Paddington is the new leader in the race to be crowned Cartier Horse Of The Year, with three-year-olds filling the top seven places in the points for the leading equine accolade of the Cartier Racing Awards.
Established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing, the 33rd Cartier Racing Awards will be presented at the Dorchester Hotel in London on the evening of Thursday, November 9.
Paddington has accrued 112 points following a faultless campaign for Aidan O’Brien that has included dominant wins in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes.
Owned by a Coolmore partnership, the son of Siyouni came out on top in the first significant contest between the Classic crop and older horses, the Coral-Eclipse on July 8, when he beat Cartier Older Horse contender Emily Upjohn (56) by half a length.
The Coral-Eclipse has proved a pivotal pointer to the Cartier Racing Awards in recent years. Cartier Horse Of The Year recipients Roaring Lion (2018), Enable (2019), Ghaiyyath (2020) and St Mark’s Basilica (2021) all won the Sandown Park showpiece, in addition to last year’s Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt Vadeni.
O’Brien and Coolmore have another leading Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt candidate in Auguste Rodin (80), who provided his trainer with a 100th Classic victory when completing a Derby double in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on July 2.
Like his stable-mate, Auguste Rodin will be hoping to strike a blow for the three-year-olds when he lines up in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes later this month.
His rivals at Ascot could include Emily Upjohn, recent Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Westover (60) and Tattersalls Gold Cup victor Luxembourg (56), who are all tightly grouped at the head of the Cartier Older Horse division.
The Classic generation also took the honours in the Pertemps Network July Cup at Newmarket on July 15, as Shaquille (64) produced a sensational performance despite fluffing the start.
Trained by Julie Camacho, the Commonwealth Cup winner has opened up a clear lead in the Cartier Sprinter category and looks set to bid for further top-level honours in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock Park in September.
Older horses have captured the two all-aged G1 races for fillies and mares so far this season, with Via Sistina (56) taking the Yulong Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh at the start of the month and Nashwa (36) storming to victory in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket last week.
Nashwa will be hoping to strike again in the Qatar Nassau Stakes at next month’s Qatar Goodwood Festival, although she is due to face a stern test with dual French Classic heroine and Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly challenger Blue Rose Cen (72) travelling over for the race.
The Qatar Goodwood Festival may also see the first major clash of the generations in the Cartier Stayer category. Courage Mon Ami (48), Coltrane (32) and Subjectivist (15) could all reoppose after finishing first, second and third in the Gold Cup, with rising star Gregory (16) also entered.