NEWS
Sea The Stars named Europe’s Horse of the Year
Posted: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 6:00 PM
SEA THE STARS
John Crofts photography
Multiple Group 1 winner Sea The Stars was honored Tuesday as Europe’s Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old colt at the annual Cartier Racing Awards in London.
The three-year-old bay Cape Cross (Ire) colt won all six of his starts this season, becoming the first horse in two decades to win both the Stanjames.com Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and the Investec Epsom Derby (Eng-G1).
Sea The Stars followed his double with wins in the Coral Eclipse Stakes (Eng-G1), the Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-G1), and the Tattersalls Millions Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-G1).
Christopher Tsui’s homebred Sea The Stars concluded his season by winning Europe’s premier middle distance race, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) at Longchamp. No horse before him had added an Arc victory to wins in the Two Thousand Guineas and the Epsom Derby.
Sea The Stars was named Horse of the Year over two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Goldikova (Ire); repeat Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) winner Conduit (Ire); Boylesports.com Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) winner Mastercraftsman (Ire); and Stanjames.com One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) heroine Ghanaati. The five Horse of the Year nominees combined to win 16 Group 1 races in 2009.
The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to recognize the achievements of racehorses. The awards were determined by points earned in pattern races combined with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists, plus votes from readers of the Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph.
Goldikova was named champion older horse following four wins at the highest level this season, including a second consecutive Breeders’ Cup Mile triumph. The four-year-old Anabaa filly also captured the Etihad Airways Falmouth Stakes (Eng-G1), the Prix Rothschild (Fr-G1), and the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois (Fr-G1).
St Nicholas Abbey, a bay Montjeu (Ire) colt, and Special Duty, a chestnut Hennessy filly, were chosen as champion two-year-old colt and filly, respectively.
St Nicholas Abbey won all three of his starts, including the Racing Post Trophy (Eng-G1) on October 24 at Doncaster in his final outing of 2009 while Special Duty won the Electrolux Cheveley Park Stakes (Eng-G1) at Newmarket and the Prix Robert Papin (Fr-G2) this season.
Sariska, a bay Pivotal filly, won the Investec Epsom Oaks (Eng-G1) and cruised to an easy three-length victory in the Darley Irish Oaks (Ire-G1) at the Curragh en route to earning champion three-year-old filly honors.
Yeats, an eight-year-old Sadler’s Wells horse, cemented his spot in the record books with a record fourth victory in the Gold Cup (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot. He was named champion stayer for 2009, becoming the first horse to win a Cartier Award four times.
Fleeting Spirit (Ire), a four-year-old Invincible Spirit filly, captured the Darley July Cup (Eng-G1) at Newmarket and finished second in three other Group 1 races to earn the champion sprinter award.
John Oxx, trainer of Sea The Stars, received the 2009 Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit, given to the person who has done the most for European racing during a 12-month span or during the course of the winner’s career.
