John Gosden-trained horses dominated the 2018 Cartier Awards, the winners of which were announced Tuesday night in London.
Leading the way was Roaring Lion, who won Horse of the Year honors as well as for champion three-year-old colt. The son of Kitten’s Joy captured four Group 1s — the Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion, and Queen Elizabeth II — as well as the Dante (G2). He also placed in the Epsom Derby (G1) and Craven (G3).
He was the fourth Cartier Horse of the Year winner for Gosden in the past five years, following Kingman (2014), Golden Horn (2015), and Enable (2017).
Enable captured the champion older horse title following a second consecutive win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1), which followed a single prep in the September (G3) at Kempton over the all-weather. Enable also won the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) at Churchill Downs on November, while Roaring Lion finished last in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) when trying dirt for the first time.
Gosden also trains Too Darn Hot, the champion two-year-old colt who won the Dewhurst (G1), Champagne (G2), and Solario (G3) while going undefeated in four starts, and the champion stayer Stradivarius, who also enjoyed an unbeaten campaign when taking the Lonsdale Cup (G2), Gold Cup (G1), Goodwood Cup (G1), Yorskshire Cup (G1), and British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2).
Champion three-year-old filly honors went to Alpha Centauri, heroine of the Prix Jacques le Marois (G1), Irish 1000 Guineas (G1), Coronation (G1), and Falmouth (G1).
Skitter Scatter was named top juvenile filly following scores in the Moyglare Stud (G1), Debutante (G2), and Silver Flash (G3) in Ireland. Champion sprinter honors were won by Mabs Cross, the four-year-old filly who landed the Prix de l’Abbaye (G1) and Palace House (G3) and who also placed in the Nunthorpe (G1) and King’s Stand (G1).
The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in European racing. Winners are determined by three established strands. Points are earned by horses in Pattern races (30% of the total) and these are combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists/handicappers (35%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus ITV Racing viewers (35%).
