths, an additional Group two by 6 1/2 lengths, Wins in four countries on two continents Should Frankel still win HOTY?
Unbeaten winner of the Greenham, 2000 Guineas, St James' Palace Stakes, Sussex and QEII, by a combined total of 19 and 3/4 lengths. Beaten 12 individual G1 winners: Canford Cliffs, Excelebration, Immortal Verse, Pathfork, Casamento, Roderic O'Connor, Dream Ahead, Grand Prix Boss, Wootton Bassett, Rio De La Plata, Dick Turpin and Poet's Voice. Timeform rating of 143 leaving him 3rd on the all time list, RPR of 139 leaving him joint highest since they began and a BHA rating of 135. Yes.
Danedream has won four group races by a combined total of 22 1/2 lengths. Beaten 17 G1 winners: So you Think, Sarafina, Workforce, Galikova, Masked Marvel, Meandre, Snow Fairy, St. Nicholas Abbey, Treasure Beach, Joshua Tree, Waldpark, Night Magic, Scalo, Hiruno D´Amour, Nakayama Festa, Reliable Man, Cavalryman If Danedream does the Arc-Japan Cup double, she should win.
Danedream, if she wins the Japan Cup, will have essentially been named horse of the year for winning two races. Frankel would receive it for being one of the top 5 horses of all time. I know where my vote would go and the Germans are not going to be happy chappies.
TWO YEAR-OLD COLT - Power.....................80 Dabrisim..................72 Lilbourne Lad............46 Frankel.....................168 points So You Think.............162 Eh??? So you leave out the best 2 year old colt and put Power above a horse he clearly is not as good as and have Frankel a minute 6 pts ahead of SYT who has failed to win anything of real note all year. Frankel - one of the best horses of all time. SYT, not even the best horse in his yard. Yep, the Cartier Awards are a joke and should be ignored.
The problem is that no one knows how the points are awarded. If the points for a G1 win vary because of distance then it would make sense that SO YOU THINK is so close to Frankel. Whilst Frankel has run 5 times this year and won 4 G1s, SO YOU THINK has run 8 times with 3 G1 wins and 2 G1 places, so has had more opportunity to earn points. It is not a pure ability/popularity contest. Anything that is based on “points earned” is open to horses that are only good, rather than great, accumulating a lot of points on the back of numerous place finishes at the top level.
They've now announced the nominees in each catagory. The Awards will be presented in a ceremony to be held in London next week. The nominations, in alphabetical order, for the 2011 Cartier Racing Awards are as follows: Cartier Horse Of The Year: Cirrus Des Aigles Danedream Frankel Goldikova So You Think Cartier Older Horse: Canford Cliffs Cirrus Des Aigles Goldikova So You Think St Nicholas Abbey Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt: Dream Ahead Frankel Nathaniel Pour Moi Treasure Beach Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly: Blue Bunting Dancing Rain Danedream Immortal Verse Misty For Me Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt: Camelot Dabirsim Parish Hall Power Wrote Cartier Two Year-Old Filly: Elusive Kate Fire Lily Lightening Pearl Lyric Of Light Maybe Cartier Stayer: Dunaden Duncan Fame and Glory Kasbah Bliss Opinion Poll Cartier Sprinter: Bated Breath Deacon Blues Dream Ahead Prohibit Society Rock
