Godolphin’s Ghaiyyath has been crowned Cartier Horse of the Year at the 30th annual Cartier Racing Awards in a special broadcast on Sky Sports Racing on Friday evening.
The five-year-old son of Dubawi was a front-running winner of the rescheduled Group 1 Coronation Cup at Newmarket when racing returned in June before getting the better of wonder mare Enable in the Eclipse Stakes.
That was followed by an impressive three length success over Magical in the Juddmonte International before finishing second to that rival in the Irish Champion Stakes on what proved to be his final run.
In being crowned Horse of the Year, Ghaiyyath becomes the third horse owned by Godolphin to scoop the top accolade following Daylami (1999) and Fantasic Light (2001). Ghaiyyath also took home the Cartier Older Horse award.
Victories in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes and the Group 1 Prix Jacques le Marois helped the exciting Palace Pier claim the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt award while outstanding QIPCO 1,000 Guineas and Oaks heroine Love was named Cartier Three-Year-Old filly.
Sheikh Hamdan’s talented sprinter Battaash took top honours in the Cartier Sprinter category and for the third year in a row, Bjorn Nielsen’s outstanding Stradivarius landed the Cartier Stayer Award.
An impressive victory in the Group 1 Criterium International helped the Aidan O’Brien-trained Van Gogh walk away with the Cartier Two-Year-Old accolade while Joseph O’Brien’s Fillies’ Mile heroine Pretty Gorgeous took home the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly award.
This year’s recipient of the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit is legendary trainer John Gosden, who has saddled over 3,500 winners to date in his 41-year career training greats such as Kingman, Golden Horn, Enable and Roaring Lion.
Harry Herbert, Cartier’s Racing Consultant, said: “Back in the spring, nobody knew if we would even have a European Flat season in 2020 but with the hard work of everyone in the racing industry we were ultimately rewarded with a season to savour.
“Racing cannot continue without the ongoing support of owners and I would like to extend my congratulations to tonight’s winners – Godolphin, Coolmore, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, Bjorn Nielsen and John Oxley.
“John Gosden has truly reached the summit of his profession and is the perfect recipient for the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit in 2020. With his supreme eloquence and communication skills, racing is very. Lucky to have such a fabulous ambassador.
“I would like to end by extending special thanks to Cartier, Sky Sports Racing, The Daily Telegraph and Racing Post.
“Cartier’s support of these prestigious awards stretches right back to 199 and is ongoing, even in today’s troubled times. We are truly blessed to be able to enjoy such tremendous support.”
Laurent Feniou, Managing Director of Cartier UK, added: “In what has proved to be a year in which so many people have faced exceptional challenges, I am delighted for the Cartier Racing Awards to be broadcast on Sky Sports Racing allowing the racing public to join us in watching the presentation this year.
“It is an honour to celebrate the very best of horseracing, especially this year as we honour the 30th anniversary of the Cartier Racing Awards. My heartfelt congratulations go out to this exceptional year’s winners.
“I would like to thank our long-standing media partners, the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph. A special thanks to Sky Sports Racing, with their assistance, we have produced a programme to be proud of.”
