Ascot heroes Palace Pier and Poetic Flare head Cartier Horse of the Year lists

Palace Pier and Poetic Flare are neck and neck in the Cartier Horse of the Year standings following their Royal Ascot triumphs last week.

Four-year-old Palace Pier leads the Cartier Older Horse category following his Queen Anne Stakes victory, the fourth Group 1 of his career.

Poetic Flare’s impressive success in the St James’s Palace Stakes, which followed his 2,000 Guineas victory last month, puts him top of the rankings for the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt award.

The two colts are well clear of 1,000 Guineas winner Mother Earth and her Aidan O’Brien stablemate St Mark’s Basilica, who gave the trainer his first Prix du Jockey Club success this month at Chantilly.

Oxted heads the Sprinter category after the Roger Teal-trained gelding gave jockey Cieren Fallon his first Royal Ascot winner in the King’s Stand Stakes.

At the other end of the distance scale, Gold Cup hero Subjectivist is in the lead in the race to win the Stayers award ahead of Spanish Mission.

Winners of the Cartier Racing Awards are determined at the end of the season through a combination of public votes from readers of the Racing Post and The Daily Telegraph, and assessments from journalists and handicappers.

The awards were established in 1991, with last year’s top prize going to Godolphin’s four-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath.

Cartier Horse of the Year rankings

Palace Pier 96
Poetic Flare 96
Mother Earth 72
St Mark's Basilica 64
Subjectivist 60
Joan Of Arc 56
Skalleti 56
Snowfall 56
Adayar 52
Broome 48
Love 48