Ouija Board Crowned Cartier Horse Of The Year

Lord Derby´s brilliant dual Oaks and Breeders´ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Ouija Board was named Horse Of The Year at the 2004 Cartier Racing Awards, which were presented at the Four Seasons Hotel in London´s West End on the evening of Wednesday, November 17.

The three-year-old Cape Cross filly, trained by Ed Dunlop at Newmarket, England, won two classics, the Vodafone Oaks at Epsom and the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh before finishing well when third in the Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp and ending her season by capturing the Breeders´ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Lone Star Park, Texas, America, in great style.

Ouija Board also won the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly Award and remains in training next year. She finished ahead of Soviet Song, Bago, Attraction and Divine Proportions in the race for the Horse Of The Year Award and beat Attraction, Quiff, Grey Lilas and Alexander Goldrun for the Three-Year-Old Filly Award.

Soviet Song, trained at Newmarket by James Fanshawe and in the running for the Cartier Horse Of The Year accolade, took the Cartier Older Horse Of The Year Award. The four-year-old Marju filly scored three times at Group One level for her many thousands of owners in the Elite Racing Club during a tremendous season. Her top-level victories came in the UAE Equestrian Federation Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in July, the Cantor Odds Sussex Stakes at Goodwood later the same month and the Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes at the Curragh in September. She is due to race again in 2005.

Bago, another of the contenders for the Cartier Horse Of The Year Award, was rewarded for a fabulous year that included Group One wins in the Prix de l´Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp, the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly and the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp by landing the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt Award. Trained by Jonathan Pease at Chantilly and owned by the Niarchos Family, the three-year-old Nashwan colt is also set to race next year.

The tough stayer Westerner, the five-year-old Danehill horse owned by Ecurie Wildenstein and trained by Elie Lellouche in France, beat off Godolphin´s Papineau to gain the Cartier Stayer Award by scoring four times during 2004, twice in Group One company in France.

The talented and versatile Somnus, trained by Tim Easterby in Yorkshire, picked up the Cartier Sprinter Award, with a brace of French Group One successes including the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. The four-year-old Pivotal gelding came in ahead of The Tatling, Var, Whipper and Tante Rose.

Two unbeaten juveniles carried off the Cartier Two-Year-Old Awards. Shamardal, trained by Mark Johnston, won the Two-Year-Old Colt Award while Divine Proportions, handled by Pascal Bary, picked up the Two-Year-Old Filly prize after five victories this year.

The equine winners were determined by points earned in Pattern races, the opinions of a panel of leading independent racing journalists and votes from readers of The Daily Telegraph. This system is carefully structured to reflect the best performances throughout the year.