Noble Mission makes bold bid to follow in his brother's footsteps in race for Cartier Racing Awards

Britain's richest day of racing, QIPCO British Champions Day, was held at Ascot on Saturday, October 18 and has had a significant impact on the standings for the 2014 Cartier Racing Awards.

The Cartier Racing Awards honour the champions of European horseracing and will be announced before an invited audience of 300 on the evening of Tuesday, November 11.

European horseracing's equivalent of the Oscars are delivered through a tried and tested combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races throughout 2014 (40%), combined at the end of season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists (30%) and votes from readers of Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus Channel 4 Racing viewers (30%).

Voting for the public commences today, Wednesday, October 22, via the internet sites of Racing Post, The Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 Racing, and closes at noon on Tuesday, November 4. There are also coupons in Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph for postal votes.

Channel 4 Racing joined The Daily Telegraph and Racing Post as media partners of the Cartier Racing Awards towards the end of the last year.

The Cartier Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. In addition to the eight equine awards, the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit goes to the person or persons who, in the opinion of the special 17-strong Cartier Jury, has/have done the most for European racing and/or breeding either over their lifetime or within the past 12 months.

The outstanding Frankel was crowned Cartier Horse of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. His full-brother Noble Mission (138 points) is making a bold bid to follow in his sibling's footsteps, having secured his third Group One success of 2014 in the £1.3 million QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot. Like Frankel, Noble Mission is owned by Khalid Abdullah. He is trained by Lady Jane Cecil, widow of Frankel's trainer Sir Henry Cecil, and ridden by James Doyle.

Noble Mission currently lies third in the Cartier Horse Of The Year points' standings, behind the three-year-old colts Kingman (208) and Australia (164), who have both been retired to stud.  The Cartier Horse Of The Year accolade has become more difficult predict, thanks to stunning recent performances from Treve (84), winning the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for the second year running, and Noble Mission.

The five-year-old has taken the lead on points in the Cartier Older Horse category, which Frankel won in 2012, ahead of Cirrus Des Aigles (124), a disappointing fifth in the QIPCO Champion Stakes, and Integral (92), while Treve is not far behind.

The votes of the public (30%) and the journalist panel (30%) will be crucial in deciding the winners.

Kingman and Australia continue in front in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt category,though Charm Spirit (128), trained in France by Freddy Head, is now to up to third place in this division following his victory over Night Of Thunder (108) in the mile £1-million Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes sponsored by QIPCO at Ascot on Saturday.

There is no change at the top in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly category, which continues to be headed by Taghrooda (124), who has a healthy advantage over Avenir Certain and Miss France (both 80).

Slade Power and Sole Power remain out in front in the Cartier Sprinter category, with the Edward Lynam-trained pair both on 72 points. Gordon Lord Byron (36) moves into fourth place following his success in the Group Two QIPCO British Champions Sprint at Ascot.

Leading Light, triumphant in the Group One Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, is likely to be retired following an injury sustained in the Group Two QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. The Aidan O'Brien-trained four-year-old still leads the way in the Cartier Stayer division with 80 points, just ahead of Brown Panther (72), who had to be withdrawn from Sunday's Canadian International at Woodbine after bolting and unseating his rider going to the start.

Newmarket was the venue for Dubai Future Champions Day on Friday, October 17, with three Group One contests for juveniles taking centre stage. The colts Charming Thought (32) and Belardo (32) both gained their first Pattern race victories when successful in the vision.ae Middle Park Stakes and Dubai Dewhurst Stakes respectively. The Aidan O'Brien-trained Gleneagles (64) sidestepped Newmarket but heads the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt category following three Pattern successes including the Group One Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes. 

Together Forever (32) was on the mark for Aidan O'Brien in the Group One Dubai Fillies' Mile, getting the better of Agnes Stewart (36). Tiggy Wiggy (56) remains the leader in the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly category following five victories this season, headed by the Group One Connolly's Red Mills Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket in September, followed by Cursory Glance (48).

Harry Herbert, Cartier's Racing Consultant, commented: "Noble Mission's thrilling victory at Ascot on QIPCO British Champions Day was one of the stories of the season and makes for a fascinating battle for Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Older Horse.

"Public voting opens today and readers of the Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph plus viewers of Channel 4 can all participate.

"I would encourage people to get involved as every vote will be significant in deciding tightly-contested Cartier Racing Awards.

"The season is drawing to close in Europe and the final British Group One is the Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster on Saturday (October 25), while performances in the Breeders' Cup races and Emirates Melbourne Cup will also help determine the 2014 Cartier champions."