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2011 Horse of the Year: Havre de Grace

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Havre de Grace

2011 Horse of the Year, Havre de Grace.

Fox Hill Farm’s filly Havre de Grace was named Horse of the Year for 2011 marking the third straight year a female has taken the award and ending one of the most mediocre years of racing in recent memory.

She took the award over Acclamation who finished a well beaten second with 26 votes compared to the 166 votes that the filly gathered. Game On Dude was third with 10 votes and Cape Blanco got nine.

Fox Hill Farm’s owner Rick Porter went off the deep end just a tad in his jubilation, comparing his filly to the great Zenyatta. I’m not a Zenyatta nut, but Havre de Grace is no Zenyatta. There is really no comparison between the two. It starts with both being female Horse of the Year winners and it ends there. Trainer Larry Jones, a decidedly wonderful person, also went a bit far, calling her the “perfect racehorse“. We can give them a pass for the most part considering the occasion. We would all be over the moon too.

Havre de Grace will continue to race in 2012. This is great news for fans of horse racing. The connections plan to allow her to tackles males yet again. I’m looking forward to watching and would love to see her in the Dubai World Cup where she could face Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.

Speaking of Animal Kingdom, many were surprised to see him win the Eclipse Award for Three-Year-Old Male. He took the honor by just three votes over one-turn specialist Caleb’s Posse. I disagree with this decision. Caleb’s Posse won five times, including triumphs in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Animal Kingdom, while a Derby winner, did not race past June and was only a two time winner. Regardless, both have bright futures. Animal Kingdom is the early favorite to win the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup in March.

Two-year-old male: Hansen

Two-year-old female: My Miss Aurelia

Turf male: Cape Blanco

Turf female:  Stacelita

Trainer: Bill Mott

Steeplechase: Black Jack Blues

Female Sprinter: Musical Romance

Male Sprinter: Amazombie

Older Male: Acclamation

Older Female: Havre de Grace

Owner: Ken and Sarah Ramsey

Breeder: Adena Springs
Three-year-old male: Animal Kingdom

Three-year-old female: Royal Delta

Apprentice Jockey: Kyle Frey
Jockey: Ramon Dominguez

Horse of the Year: Havre de Grace

 

Check out our friends at Paulick Report (we borrowed the above chart from them!) to learn more about the Eclipse Awards.

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GradedStakes.com Live Blogs Eclipse Awards

January 16, 2012 By 1 Comment

The Eclipse Awards aren’t known for their excitement, but we will spice things up by live blogging the event. Join us at 8 PM EST to ask questions and share your input! In the mean time, check out these two articles we have published about the event. You can catch the event on HRTV and we will detail every moment of the action for you.

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2011 Eclipse Award Selections

January 5, 2012 By 1 Comment
2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta

2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta

2011 was a year of pure mediocrity, but we did see diamonds in the rough. Animal Kingdom ran off to win the Kentucky Derby; Havre de Grace beat the boys in the Woodward; and Hansen stayed undefeated in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. All three of those horses could potential be rewarded with horse racing’s versions of an Oscar; the Eclipse Award.

The Eclipse Awards ceremony has a bad reputation, but it could improve with ESPN’s Jeannine Edwards hosting the event this year. We can only hope so anyway. The ceremony has been dreadful to watch, but the awards are truly important.

Horse of the Year

2011 was a year of inconsistency, but Game on Dude provided the best resume and most consistent performances. The gritty gelding is my choice in this category. Check out this post from last month to learn why: 2011 Horse of the Year? Game On Dude.

Two-Year-Old Colt

The first time I saw Hansen in the past performances of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile, I thought to myself that I could beat this colt. He won that Turfway race by just over 13 lengths and was never challenged while leading from start to finish. I’m always one to be skeptical of stakes horses that haven’t done anything yet, but Hansen quickly won me over. He rewarded my confidence with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, once again leading from the beginning until the end. Keep in mind that Hansen has never been in any place but first at every point of his three races. His triumph on Championship Saturday means he ought to get the trophy. Others would pick Union Rags, but that one had a chance to run past him and couldn’t do it.

Two-Year-Old Filly

There isn’t much controversy here. My Miss Aurelia went a perfect four for four with wins in the Frizette and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. No other filly accomplished anything close to what she did. George Bolton and Stonestreet Stables get another trophy for their collection.

Three-Year-Old Male

There is an argument for Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, but I’ve got to give the award to Caleb’s Posse. He was the only sophomore other than The Factor to win two Grade 1 races. Caleb’s Posse gave us one of the best races of 2011 when he ran down Uncle Mo on the wire in the King’s Bishop. He dispatched a strong field with a powerful late move in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and that put him over the top. He also owns wins in the Amsterdam Stakes, Ohio Derby and Smarty Jones Stakes.

