Dylan Thomas Is Cartier Horse Of The Year For 2007

The very talented Dylan Thomas was named Cartier Horse Of The Year at the 2007 Cartier Racing Awards, presented in the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in London's Mayfair on the evening of Wednesday, November 14 (Please note the embargo above).

The four-year-old Danehill colt, trained by the champion of both Ireland and Britain, Aidan O'Brien, proved incredibly resilient this year, racing in Group One company every month from April to October and winning four of them, including Europe's greatest middle distance race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

His jockey that day, Kieren Fallon, called him the best horse he has ever ridden and Dylan Thomas' exploits may not have finished, with the Japan Cup on November 25 a possibility.

In the Horse Of The Year category, Dylan Thomas came out ahead of an outstanding quartet, comprising Manduro, Ramonti, Authorized and Peeping Fawn, and he also takes the Cartier Older Horse Award by overcoming Manduro and Ramonti again, plus Yeats and Notnowcato.

The Ballydoyle team of trainer Aidan O'Brien and owners Sue & John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith had another tremendous year of success.

This is reflected by Peeping Fawn, the outstanding filly of her generation, taking the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly Award from Darjina, Mrs Lindsay, Finsceal Beo and Light Shift, and Sue Magnier and Diane Nagle's Yeats, successful in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for the second year running, becoming a winner at the Cartier Racing Awards in successive years by gaining another Cartier Stayer title. The six-year-old came out ahead of Allegretto, Le Miracle, Geordieland and Macleya.

Another Irish trainer, Jim Bolger, last year achieved the memorable feat of capturing the Cartier Racing Awards for Two-Year-Old Colt and Two-Year-Old Filly with Teofilo and Finsceal Beo respectively. This year he again had the chance of winning both Cartier Awards.

His unbeaten dual Group One winner New Approach gained the accolade of Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt from Rio De La Plata, Kingsgate Native, Ibn Khaldun and Fast Company, while Saoirse Abu, along with Listen, Fleeting Spirit and Zarkava, just failed to hold off Natagora, trained in France by Pascal Bary and owned by Stefan Friborg, who is the 2007 Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.

Vodafone Derby winner Authorized did his connections proud this year and the colt is named the Carter Three-Year-Old Colt of 2007 ahead of Cockney Rebel, Excellent Art, Literato and Soldier Of Fortune.

Red Clubs, winner of the Group One Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock Park, collects the Cartier Sprinter Award in a category where the other nominations were Marchand D'Or, Kingsgate Native, Benbaun, Soldier's Tale and Sakhee's Secret.

The eight horse awards were decided by a tried and tested combination of points achieved in Pattern races, the views of racing journalists on Cartier´s Racing Panel, and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph.

The Pattern races counted towards 40 per cent of the total, with the Cartier Racing Panel´s deliberations also having a 40 per cent share and the votes of the newspaper readers making up the final 20 per cent.

The invited audience of nearly 300 at the Cartier Racing Awards consisted of leading owners, trainers, jockeys, breeders, media and racing personalities.

Seb Sanders and Jamie Spencer, joint winners of the thrilling British jockeys' championship which ended in dramatic fashion on Saturday, were expected to attend.

The Cartier Racing Awards, European horseracing's equivalent of the Oscars, are recognised as the most prestigious within European horseracing,

The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to honour excellence in the racehorse.

Order Of Merit For The Niarchos Family

The Niarchos Family, leading owners and breeders, are the winners of the 2007 Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award Of Merit which is presented to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the special 20-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months.

Their involvement has spanned over 50 years and resulted in tremendous success in races around the world, having bred or owned the winners of 121 Group or Grade One contests.

The list of past winners of the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit is as follows; Peter Willett, Henry Cecil, David & Patricia Thompson, Lord Oaksey, Prince Khalid Abdullah, John Magnier, His Highness the Aga Khan, Peter Walwyn, the Head Family, Sir Peter O´Sullevan, Frankie Dettori, John Dunlop, the Marquess of Hartington, Francois Boutin, Lester Piggott and Henri Chalhoub.

The 2007 Cartier Jury is made up of Michael Bell, Charlie Brooks, Alan Byrne, the Earl of Derby, Mike Dillon, Ed Dunlop, Douglas Erskine-Crum, Rod Fabricius, Philip Freedman, Tom Goff, Lord Grimthorpe, Simon Marsh, Jim McGrath, Sir Peter O´Sullevan, Leo Powell, Ruth Quinn, Sam Sheppard, Brough Scott, Sir David Sieff and Howard Wright