Cartier Racing Awards Latest

Manduro burst into contention for the Cartier Horse Of The Year Award with a scintillating victory in the Group One Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.

Baron Georg von Ullman's Monsun five-year-old put four previous Group One winners to the sword in the 10-furlong race on June 20, and so raised the bar in the contest for the 2007 Cartier Racing Awards, European horseracing's most prestigious accolades, which will be presented during a glittering ceremony in London on November 14.

The coveted eight horse awards are now in their 17th year and celebrate the champions of the Turf, plus one person and are European horseracing's equivalent of the Oscars.

The Cartier Racing Awards are 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, a system which accurately rewards supreme excellence.

The Andre Fabre-trained Manduro saw off a pair of Derby heroes and a Breeders' Cup Turf winner as he made it three wins from as many starts this season with a commanding length and a quarter success over Dylan Thomas in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes to leap to the top of the Cartier Older Horse division with 72 points. The official handicappers described Manduro's performance as the best on turf so far this year.

Last season's Budweiser Irish Derby hero Dylan Thomas (60 points) is his nearest pursuer in that category, while Ramonti and Yeats are level on 48 points, with Scorpion, winner of the Vodafone Coronation Cup and second in the Hardwicke Stakes next on 44.

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained Ramonti, runner-up in the Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes on his seasonal debut, demonstrated courageous tenacity to come out on top in a four-way photo-finish to secure the Group One Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19, over a mile under Frankie Dettori and could be a major contender for Cartier honours by the season's end.

The Queen Anne Stakes saw the eagerly-awaited return of the brilliant George Washington, winner of the 2005 Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt Award and the 2006 Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt Award, and his close fourth bodes well for his chances of securing a Cartier Awards hat-trick.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Yeats secured back-to-back victories in the Group One Gold Cup at the Royal meeting on June 21, and is in pole position to retain the Cartier Stayer Award he collected last year.

The six-year-old champion held the late challenge of Geordieland (32) by a length and a half, with the German raider Le Miracle third (18). The hugely popular Sergeant Cecil (17), winner of this season's Group Two Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup in May, was a below-par last of 14, while Allegretto (16) was unable to build on her victory in the Group Two WBX.com Henry II Stakes in finishing ninth in the Royal Ascot feature.

The Australian speedsters stole the headlines on day one of the Royal meeting (June 19) as Miss Andretti blitzed her rivals over five furlongs in the Group Two King's Stand Stakes but the balance of power shifted back to the home sprinters when the Jeremy Noseda-trained Soldiers Tale won the final day's Group One Golden Jubilee Stakes (June 19).

Soldiers Tale leads the Cartier Sprinter division with 36 points after collaring Aussie star Takeover Target (18) on the line for a head victory in the six-furlong showpiece. The Robert Collet-trained Beauty Is Truth and Peace Offering, trained by David Nicholls, each have 20 points, while Group Two Duke of York Hearthstead Homes Stakes victor Amadeus Wolf, a disappointment when 11th in the Golden Jubilee, remains on 16 points.

Dual Guineas winner Cockney Rebel continues to lead the Three-Year-Old Colt Award section despite coming home fifth to Excellent Art in the Group One St James's Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting. Geoff Huffer's star was found to have fractured his pelvis after the race and is expected to return to action later in the campaign.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Excellent Art's victory sees him climb onto the leaderboard with 36 points, four points behind stablemate and Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Astronomer Royal, who was third in the St James's Palace Stakes.

Also in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt division, Vodafone Derby winner Authorized (64) and Prix du Jockey Club Mitsubishi Motors hero Lawman (57) are prominent in the chase for Cartier honours.

Jim Bolger's brilliant charge Finsceal Beo, winner of the 2006 Cartier Award for Two-Year-Old Filly, heads the Three-Year-Old Filly category with 88 points due to her English and Irish Guineas triumphs and a runner-up finish in the French equivalent.

The crack filly's reputation took a knock in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 22, however, as the Richard Hannon-trained Indian Ink (36) stormed to a six-length triumph in the mile contest, with Finsceal Beo only fifth and Poule d'Essai des Pouliches heroine Darjina (48) in third and Arch Swing (32) fourth.

Harry Herbert, Cartier's racing consultant, commented today: 'The Cartier Awards are all about rewarding supreme excellence and Royal Ascot never fails to produce exceptional racing. I'm sure we will see many of the heroes and heroines of the Royal meeting among the nominees for Cartier honours at the season's finale.

'The increasing international flavour of Royal Ascot is refreshing and certainly enhances the competition. The Australian sprinter Miss Andretti was scintillating and her compatriot Takeover Target again showed that he has real class and guts in his last stride defeat by the redoubtable Soldiers Tale.

'Manduro's victory was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the week as was Indian Ink's sensational defeat of the best of her peers, while Yeats showed again what a great stayer he is. This season is shaping up to be a vintage one.'

Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly

• Finsceal Beo 88
• Darjina 48
• Light Shift 48
• Indian Ink 36
• Arch Swing 32

Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt

• Cockney Rebel 72
• Authorized 64
• Lawman 57
• Astronomer Royal 40
• Excellent Art 36

Cartier Older Horse

• Manduro 72
• Dylan Thomas 60
• Ramonti 48
• Yeats 48
• Scorpion 44

Cartier Sprinter

• Soldier's Tale 36
• Beauty is Truth 20
• Peace Offering 20
• Takeover Target 18
• Amadeus Wolf 16

Cartier Stayer

• Yeats 48
• Geordieland 32
• Le Miracle 18
• Sergeant Cecil 17
• Allegretto 16