Three-Year-Old Female

Royal Delta couldn’t always find her stride. She was a live wire blowing the competition away one race and finishing up the track in the next. That was only for part of the year as she found her best stride to win the Alabama Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. It’s Tricky and Plum Pretty both put together nice campaigns, but in the end, Royal Delta proved best of all.

Older Male Horse

Have to take Game On Dude by default as he is my choice for Horse of the Year. See above for my reasoning. Honorable mention to Met Mile winner Tizway.

Older Female Horse

Havre de Grace gave the competition a coup de grâce with her Woodward win. She also smashed a decent group in the Apple Blossom and gave us a thrilling runner up effort in the Delaware Handicap behind Blind Luck. Had that filly stayed right she might have given her a run for her money.

Sprinter

Caleb’s Posse never lost around a single turn and proved much the best against older horses in the Breeders’ Cup. Throw in a great win in the King’s Bishop and I’ve got to pick him over Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Amazombie. That one didn’t have as good of a campaign prior to Championship Saturday and in my mind their wins offset. Therefore, Caleb’s Posse, with the better resume prior to the Breeders’ Cup, gets the award.

Female Sprinter

This is a tough division and really could be a coin flip. When my coin landed it told me that Sassy Image was the pick. She won the Humana Distaff and Princess Rooney, both Grade 1 races. She also took the Grade 3 Winning Colors Stakes. Hilda’s Passion, winner of the Ballerina, and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Musical Romance also deserve big looks.

Male Turf Horse

When Cape Blanco came to America, the betting public overlooked him and instead made Gio Ponti a heavy favorite in the Man O’ War. Cape Blanco made them pay by registering an easy victory and won again in the Arlington Million next out. He completed the Grade 1 hat trick with a tough as nails victory in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. Others will argue with Acclamation, but that one faced much softer competition in California.

Female Turf Horse

Stacelita is going to be the favorite in this spot, but I prefer Never Retreat. She won five times in 2011 with all five wins coming in graded stakes company. That’s over twice as many wins as her main rival for this award. Never Retreat capped her season by dispatching a very strong field in Keeneland’s Grade 1 First Lady Stakes. She peppered in losses between her victories, but I appreciate the fact that Team Block got her to the races eleven times during her final campaign as a racehorse. She deserves it and I hope she gets it.

Outstanding Owner

There are a couple of ways you could go here, but the excellence of Team Valor International stands out in my eyes. Barry Irwin’s crew took America’s favorite race, the Kentucky Derby, along with other important races like the Del Mar Oaks, Ballston Spa Handicap and With Anticipation Stakes. They finished 10th in earnings while starting just 78 horses compared to an average of 365 for the rest of the top 10. On the year they won 16 total stakes races with nine of them being graded stakes races.

Outstanding Breeder

Ken and Sarah Ramsey had a splendid year thanks to their sire Kitten’s Joy. The Eclipse Award winning sire produced many great horses with perhaps the best being Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies champ Stephanie’s Kitten. On the whole, the Ramseys bred 13  black type winners and were topped only by Adena Springs who started nearly twice as many horses.

Outstanding Trainer

This is one of the easiest choices of all; Bill Mott. The trainer has won more races than anyone in the history of historic Churchill Downs. He added two more victories on Breeders Cup weekend when Royal Delta won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic and Drosselmeyer fired past them all to take the Breeders’ Cup Classic. His 2011 win percentage of 17% is right with the best of them as are his earnings of $10,731,249. This will be his third time taking the award. The previous two wins came in 1995 and 1996.

Outstanding Jockey

2011 was the year of John Velazquez. He finished second in earnings at $18,622,964 while reaching the winners circle 248 times. Among those wins were nine Grade 1 victories like the Kentucky Derby, Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and Clark Handicap. Like trainer Bill Mott, this will be the third Eclipse Award for Johnny V. He won previously in 2004 and 2005.

Outstanding Apprentice Jockey

Irad Ortiz won 151 races while contesting one of the toughest jockey colonies in America; New York. His mounts raked in $2,861,274. This guy is a serious rider and will blossom into one of the best in the business if he continues to progress. I will be watching him closely.

Who are your picks for horse racing’s version of the Academy Awards? Share your Eclipse Award picks below by leaving a comment!

**Join us at 8 PM EST as we live blog the Eclipse Awards!!**


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Gradedstakes.com Eclipse Awards Ballot

December 28, 2010 By 6 Comments

The above photo is of 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra. This years Eclipse Awards are every bit as exciting as last year when she took the top spot. I didn’t get a vote, but if I did here are the horses I would’ve selected. Let’s take a look!

Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo wins this in an open and shut case. The son of Indian Charlie only raced three times, but won emphatically in each start. His Breeders Cup Juvenile victory is one of the most incredible I’ve ever seen. It will be exciting to see how he fares in 2011.

