By John Berry
It is a notable omission from British racing that there is no official Horse of the Year Award. America's Eclipse Awards set the standard in this area as regards what can be achieved in good publicity for the sport, but the British authorities have for too long failed to follow this lead. There are, of course, Horse of the Year awards in Great Britain, but their proliferation is their downfall, as none can be viewed as definitive. The Cartier Awards are arguably the most respected but, although administered in conjunction with two British newspapers ('Daily Telegraph' and 'Racing Post') and with a panel of British journalists, they represent a European awards system rather than a British one. This was made clear in 2013 when the main award was won by Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) who was no more eligible for a British Horse of the Year award that season than American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) would have been in 2015. She was not trained in Britain, and did not run in Britain during that season – and a horse surely has to have either been trained or raced (or both) in a country at some stage of the year to be qualified to be its Horse of the Year.
Of the other awards ceremonies in Britain, the Racehorse Owners' Assocation's awards are arguably the most respected. It is always interesting to compare the ROA and the Cartier winners. In 2015, it went without saying that Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) would be Horse of the Year on both lists, while Muhaarar (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Air Force Blue (War Front) were two other horses who inevitably headed their categories in both sets of awards. The two awards for Stayer of the Year, though, went different ways, which provides an interesting commentary on the competitiveness of the division at present. In a European context, one should classify staying races as being those run beyond 12 furlongs. Using that guideline, there is (surprisingly) only one long-distance weight-for-age Group 1 race in Britain each year. Common sense says that the winner of that race (the G1 Ascot Gold Cup) is always going to be a prime candidate for champion stayer. In 2015, however, the Gold Cup winner was Trip To Paris (Ire) (Champs Elysees {GB}) who took neither body's award, notwithstanding that his credentials were very strong.
Trip To Paris preceded his Gold Cup victory by taking one of Britain's most historic and prestigious staying handicaps, the Chester Cup. And he followed it up by emerging the best horse at the weights in the country's second best staying race, the G2 Qatar Goodwood Cup, in which he was beaten half a length into third while giving 4lb to both winner and runner-up. (And it is, of course, strange that Britain's second best staying race is run at set-weights-plus-penalties, rather than weight-for-age). He then acquitted himself gloriously in Australia, finishing second in the G1 Caulfield Cup and fourth in the G1 Melbourne Cup. Trip To Paris, however, was not the staying choice of either Cartier or the ROA. The former opted for Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), a Group 1 winner at 12 furlongs (in the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S.) and at 14.5 furlongs (in the G1 Ladbrokes St Leger) as well as a Group 3 winner over 14 furlongs at Glorious Goodwood – but never a winner in open company. If her award was slightly surprising, the selection of Brown Panther (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) by the ROA was even less predictable.
Brown Panther was a hugely popular horse, as well as a very good one. His 11 victories included the G2 Goodwood Cup in 2013, and the G1 Palmerstown House Irish St Leger at the Curragh in 2014. His record speaks volumes for his ability, his honesty and his toughness. However, the Brown Panther dream turned into a nightmare in 2015. In the spring he won the G2 Dubai Gold Cup and finished second in the G2 Betway Yorkshire Cup, but then sustained an injury which kept him out of action during the summer. When he did resume in the autumn, he was fatally injured in the G1 Irish St Leger. His honor was seemingly more of a well-deserved lifetime achievement award, presumably helped by the fact that he was bred and part-owned by a popular national sporting hero, former England soccer international Michael Owen. The fact, though, that there could have been (at least) three realistic contenders for 'Stayer of the Year' speaks volumes for the openness of Europe's staying ranks at present. That there is such strength in depth among the stayers is very good because this division remains very popular (among racegoers, even if not breeders).
The fact that the top staying races are so well contested nowadays makes the recent achievements of the mighty Yeats (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) particularly notable. The golden era which saw the champions Sagaro, Le Moss and Ardross collectively win seven Ascot Gold Cups between 1975 and '82 was a time when these races attracted far fewer runners, and those horses generally only had to beat three or four rivals to take the crown. By contrast, Yeats achieved his unprecedented G1 Ascot Gold Cup four-timer (2006 to '09 inclusive) by winning in fields of 12, 14, 10 and nine runners. When we see a dominant stayer in an age when the top staying races attract strong fields, then we are truly blessed.
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