Who gets your vote? The polls are open for Cartier Horse of the Year

Roaring Lion extended his lead in the Cartier Horse of the Year standings after Saturday's victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day.

Although now 62 points clear of nearest rival Alpha Centauri, the awards are not only determined on points but opinions of judges and the general public, with the voting opening today.

To cast your vote on all the categories visit www.cartierracingawards.co.uk. Voting closes noon, November 6.

Roaring Lion, who has gained 222 points this season to Alpha Centauri's 160, also leads third place Laurens (152) and Poet's Word (140). Arc winner and Breeders' Cup Turf hopeful Enable is trailing on 56 points, but the public vote and judges' panel decision could boost her hopes of claiming a Cartier prize.

The John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion, who has also won the Eclipse, Juddmonte and Irish Champion Stakes, is on course for the Three-Year-Old colt award, for which he has twice the amount of points of second-placed Saxon Warrior.

Watch: Roaring Lion's gutsy QEII win

On what proved a brilliant afternoon for Gosden, Champion Stakes winner Cracksman closed the gap to just four points in the Champion Older Horse category, with Poet's Word leading with 140 points.

Frankie Dettori celebrates winning the Long Distance Cup on StradivariusCredit: Edward Whitaker

The first of Gosden's three winners on Saturday, Stradivarius, who finished the season with a hard-fought success in the Long Distance Cup and he continued to dominate the Cartier Stayer division on 128 points. His nearest rival Flag Of Honour, who was fourth, has a score of 56.

Watch: Stradivarius squeeze up the inside of Flag Of Honour to win the Long Distance Cup

British Champion Sprint winner Sands Of Mali climbed to the top of the hotly-contested Sprint category. The Richard Fahey-trained three-year-old, who defeated last year's category winner Harry Angel at Ascot, now leads the standings with a tally of 72. Mabs Cross is a close runner-up with 68 points, but a whole host of speedsters remain in contention.

This weekend's Group 1 Vertem Futurity Trophy could affect the Two-Year-Old Colt ratings, which is currently led by Advertise on 72 points with Too Darn Hot 16 points behind.

Advertise: leads the two-year-old colt rankingsCredit: Patrick McCann

Godolphin's Benbatl could also boost his chance of a Cartier prize when he takes on Winx in the Cox Plate in Australia on Saturday. Results from Breeders' Cup weekend and the Melbourne Cup will also be taken into account.

Vertem Futurity Trophy card

The Cartier Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. The eight awards are delivered through a combination of points earned by horses in Pattern races (30 per cent), combined at the end of the season with the opinions of a panel of racing journalists/handicappers (35 per cent) and votes from readers of the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph, and ITV Racing viewers (35 per cent).

Members can read the latest exclusive interviews, news analysis and comment available from 6pm daily on racingpost.com