Two-Year-Old Female: Awesome Feather did everything asked of her in 6 starts this year. She capped it with a Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies win. Other interesting horses include Position Limit and Turbulent Descent. All three will be strong contenders in 2011, but the Breeders Cup winner gets the nod for the Eclipse Award.

Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky has to take this on virtue of his wins in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational. The son of Smart Strike has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever seen. The other horse here is Eskendereya. He only raced 3 times before retiring due to injury, but his win in the Wood Memorial was one of the most impressive performances I’ve ever seen by a sophomore runner.

Three-Year-Old Female: Blind Luck seems to know where the wire is. She won three races by a nose and another by a neck this year. Her best wins came in the Las Virgenes, Kentucky Oaks and Alabama Stakes. She was purchased for a measly $11k in 2008. Her rival, Havre de Grace, gets an honorable mention.

Older Horse: This division is another open and shut case in favor of Blame. He is the only horse to ever beat the legendary Zenyatta and he did so in the Breeders Cup Classic. I love his style of galloping horses down. He is a truly a throwback.

Older Female: Zenyatta gets this one for the third consecutive year. Relax ladies, she won’t be around to win it next year. You will get your chance.

Male Sprinter: This division is the first one with some room for debate. Even though I picked Breeders Cup Sprint winner Big Drama to win that race, I do think others deserve consideration. My selection for this award is Majesticperfection. He won the head to head matchup with Big Drama and won twice as many races in total. He is one of the best sprinters I’ve seen in many years and its a damn shame he was injured and forced to retire. Smiling Tiger had a great year winning two Grade 1 races and missing a third by a nose.

Female Sprinter: This was a tough pick, but I went with Dubai Majesty over Franny Freud. The latter had her season ended by an injury after taking the Prioress. Dubai Majesty finished her year with a win in the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. That put her over the top.

Male Turf Horse: It was a pretty sorry year for this division. I’ll give the nod to Champ Pegasus on virtue of his runner up performance in the Breeders Cup Turf. Rosario was bold to put him on the lead as this horse closed from 19 back to win a race earlier this year. His best win came in the Clement L. Hirsch. Most will probably go with Gio Ponti here and he deserves a look after running behind Goldikova in the Breeders Cup Mile.

Female Turf Horse: This is an easy pick. Although Goldikova only raced once in North America she deserves the award. The filly looked like she had a rocket in her rear end as she vaulted past them all in the Breeders Cup Mile. It was one of the best efforts all year and by FAR the best from this division. The ill fated Tuscan Evening gets an honorable mention for going a perfect 6 for 6.

Horse of the Year: Please refer to this post.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher wins this one in a rout. He took the Kentucky Derby and won much more money than any other trainer. He also took more Grade 1 races and more graded races overall. Bob Baffert, John Sadler, John Sheriffs and Steve Asmussen deserve mentions. Among the lower tier trainers Jamie Ness and Joe Woodard both had great years. Pletcher is the reigning king though.

Jockey: Although he didn’t win as many graded races as some, Ramon Dominguez is very deserving of this award. He rides circles around most of the New York colony and won more money than any other jockey this year. Dominguez is a great tactician and extremely underrated.

Apprentice: I don’t have a very strong opinion here, but I’ll go with top money earner and wins leader Omar Moreno. The young rider’s life is finally looking up after living through a civil war as a child. Click here to read more.

Owner: Jerry and Ann Moss deserve this one for keeping Zenyatta around. They did what was good for the game and we owe them a debt that can never be repaid. This award would be a good start though.

Stallion: I don’t have an opinion in this category, but Malibu Moon and Distorted Humor were 1-2 in wins earnings.

So there you have it, my picks for the 2010 Eclipse Awards. Official results will be released on January 17, 2011. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts. I’d love to discuss the topic  and hear what you think!

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Zenyatta poll update

December 28, 2010 By 3 Comments

PHOTO: Joe Nevills

In a recent post making my case for Zenyatta to be Horse of the Year I posed the question to my readers asking who they would choose. The results have been quite astounding. A whopping 95% visitors to this website favor Zenyatta over Breeders Cup Classic winner Blame. There were a total of 118 votes.

It’s important to stress that this is an unscientific poll, but the results are still a bit surprising. I thought the voting would be much more even. Stay tuned to this website for my picks in other divisions.

Results for Horse of the Year voting will be announced at the Eclipse Awards Ceremony on Janauary 17, 2011.

