Cartier Racing Awards
Cartier Racing Awards 2025
Wednesday 17th September
 

Delacroix is the new leader in the points standings for the Cartier Horse of the Year following his brilliant victory in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 13. 

Trained by Aidan O’Brien for a Coolmore partnership, Delacroix unleashed a scintillating turn of foot to provide his connections with a remarkable 13th success in the showpiece event of the Irish Champions Festival. 

The Dubawi colt, who is out of North American champion Tepin, has amassed 136 points in Pattern races so far this year and his four wins include beating dual Derby winner Lambourn (92) in the P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes and edging out Ombudsman (124) in the Coral-Eclipse.

Delacroix’s two defeats in 2025 have come behind the same horses. He disappointed behind Lambourn in the Betfred Derby (In Honour Of His Highness Aga Khan IV) but ran a better race when chasing home Ombudsman in the Juddmonte International.

A superb Saturday for Coolmore and O’Brien also saw them combine to win the Betfred St Leger for a third consecutive year, and ninth time in total, as Scandinavia (88) captured the Doncaster Classic. The first winner in the race for his sire Justify, Scandinavia had previously defeated Gold Cup runner-up Illinois (48) in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup and now heads the Cartier Stayer division. 

The strength of Ballydoyle’s Classic crop can also be seen in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly category, with Minnie Hauk (112) and Whirl (96) continuing to dominate, despite the latter’s surprise defeat in the Qatar Prix Vermeille earlier this month. 

Ombudsman remains at the head of the Cartier Older Horse standings, although several of his rivals advanced their claims at Longchamp’s Qatar Arc Trials meeting. Aventure (72) readily won the Qatar Prix Vermeille, while Rosallion (72) went down by a short-head in the Qatar Prix du Moulin de Longchamp. Sosie (72) also filled the runner-up spot on the same card in the Qatar Prix Foy. 

Day two of the Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh on Sunday produced another sensational day of racing, with Arizona Blaze (72) leaping to the top of the Cartier Sprinter division after comfortably taking the Bar One Racing Flying Five Stakes. 

Trained by Adrian Murray for AMO Racing Limited & Giselle de Aguiar, the Sergei Prokofiev colt was capturing his third Pattern race sprint of the year and holds a significant advantage over recent Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes victor Big Mojo (56). Both horses ran well in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and could reoppose at Del Mar in November. 

Al Riffa (48) continued his rise in the Cartier Stayer ranks with an impressive win in the Comer Group International Irish St Leger. The five-year-old was following up his course and distance win in July’s Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup and looks set to try and provide his trainer Joseph O’Brien with a third Melbourne Cup success. 

Zavateri (64) is the new leader in the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt standings after gamely denying Gstaad (48) in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes. The Mick and Janice Mariscotti-owned son of Without Parole is unbeaten in four starts for Eve Johnson Houghton, having also enjoyed Group Two success in the Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes and Coral Vintage Stakes. 

Sumbe Prix Morny heroine Venetian Sun (64) continues to head the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly category, although the Karl Burke-trained filly met with a first defeat when finishing third behind Precise (40) and Beautify (32) in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

Cartier Racing Awards

Points earned in Pattern races up to and including Sunday, September 14, 2025.
 
Cartier Horse of the Year
136 Delacroix
124 Ombudsman
112 Minnie Hauk
108 Calandagan
96 Field Of Gold
96 Whirl
92 Lambourn
88 Scandinavia
74 Arizona Blaze
72 Aventure
72 Rosallion
72 Sosie
72 Trawlerman
 
Cartier Older Horse
124 Ombudsman
108 Calandagan
72 Aventure
72 Rosallion
72 Sosie
 
Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt
136 Delacroix
96 Field Of Gold
92 Lambourn
88 Scandinavia
74 Arizona Blaze
 
Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly
112 Minnie Hauk
96 Whirl
66 Gezora
62 Cercene
60 Desert Flower
 
Cartier Sprinter
72 Arizona Blaze
56 Big Mojo
48 Lazzat
40 Sajir
40 Time For Sandals
 
Cartier Stayer
88 Scandinavia
72 Trawlerman
48 Al Riffa
48 Illinois
36 Sweet William
34 Candelari
34 Double Major
 
Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt
64 Zavateri
48 Gstaad
40 Power Blue
32 Puerto Rico
24 Do Or Do Not
 
Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly
64 Venetian Sun
48 True Love
40 Precise
32 Beautify
28 Green Sense