City Of Troy and Porta Fortuna landed blows for this season’s three-year-old crop in two of the significant early clashes of the generations, performances that have propelled the duo to the head of the points in the race to be crowned Cartier Horse of the Year.
Established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing, the 34th Cartier Racing Awards will be presented at the Dorchester Hotel in London on the evening of Wednesday, November 20.
Last season’s Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt City Of Troy followed up his G1 Betfred Derby success with a gritty performance on soft ground in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on July 6, seeing off his older rival Al Riffa by a length.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien for a Coolmore partnership, City Of Troy heads both the Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt divisions with 96 points. The Justify colt will be hoping to confirm his superiority over the coming weeks, with the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes, Juddmonte International and Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes his potential targets.
Porta Fortuna (88) dominated one of the first major skirmishes between the three-year-old fillies and older opposition when taking the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes by nearly four lengths at Newmarket’s July Festival last week.
The Donnacha O’Brien-trained filly is now top of the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly category and shares second in the Cartier Horse of the Year standings alongside Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes victor Rosallion (88).
Mill Stream (60) triumphed for the older generation when edging out Swingalong (32) in the My Pension Expert July Cup, with Commonwealth Cup scorer Inisherin (48) only able to finish fifth. Trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam and owned by Peter Harris, Mill Stream has opened up a clear lead at the top of the Cartier Sprinter division.
Queen Anne Stakes winner Charyn (80) continues to lead the Cartier Older Horse points, although his position could come under serious threat in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes later this month, with Auguste Rodin (64) and Rebel’s Romance (54) being considered for the Ascot showpiece.
Kyprios (56) and Trawlerman (27) remain first and second in the Cartier Stayer division following their Gold Cup exploits. Last season’s Prix Royal-Oak scorer Double Major (22) is a significant mover after posting his first win of 2024 in Saturday’s Prix Maurice de Nieuil at Longchamp.
About the Cartier Racing Awards
The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. There are eight equine awards – the Cartier Horse Of The Year, the Cartier Older Horse, the Cartier Sprinter, the Cartier Stayer, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly, the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.
European horseracing’s top awards are delivered through a tried and tested combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races (30%), combined at the end of the season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists/handicappers (35%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph (35%).
In addition to the equine awards, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the 16-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done the most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months.
The 34th Cartier Racing Awards will be presented at the Dorchester Hotel in London on the evening of Wednesday, November 20.