2007 Eclipse Award Finalists
January 7, 2008
Above is last years big eclipse award winner Invasor(HOY, Older Male).
Below you have a list of the finalists for the 2008 eclipse awards. Scroll down for my selections in each and every category.
Two-Year-Old Male: Kodiak Kowboy, Pyro, War Pass
Two-Year-Old Filly: Country Star, Indian Blessing, Proud Spell
Three-Year-Old Male: Curlin, Hard Spun, Street Sense
Three-Year-Old Filly: Octave, Panty Raid, Rags to Riches
Older Male: Corinthian, Invasor (ARG), Lawyer Ron
Older Female: Ginger Punch, Hystericalady, Nashoba’s Key
Male Sprinter: Fabulous Strike, Idiot Proof, Midnight Lute
Female Sprinter: Dream Rush, Maryfield, River’s Prayer
Male Turf Horse: After Market, English Channel, Kip Deville
Female Turf Horse: Lahudood (GB), Nashoba’s Key, Precious Kitten
Steeplechase Horse: Good Night Shirt, McDynamo, Planets Aligned
Owner: Maggi Moss, Shadwell Stable, Stronach Stables
Breeder: Adena Springs, William S. Farish, Martin and Pam Wygod
Trainer: Steve Asmussen, Kiaran McLaughlin, Todd Pletcher
Jockey: Robby Albarado, Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez
Apprentice Jockey: Tyler Pizarro, Alonso Quinonez, Joe Talamo
Two-Year-Old Male: This category isn’t even a contest. Juvenile winner War Pass is virtually guaranteed this one. The undefeated colt has met absolutely no competition thus far in his career. I expect great things from and I believe he is our greatest hope for a Triple Crown winner.
Two-Year-Old Filly: Although Country Star was very brilliant this year I have to give this award to the Breeders Cup champion and still undefeated Indian Blessing. She ran those fillies off their feet in the Breeders Cup. Country Star ran a great race in the Starlet breaking the track record in the process. Props to her, but once again Indian Blessing is the choice.
Three-Year-Old Male: Curlin wins easy. I’ve touted this horse all summer and I was right. I can remember a friend at the track telling me I was nuts after I told him I like Curlin to beat Lawyer Ron in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Curlin is an absolutely amazing horse.
Three-Year-Old Filly: Octave and Panty Raid both had good years but nothing compared to what Rags to Riches did. As you probably already know she became the first filly since Tanya 102 years ago to win the Belmont Stakes. She also won the Kentucky Oaks. Rags to Riches is the best filly we have seen in many years.
Older Male: This is a surprisingly weak category this year. The defection of Invasor in March left a huge void that proved irreplaceable. Last years winner Invasor can’t be considered in my opinion because he last raced in March. Lawyer Ron had a good year racing at Saratoga but overall I thought he was a pretender and he proved that in the Breeders Cup. Corinthian is my choice here. While he flopped in some of his races he showed ‘em who the boss was in the Met Mile and the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile. Since those are both huge races and he won the latter in a very impressive fashion the award goes to him.
Older Female: First let me say I didn’t follow this division very well this year. That being said I like Nashoba’s Key. She had a poor trip in her Breeders Cup defeat but was an undefeated 8 for 8 otherwise.
Male Sprinter: Another weak division this year. Midnight Lute had it all right when it counted and that earns him the mark here. It’s a shame Fabulous Strike was injured because I believe he would’ve been a fearsome opponent for Midnight Lute. Idiot Proof ran well but in the end was a cut below the top 2.
Female Sprinter: I can still remember throwing down my losing tickets on Dream Rush in the Breeders Cup. She was run down by a very game Maryfield. That wasn’t the first time Maryfield beat me, but enough rambling. Marylfield takes this one which shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Male Turf Horse: This is going to the hardest choice for me. Kip Deville and English Channel both ran great this year. Both won Breeders Cup races. I can’t make a choice here. I’m going with a tie between Kip Deville and English Channel. I’d also like to give an honorable mention to After Market who had a wonderful 2007 campaign as well.
Female Turf Horse: This the second and last division where my knowledge is limited. Ironically Nashoba’s Key will win both of these. Lahudood was great in the Breeders Cup but didn’t do much outside of that.
Steeplechase Horse: 5 Breeders Cup wins in a row? Of course I’m gonna pick McDynamo! This amazing horse was recently retired but props him and his connections for an outstanding career.
Owner: Shadwell Stable has enjoyed great success for 2 consecutive years now. They campaigned Invasor and Jazil in 2006. This year they managed Daaher and Lahudood. Daaher closed the year with 3 wins in a row including the Grade 1 Cigar Mile beating Midnight Lute in the process. Lahudood claimed victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes.
Breeder: I’m not going to lie to you. I have no idea on this one. Your guess is as good as mine.
Trainer: Another hard choice here. I’m going to opt with Todd Pletcher. He trained 23% winners en route to a record breaking $28,571,697 in earnings. Pletcher raced horses such as English Channel, Rags to Riches, Lawyer Ron, Unbridled Belle, Octave, and Panty Raid, all of whom won Grade 1 races this year.
Jockey: Garrett Gomez is an easy choice here. He broke the record for stakes wins in a year. He rode 21% winners while accumulating
$23,800,074 in earnings. He rode 2 Breeders Cup winners in Indian Blessing and Midnight Lute. Albarado and Velazquez both had great years but were nothing compared to Gomez.
Apprentice Jockey: I’m going to opt for TVG’s favorite, Smokin’ Joe Talamo. He was brilliant aboard Nashoba’s Key. I expect to see great things from him in the future.
Well now that you know who I like, why don’t YOU drop me a line by clicking “comments” below this post. Thanks for reading and as always, I hope you enjoyed.
Eclipse your 2007 bet earnings with the help of this new online sports betting site. The award winning site offers some of the best horse racing odds on the net. If that’s not enough they also have plenty of sports betting, including boxing odds and golf bet info.