The Sun Racing team pick their standout horse from another season to remember on the level
From Group 1 champs to handicappers doing it for the little men, Sun Racing pick out their stars of the 2018 flat season
THERE have been ups and downs, hard luck stories, the inevitable injury curse and a case of the sniffles at Aidan O'Brien's.
But as always, there's been a host of horses to keep flat racing fans enthused and the Sun Racing team have each picked out their favourite four-legged star.
Callum Jamieson - Laurens
This was an easy choice. And not just because of the "she doesn't get enough credit" bandwagon.
Laurens is now a five-time Group 1 winner - four of those this season, in three different countries.
Owner John Dance has had a hell of party with her and she could cap it off with a win in the QEII on Champions Day, which truly would be the best encore for any knees up.
The handicapper still has her 8lbs shy of Alpha Centauri on paper, but it would have been hard to see Alpha giving her that weight and coming out on top.
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She started the summer with a bold front-running second in the 2000 Guineas, on ground connections didn't fancy her. She quickly gained compensation by the end of the month, picking up the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary.
As the eyes of the racing world were on Royal Ascot, she wined and dined again in France, with a £500,000 pay day in the Group 1 Prix Diane.
Following a blip in the Yorkshire Oaks - where she clearly didn't stay - she bounced back in the Matron Stakes, beating Alpha Centauri. Then back on home soil she saw off her rivals with another battling win in the Group 1 Sun Chariot.
She's danced every dance, and been the best in show more often than not. A true "credit" to all involved and there could be more to look forward to next year.
A shout must also go to Patrick Chamings' What A Welcome who has won an incredible eight races from ten starts for the yard. Jumping from a mark of 63 to a horse rated 100.
Tom Bull - Mabs Cross
It would be easy to say Too Darn Hot, or Roaring Lion, or Alpha Centauri. Yes, each has been exceptional in their own way - but none has quite touched the heartstrings like Mabs Cross.
At the start of the season Michael Dods sprinkled what was left of his magic dust on the flanks of his fantastic filly - he kept some back after using most of it up on Mecca's Angel - and she duly delivered.
Beginning the year with a neck to second to the then 91-rated Mrs Gallagher, she has been a model of progression.
A fourth in the Temple Stakes was followed by a third in the King's Stand at Royal Ascot, and then a second in the Nunthorpe.
But it was on the feathered plains of Longchamp that she produced her pièce de résistance, flying down the outside in the Prix de l'Abbaye to break French hearts and land her first Group 1.
It was all she deserved after so many near-misses, and all her trainer Dods deserved after doing such a herculean job with not just her, but all his sprinters.
A close second goes to Skitter Scatter. Philip Prendergast's filly really is one for the little man - the trainer from Kildare has fewer than thirty horses in his stable and only two are rated over 100. However, that hasn't stopped him from amassing nearly €550,000 in prize-money, with most of it coming from his star two-year-old.
The daughter of Scat Daddy has won her last three races, with a sensational success in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes last time out the icing on the cake. She showed a memorising turn of foot that day and is definitely one to follow next season.
A special mention must also go to Maid Up. Andrew Balding's filly began the year rated 67 but has rise to a mark of 105. She found the St Leger company a bit hot last time out but has earned her place at a high level. She's also done wonders for showcasing Rob Hornby's talent in the saddle.
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Oliver Cook - Roaring Lion
Let's keep it simple. The dashing grey is my choice, the strongest horse this year beside Enable and Too Darn Hot.
There's been no stopping John Gosden's top-class colt, and the same can be said for jockey Oisin Murphy.
The three-year-old is coming off a trio of successive Group 1 wins in the Coral-Eclipse, Juddmonte International Stakes and the Irish Champion Stakes - no mean feat.
Perhaps the most impressive of those was at Leopardstown, where he thwarted Ryan Moore and old rival Saxon Warrior in an epic battle, just getting his nose up where it mattered.
The son of Kitten's Joy looks set to continue his rich vein of form if taking his chance in the Champions Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, a Group 1 over a mile on the same card, is being kept as a back-up option.
Jack Keene - Sea Of Class
Lets save the best 'til last.
There is no doubt that Sea Of Class is the horse of the season in my book, given her rapid progress through the ranks for genius trainer William Haggas.
A late foal, she only made her debut in April and quickly rattled up a pair of Listed wins at Newbury.
Connections rolled the dice and sent her for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh, and jockey James Doyle showed balls of steel to win the race in the last strides.
Further improvement came at York when she breezed to a hugely impressive victory in the Yorkshire Oaks.
But it was heartbreak for her supporters in the Arc when she came from the clouds to finish a never-nearer second having been set a near impossible task from her outside draw. The best is yet to come from this wonder filly.
Honourable mentions to Poet's Word, who was so impressive in the Prince Of Wales's and King George at Ascot, and Sir Dancealot, who has graduated from smart handicapper into dual Group 2 winner this year.
And we can't forget Thundering Blue, who won the York Stakes before running such a blinder to take third in the Juddmonte International at odds of 50-1.
Harriet Fuller - El Astronaute
While the Group 1 winners are the ones making the headlines, El Astronaute has been going about his business in tremendous fashion this summer.
John Quinn's five-year-old isn't your typical 'Flat horse of the season' but he has to be mentioned for his consistency.
He has run 12 times this season and never been out of the first four, and has been unlucky to only pick up three wins.
As a punter, he's a grand horse to follow as he never puts in a bad race. He is always there or thereabouts and his fighting attitude is brilliant to see.
Take his Doncaster second for example, he looked to have been headed and beaten by Global Applause but he fought right back and only went down by a neck in the end.
He must be a joy to own and train, and his season isn't finished yet with connections set to roll the dice at the Breeders' Cup.
El Astronaute is likely to line up as a big outsider, but he's certainly a horse you don't want to write off just yet.
Laurens has been a star of the season but so too has Alpha Centauri and it was a shame to see her career cut short when suffering an injury in the Matron Stakes.
She was simply breathtaking when bolting up at Ascot and produced two more devastating performances at Newmarket and Deauville before her final career run.
A mention has to go out to Thundering Blue who has repaid his connections handsomely this year. After a Group 2 win at his favourite track - York - he was then supplemented for the Juddmonte Stakes which many declared a silly decision.
However, he proved up to the task and finished a running-on third to pick up prize money.
He then started his travels abroad and was last seen finishing second in the Grade 1 Canadian International behind Desert Encounter. A tilt at the Japan Cup could be on the agenda.