Unbeaten colt Frankel has added the European Horse Of The Year title to his list of achievements at a ceremony in London.
The three-year-old colt, owned and bred by Khalid Abdullah and trained by Sir Henry Cecil, is the highest rated horse in the world.
He swept all before him in 2011, taking his unblemished record to nine and was also predictably named champion three-year-old in the awards sponsored by Cartier.
His 2011 season included stunning victories in the 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on the inaugural British Champions Day in October.
Frankel will remain in training for 2012 when he is likely to step up in distance to 10 furlongs (2000m).
In the Horse Of The Year category, Frankel defeated Coral-Eclipse and Irish Champion Stakes scorer, former Australian So You Think, Champion Stakes winner Cirrus Des Aigles, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine Danedream and last year’s winner Goldikova.
His rivals in the three-year-old colt category were star sprinter Dream Ahead, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes victor Nathaniel, Derby hero Pour Moi and Irish Derby winner Treasure Beach.
Cirrus Des Aigles, trained by Corine Barande-Barbe, landed the Older Horse prize while the David Simcock-trained Dream Ahead, winner of the July Cup, Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix de la Foret, lifted the Sprinter Award.
Danedream, who won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in record time, was named the champion three-year-old filly.
Dabirsim, unbeaten in five starts for trainer Christophe Ferland, was the top two-year-old colt while the Aidan O’Brien-trained Maybe, who also went through her first campaign undefeated, was the leading juvenile filly.
Her stablemate, Fame And Glory, took the Stayers’ award.
Barry Hills, who enjoyed an outstanding training career and handed over his licence to son Charlie in August, was voted this year’s Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit winner.
Hills, 74, sent out more than 3,200 career winners in an illustrious career that began in 1969.
The award winners are decided by points earned in Group races plus votes cast by British racing journalists and readers of the Racing Post and Daily Telegraph newspapers.
PA AAP TURF
