Enable Named Cartier Horse Of The Year

[Wandering Eyes]

LONDON, UK—Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) became just the third horse to be named Cartier Horse of the Year for the second time following her Group 1 victories this season in the Coral-Eclipse, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes and Darley Yorkshire Oaks.

Juddmonte’s outstanding homebred 5-year-old was first given the award in 2017 and joins Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ouija Board (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in becoming a dual winner. Set to return to the racecourse in 2020, Enable was also named Older Horse of the Year for the second year running. The first European mare to exceed career earnings of £10 million, she has been beaten only twice in 15 starts, most recently when finishing second to Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) when attempting to win the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for a record third time.

“Bountiful talent combined with a courageous running style make her a joy to watch and it is no wonder that Enable is so popular with everyone in racing,” said Cartier’s racing consultant Harry Herbert. “It is exciting that Prince Khalid Abdullah is keeping her in training for 2020, when she could become the first three-time winner of the Cartier Horse of the Year.”

In a glittering evening for John Gosden and Frankie Dettori at London’s Dorchester Hotel, Enable provided two of the five equine awards with which the trainer and jockey were both associated. The mare’s fellow 5-year-old, Bjorn Nielsen’s Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), was named Cartier Stayer of the Year for the second time, while Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber’s Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) was another repeat winner, this time adding the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt title to his success in the juvenile category in 2018. Star Catcher (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who won the Irish Oaks and Prix Vermeille for owner-breeder Anthony Oppenheimer, was named Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly.

Herbert continued, “John Gosden and Frankie Dettori are one of the most enduring partnerships in horseracing and virtually everything they touched in 2019 turned to gold. Stradivarius is firmly among the immortals in the stayers’ division, while it was heart-warming to see Too Darn Hot return to his best in high summer. Star Catcher just seemed to get better and better as 2019 went on and emerged as the best of her generation.”

Charlie Appleby’s Godolphin stable provided two of the winners of the evening—both sons of Darley stallion Shamardal—with Blue Point (Ire) being named Cartier Sprinter and the unbeaten Pinatubo (Ire) taking the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt title.

“It takes a rare combination of talent and tenacity to win two races at Royal Ascot but Blue Point did exactly that as he topped and tailed the week by bagging both G1 sprints,” said Herbert. “Pinatubo was impressive throughout the year and his victory at the Curragh was a real wow moment. Officially the best juvenile in 25 years, his return in 2020 is going to be hugely anticipated.”

The final equine category went to another Juddmonte homebred, with the Roger Charlton-trained Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) being named Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly following her victory in the G1 bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket.

“As well as his established superstar Enable, Prince Khalid Abdullah also has unbeaten 2-year-old filly Quadrilateral to look forward to in 2020,” Herbert added. “Seven of the eight equine winners at the 29th Cartier Racing Awards are the product of owner-breeders who form the backbone of our great sport and I extend my congratulations to Prince Khalid Abdullah, Sheikh Mohammed, Bjorn Nielsen, Anthony Oppenheimer and Lord and Lady Lloyd-Webber

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