Blue Bolt has taken over at the top of the Cartier Horse of the Year standings after a weekend of big-race action on both sides of the Channel, but Daryz has closed to within just four points following his historic second Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The latest update covers points earned in Pattern races up to and including Sunday 4 October, and comparing it with the previous standings, published after the Irish Champions Festival in mid-September, shows how much the picture has shifted. The Sun Chariot, the Arc and the rest of ParisLongchamp’s Group 1s have reshuffled several divisions, with new leaders in two of them, including the main award itself.
Cartier Horse of the Year: Daryz closes on Blue Bolt
Andrew Balding’s Blue Bolt moved from 112 to 144 points thanks to her Sun Chariot Stakes success on the Rowley Mile, the fourth Group 1 win in a row in a perfect campaign. That 32-point haul lifted her from joint-third in September to first place, though only just.
Daryz’s back-to-back Arc victory was worth 48 points to Francis-Henri Graffard’s colt, who jumps from 92 to 140 points and from tenth to second. Bow Echo, the leader back in September, has been passed by three horses without adding to his 128 points and now shares fourth with True Love, whose Prix de la Forêt win added another 32.
Scandinavia picked up 16 points for his second in the Prix du Cadran to move on to 136, but that defeat may yet prove costly. The Aidan O’Brien-trained stayer had won eight in a row before being caught by a short neck on Saturday, and he slips from second to third. Kalpana, who shared eighth in September, has dropped out of the top ten altogether.
| Pos | Horse | Points | Previous pos (pts), 17 Sep | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Bolt | 144 | =3 (112) | ▲ 2 |
| 2 | Daryz | 140 | 10 (92) | ▲ 8 |
| 3 | Scandinavia | 136 | 2 (120) | ▼ 1 |
| =4 | True Love | 128 | =8 (96) | ▲ 4 |
| =4 | Bow Echo | 128 | 1 (128) | ▼ 3 |
| =6 | Precise | 124 | 5 (108) | ▼ 1 |
| =6 | Diamond Necklace | 124 | =3 (112) | ▼ 3 |
| 8 | Sun Goddess | 116 | Outside top 10 (84) | NEW |
| =9 | Gstaad | 104 | =6 (104) | ▼ 3 |
| =9 | Constitution River | 104 | =6 (104) | ▼ 3 |
Previous positions are from the standings for points earned up to the Irish Champions Festival, published on 17 September.
Cartier Older Horse: Daryz up to second
Blue Bolt (144) and Daryz (140) have pulled clear in the older horse division, with Daryz leapfrogging Kalpana into second. The King George and Yorkshire Oaks winner stays on 96 after finishing fifth in the Arc, a run that earned her no points. Bay City Roller‘s excellent second at ParisLongchamp lifts him into the top five on 88, level with Notable Speech.
Three-year-olds: True Love takes over among the fillies
True Love’s head success in the Forêt has given the three-year-old filly category a new leader, taking her from 96 to 128 points and from third to first, ahead of Ballydoyle stablemates Diamond Necklace and Precise on 124. Diamond Necklace, who led in September, added 12 for her third in the Arc, while Precise collected 16 for chasing home Miss Scott in the Prix de l’Opéra.
There is no change at the top of the colts’ division, where Bow Echo still leads on 128 from Constitution River and Gstaad, both on 104. Item, Christmas Day and Rayif are grouped together on 80.
Sprinters and stayers: Caballo De Mar closes the gap
Caballo De Mar became the first horse since Westerner in 2004 to win successive runnings of the Prix du Cadran when beating Scandinavia, and the 32 points on offer took George Scott’s stayer from 58 to 90, the biggest move in the division. Scandinavia still holds a commanding 46-point lead, however, and Highwayman (48), Fairy Glen (44) and Trawlerman (40) complete the top five.
Comanche Brave’s 83 points remain unmatched among the sprinters, while Venetian Sun has joined Almeraq on 64. Prix de l’Abbaye heroine Miss Yechance and third-placed Mission Central both enter the top six on 40, alongside American Affair.
Two-year-olds: Sun Goddess stretches clear
Sun Goddess has put daylight between herself and her juvenile rivals. Her Cheveley Park Stakes success added 32 points, taking her from 84 to 116, and she is now 44 clear of Joseph O’Brien’s Green Empress. The latter climbed from 40 to 72 after winning the Prix Marcel Boussac by a head on Arc day. Libertango appears on 48 after her Cheveley Park second, while Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère winner Amusingly makes the list on 40.
Amusingly’s success came at the expense of Folsom Blues, whose second in the Lagardère lifted him from 52 to 68 and keeps him top of the two-year-old colts. Middle Park winner Orthodox, who was among our Lucky 15 selections at 11/4 that day, slots into second on 48, ahead of Al Hudaiba (44), Darkness Falls and Royal Lodge winner Haffner (both 32).
What comes next?
Pattern race points make up only 30% of the final verdict, with the remaining 70% split equally between votes from a panel of racing journalists and handicappers and the racing public. So the numbers are far from the whole story, and Daryz’s Arc double will surely resonate with voters.
British Champions Day at Ascot on 17 October still offers major points in five Group 1s, and Newmarket’s Fillies’ Mile and Dewhurst this weekend could shake up the juvenile categories. With Blue Bolt potentially heading to the Breeders’ Cup rather than Ascot, the battle for the top prize looks set to go down to the wire.