Baaeed still out in front in horse of the year race despite Ascot disappointment

Baaeed remains at the top of the Cartier Horse of the Year standings despite a shock defeat in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, which potentially opened the door for some of his closest rivals.

Sent off 1-4 to maintain his unbeaten record in the 1m2f Group 1, the Shadwell-owned four-year-old had the chance to extend his advantage at the top of the leaderboard, but after failing to fire he finished only fourth behind Bay Bridge (80).

Modern Games (100) kept himself in contention behind Vadeni (124) for the three-year-old colt award after finishing runner-up to Bayside Boy (48) in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in another shock result at the meeting.

Inspiral (96), who was only sixth at 11-10 in the mile Group 1 after a slow start, still tops the standings in the three-year-old filly category, but her joint-trainers John and Thady Gosden enjoyed success at the meeting with Emily Upjohn (64), who won the Fillies & Mares Stakes.

Kinross has had a fantastic season and added a second Group 1 to his CV with a comfortable success in the Champions Sprint, propelling himself up the Horse of the Year (106) standings.

In the stayers' division, Trueshan (32) has not scaled the same heights as Kyprios (152) this season, but he came out on top in a fierce battle with Coltrane (32) to claim a third success in the Long Distance Cup.

At Newmarket's Future Champions meeting Chaldean (56) landed the Dewhurst Stakes to put him in contention in the two-year-old colt division, while Commissioning (48) was well on top at the finish in the Fillies' Mile.

The awards are decided by points gained in Pattern races plus the opinions of journalists and handicappers and a public vote, which opens on October 25.

Cartier Horse of the Year

176 Baaeed
152 Kyprios
124 Vadeni
112 Alpinista
112 Highfield Princess
106 Kinross
100 Modern Games
96 Blackbeard
96 Inspiral
92 Nashwa
92 Tuesday

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