Cartier Awards: What They Said

[Wandering Eyes]

The following is a snapshot of some of the highlights of the acceptance speeches at Tuesday night’s Cartier Awards, where Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) took Horse of the Year and 3-Year-Old champion honors and was one of four winners on the night for trainer John Gosden.

Roaring Lion (Cartier Horse of the Year/3-Year-Old Colt)

Sheikh Fahad Al Thani (owner): “To have a Cartier Horse Of The Year is an unbelievable achievement by the whole team. John is an unbelievable trainer and a master of his art. I remember standing at the Craven and he said to me ‘this might be a little bit scary but don’t be disappointed and wait until the end the year.’ It was absolutely true.

“My wife [Melissa] had to put up with me for the whole year which was difficult enough I am sure. I would also like to thank my brothers for entrusting me with the racing operation. Oisin [Murphy] has done an unbelievable job–I don’t think there is a jockey like he is riding at the moment except maybe Frankie [Dettori].

“Her Majesty The Queen has been a great supporter of our operation from day one. I was trying to keep my calm when Roaring Lion won at Ascot and she turned to me and said ‘I think you are allowed to scream and enjoy.’ I hope I am allowed back at Ascot after that.”

John Gosden (trainer): “If you go back to last year’s Racing Post Trophy, Roaring Lion came to win his race comfortably and then slightly turned left and played with the other horse. Oisin thought he got there too soon, but he didn’t–he got there perfectly but unfortunately his horse wanted a game in the playground. When we got to the Craven, I remembered Vincent O’Brien telling me ‘beware of American horses John, wait for the sun on their back and for the faster ground.’ I said to Sheikh Fahad beforehand that the Craven is only a trial and we were not going to win. If you look at my middle and the horse’s middle, they are both far too big. My wife has been reminding me about mine for years.

“The horse blew up in the Craven. He got half-good in the Guineas and worked it out. Then away he went. He is a magnificent horse who got bigger and stronger. He was bred out of California through Kentucky and unlike all the other horses, he is a sales horse, which is rare. The owner-breeders in this room breed the best horses in my opinion.

“Roaring Lion came through the whole thing and, along with his young jockey, grew in strength and together they were wonderful. They never panicked, not at Leopardstown and not in the QEII. If I had been riding him, I would have panicked.”

David Redvers (bloodstock/racing manager): “Eight years ago, I was completely on my uppers. We had just had a shocking run of events–Ishiguru and Lucky Story were two horses who ended their stallion careers almost as soon as they had started them through an unfortunate paddock accident and a heart attack. We were just getting going and then got cut down.

“I went to New Zealand and tried to find another thread, some way that I could make a few quid in this business. Within a day of arriving, I got an email from my little sister, the most unlikely bearer of good of good fortune, who told me that there was a young Sheikh who would like to meet me for lunch at the Lanesborough Hotel [in London] on Tuesday morning. This was Friday afternoon and I had arrived in New Zealand on the Thursday night. So, I found myself checking out this young Sheikh and realised that it might not be some fake sheikh and it be worthwhile getting on a plane to go back.

“I missed my flight after falling asleep in the airport. The whole thing was a nightmare and I got there with three minutes to spare. I met a rather different Sheikh Fahad at the Lanesborough to the God that you see before you today. He told me that he wanted to buy a racehorse or two and it was the moment that changed my life.

“The key thing to everything is to get a great team around you. Luckily, I have a great team. Hannah was already working for me, Peter Molony was my best friend and Ralph Beckett and Andrew Balding have helped this dream come true. You all know who you are.

“This tonight is the absolute highlight. All I can say with Qatar Racing is we are incredibly lucky to work with an unbelievable team of trainers.”

Enable (Cartier Older Horse)

Lord Grimthorpe (racing manager): “This award is made up of so many extraordinary components and this year has been hugely emotional. I would like to start with thanks to Cartier, the panel and the voters. Then there was the drive and patience of Prince Khalid and the genius of John Gosden and his team–Barry, Barry, Thady, Gary, Hannah, Imran who looked after Enable, Rab of course, the skill of Ian Wright and Benoit to bring her back and not least of course the flawless darn that is Frankie Dettori.

And Enable herself had that extraordinary will to overcome both adversity and adversaries–she is the Queen of Juddmonte. Thank you very, very much.”

Stradivarius (Cartier Stayer)

Bjorn Nielsen (owner/breeder): “Thank you Cartier, The Daily Telegraph, Racing Post and John Gosden–how did you get a horse like this to peak five times? Frankie Dettori’s race riding was brilliant, especially on Champions Day when he had to overcome team tactics. I know it was controversial, but he did. Thank you, thank you.”

Too Darn Hot (Cartier 2-Year-Old Colt)

Lord Lloyd-Webber (owner/breeder): “I must say, it has been a rather extraordinary year for me. I had the great luck of getting my first EMMY award and picking up a TONY award for lifetime achievement. It was all summed up by what happened when I flew back from Los Angeles the other day. Going through immigration, I was told ‘congratulations’ and I said ‘it has been a fantastic year’ and the reply was ‘Too Darn Hot in the Dewhurst.’

“Nobody wants to talk about the shows anymore, only Too Darn Hot. But the name did come from a musical and it’s called Kiss Me Kate.”

Skitter Scatter (Cartier 2-Year-Old Filly)

Anthony Rogers (owner/breeder): “This is great. It means a lot to me and the family. I must just say one person who probably a lot of people have forgotten is my father [Captain Tim Rogers, who died in 1984]. He got everything going and was an amazing man. This one is for my dad.”

Patrick Prendergast (trainer): “I wasn’t sure she was going to be a Group 1 filly. The biggest thrill I got was when she won the Debutante. I saw that day that she actually loved the step up in trip despite being a very speedy filly and she then struck me with that victory as being a Group 1 filly. That race showed that she belonged with the best and would stay a mile.

“Ronan Whelan [jockey] is a very popular guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve and loves the game. He had a tumble in Dubai last week, but he is doing well and he always had a lot of faith in the filly. She looks like she has grown a little bit and is improving throughout the winter. I’ll keep getting out of bed for her.

“Like all the good fillies, she is very relaxed. She likes her food, her sleep and her work. She is very competitive and we just don’t want her to overdo it.”

Alpha Centauri (Cartier 3-Year-Old Filly)

Maria Niarchos-Gouaze (owner/breeder): “2018 has been an incredible year. Alpha Centauri has given so much pleasure that her early retirement sent us into oblivion. Thank God that she is OK and able to reproduce.

“Her four consecutive victories in Group 1s in the Guineas, Coronation S., Falmouth and Jacques Le Marois will remain impregnated in our minds. I would like to thank the whole team–firstly those who raised her at Coolmore, Jessie and all her stable for training her, Colm for riding her and Alan Cooper for managing her and last but not least, Alpha Centauri herself.”

Mabs Cross (Cartier Sprinter)

Emma Armstrong (owner/breeder): “Thank you. As many of you know, we haven’t been in racing too long–15 years. We are owner-breeders, and we bred Mabs Cross. She was our 100th winner and out of our first winner, Miss Meggy. I just can’t thank everyone enough. We are a small family business up in Lancashire and Mabs Cross was owned and bred there. We were told we would never breed a Group 1 winner in Lancashire and now we have bred two now in Lancashire.”

 

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