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The Cartier Racing Awards were created in 1991 to honour achievement in horseracing. Horses can win one of eight trophies the Cartier Horse of the Year Award, the Cartier Older Horse Award, the Cartier Sprinter Award, the Cartier Stayer Award, the Cartier 3YO Colt Award, the Cartier 3YO Filly Award, the Cartier 2YO Colt Award, and the Cartier 2YO Filly Award. The 32nd Cartier Racing Awards will take place at the Dorchester Hotel in London on November 9, 2022, where Baaeed will be honoured as the Cartier Horse of the Year. The first horse owned by Shadwell to win the Cartier Horse of the Year award, this colt is a son of the 2009 Cartier Horse of the Year, Sea The Stars, and he won four Grade 1 races in a single season: the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes, the Queen Anne Stakes, the Qatar Sussex Stakes, and the Juddmonte International. William Haggas's Baaeed was up against some serious competition for Cartier Horse of the Year.
Other contenders included Alpinista, winner of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Kyprios, winner of four Gr.1 races in 2022, and Highfield Princess, winner of three Gr.1 sprints that same year. Baaeed wins the Cartier Older Horse title as well, besting Bay Bridge and Kinross, who won the Qatar Prix de la Foret and the QIPCO British Champions Sprint, respectively, and Alpinista, who defeated him in the QIPCO Champion Stakes. Vadeni becomes the third horse owned by His Highness the Aga Khan to receive the Cartier 3YO Colt award following Sinndar and Dalakhani (2003). Jean-Claude Rouget's Churchill colt won the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club and the Coral-Eclipse and was second in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Desert Crown, winner of the Cazoo Derby, and Godolphin's Coroebus and Modern Games were the other horses considered. Inspiral, who won the Cartier 2YO Filly championship in 2021, was also named the Cartier 3YO Filly champion in 2022, joining Divine Proportions (2005) and Minding as the only horses to accomplish this double (2016). The Cheveley Park native beat out stablemates Nashwa, Emily Upjohn, and Tuesday to win John & Thady Gosden's Coronation Stakes and Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois. After three remarkable triumphs for John Quinn in the Arc Prix Maurice de Gheest, Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, and Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Flying Five Stakes, John Fairley's homebred Highfield Princess is awarded the Cartier Sprinter. She wins against the likes of Kinross, Minzaal, and the Australian speedster Nature Strip.
Kyprios is crowned the Cartier Stayer following an unblemished campaign that includes a historic run of triumphs in the Gold Cup, Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, Comer Group International Irish St Leger and Qatar Prix du Cadran. Aidan O'Brien trained Kyprios for a partnership including Moyglare Stud, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg, and the horse easily beat out Stradivarius, Trueshan, and Eldar Eldarov, all of whom had previously won the Cartier Stayer. Blackbeard, trained by Aidan O'Brien and owned by Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Westerberg, won the Darley Prix Morny and the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, displaying equal parts energy and skill. His stable-companions Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear were also nominated, alongside Darley Dewhurst Stakes victor Chaldean. The excellent performance of four victories from five starts, including a decisive victory in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes, earned Lezoo the Cartier 2YO Filly trophy. Lezoo, trained by Ralph Beckett for owners Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, defeated Commissioning, Tahiyra, and The Platinum Queen, all of whom had previously won the Gr.1. The recipient of the Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit in 2022 is Kirsten Rausing. Rausing has been a key player in the sport's administration and governance, and he is widely regarded as a top owner and breeder. Furthermore, she has helped numerous organisations in the racing industry and beyond by donating money through the Alborada Trust.
Laurent Feniou, Managing Director of Cartier UK, commented, “We have been fortunate to witness another exceptional year of European horseracing and I am delighted to celebrate an outstanding group of horses at the 32nd Cartier Racing Awards. Baaeed lit up the season with four brilliant victories and he is a worthy recipient of the Cartier Horse of the Year award. We are also thrilled to honour Kirsten Rausing, who has given so much to the industry, with the Cartier/The Daily Telegraph Award of Merit. It is a privilege for Cartier to be able to recognise these champions of the sport and my deepest congratulations go out to all of this year’s winners. I would like to extend special thanks to Racing Post, The Daily Telegraph and Sky Sports Racing for their continued support of the awards.”
The Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit is presented to the individual or individuals who, in the judgement of the 16-member Cartier Jury, have contributed the most to the advancement of European racing and/or breeding, either throughout their career or in the preceding calendar year. The likes of Aidan O'Brien, Pat Smullen, and John Gosden have won the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit in recent years.