Sea The Stars scoops Horse of the Year honours

Legendary Irish racehorse Sea The Stars was named horse of the year here on Tuesday at the Cartier Awards.

Irish jockey Mickael Kinane points to "Sea the Stars" after he won the 88th edition of the Arc de Triomphe prize, at the Longchamp racecourse, in Paris, in October 2009. Legendary Irish racehorse Sea The Stars was named horse of the year here on Tuesday at the Cartier Awards.

Sea The Stars - who won an historic treble of the 2,000 Guineas, the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe as well as three other Group One races this season - also scooped the three-year-old accolade.

John Oxx trainer of Sea The Stars - who has since been retired to stud at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud in Ireland - was also rewarded with the Award of Merit, for the person who has made the greatest contribution to British racing in the past 12 months.

Sea the Stars saw off Aidan O'Brien's Mastercraftsman, French two-time Breeders Cup heroine Goldikova, Sir Michael Stoute's Conduit - also a two-time Breeders Cup hero - and English 1000 Guineas heroine Ghanaati to win the top annual award.

Goldikova - trained by Freddie Head who became the first person to train and ride two Breeders Cup champions in consecutive years as he was Miesque's rider - won the consolation prize of being named best Older Horse.

She beat off Conduit, sprinter Fleeting Spirit, doughty English filly Dar Re Mi - owned by musical composer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's wife Madeleine - and French colt Vision d'Etat to the title.

The unbeaten St Nicholas Abbey was named best two-year-old, beating Siyouni, Awzaan, Arcano and Pounced.

In the filly awards, Special Duty was named best two-year-old, with Sariska winning the award for the best three-year-old.

Irish stayer Yeats made a bit of history with his fourth Cartier award, as he was named Champion Stayer of the year after becoming the first horse to win four consecutive Ascot Gold Cups.

Fleeting Spirit was named sprinter of the year after her win in the Group One July Cup at Newmarket.