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My 2009 Eclipse Award Ballot; Rachel Alexandra HOY

January 7, 2010 By 6 Comments

The Eclipse Award nominees are finally out. The Eclipse Awards are the highest honor in thoroughbred racing. Winners are voted on by the people at the NTRA (National Thoroughbred Racing Assocation), Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers Assocation. I wish that I could have a say, but that is not meant to be this year. Perhaps in the future I will get a chance. Here’s a look at who I would pick in each category. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Horse of the Year: Rachel Alexandra- This one is a no brainer for me. The three-year-old filly won 8 races and 5 Grade 1 events this year. She beats the boys 3 times, including in the Preakness where she became the first horse to ever win from the 13 post position. She left Summer Bird in her wake when she took the Haskell Invitational. The two times that she faced her gender in Grade 1 events this year she won by a combined 39 1/2 lengths. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro even beat older males when she took down the Woodward Stakes. Her campaign this year not only makes her Horse of the Year, but the greatest three-year-old filly in the history of the sport.

Two-Year-Old Male: Lookin’ At Lucky- This is an easy choice. “Lucky” is one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby and rightfully so. He couldn’t have won any easier last out in the CashCall Futurity where he beat fellow nominee Noble’s Promise. Vale of York can’t get my nod because I don’t believe in giving an Eclipse Award on the basis of a single race.

Two-Year-Old Female: She Be Wild- The Wayne Catalano filly got a perfect ride to slip up the rail and win the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies. She also ran a strong race to finish second in the Alcaibidies this year. Blind Luck and Hot Dixie are also nominated. I could easily envision both of those fillies being better when its all said and done, but at this point in time it has to go to She Be Wild. I feel like Hot Dixie Chick is the one to watch out of these three. I look forward to watching all of these fillies leading up to next years Kentucky Oaks.

Three-Year-Old Male: Summer Bird- This is an easy pick. The son of Birdstone took the Belmont Stakes, Travers, and Jockey Club Gold Cup this year. He also bested Mine That Bird and Quality Road in head to head matchups. I feel like at this point in time Quality Road has surpassed him, but based on their 2009 resumes Summer Bird was clearly the better horse.

Three-Year-Old Filly: Rachel Alexandra- Do I really need to say more? Check out the Horse of the Year section above for more information on this filly.

Older Male: Gio Ponti- This is a highly competitive division although 2009 was a down year for the older horses. I’ll go with Gio Ponti on the virtue of 4 Grade 1 victories and a runner up performance when switching surfaces in the Breeders Cup Classic. Einstein put together a good year, but lost twice to Gio Ponti. I feel like if Einstein had won the Donn and Clark he could’ve got my vote. I’m excited to watch Gio Ponti compete in 2010.

Older Female: Zenyatta- Anyone who doesn’t vote for Zenyatta to be Champion Older Female deserves to have their voting priveleges revoked. While she was lightly raced and beat soft fields most of the year, she answered the bell in the Breeders Cup Classic. The five-year-old mare would be a serious threat for Horse of the Year in my mind if she had taken on tougher competition other than in the Classic and won outside of California.

Male Sprinter: Kodiak Kowboy- If you had asked me earlier in the year, I would’ve said Zensational was a shoo-in. However, he couldn’t get the job done in the Breeders Cup Sprint. Kodiak Kowboy skipped the race, but had wins in the Carter, Vosburgh, and Cigar Mile in 2009. He only finished off the board once in 2009. Retired now at the age of 5, this horse was extremely consistent throughout his career. It’s rare that you find a horse that can win at the top level at 2, 3, and 4.

Female Sprinter: Informed Decision- She had her doubters in the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, but she dismissed Ventura en route to an impressive win. In my eyes, that race sealed the title for her. She won 6 of 7 races in 2009, including 3 Grade 1 races. She is a polytrack specialist, and I would never bet against her on that surface. Informed Decision was also tough on “real” dirt where she won the Humana Distaff, but her only loss came on the surface in the Ballerina Stakes. Her 2009 campaign will be hard to equal in 2010.

Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti- I’d like to give the nod to Presious Passion, but Gio Ponti had the better year. He has nearly unbeatable on the grass this year.

Female Turf Horse: Ventura- While she couldn’t get it done on Breeders Cup day, this mare was very consistent in 2009. She won two Grade 1 races on the turf this year. Her best performance came in the Woodbine Mile. I’d love to give the nod to Goldikova or Midday, but one race doesn’t make a year.

Owner: Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss- You have to give this couple the award after they stepped up to the plate and entered Zenyatta in the Breeders Cup Classic. Regardless of whether or not Zenyatta wins Horse of the Year, this took guts. I salute them for stepping up and helping the sport.

Breeder: I’m fairly ignorant to this category so I will refrain from commenting.

Trainer:  Bob Baffert- There is something to be said for a guy that finishes 3rd in earning behind a guy who has nearly 6 times as many starts as he does. Bob Baffert is the most prolific trainer in thoroughbred racing right now. Anything he touches turns to gold. He had a great 2009 thanks to Indian Blessing, Lookin at Lucky, Gabby’s Golden Goose, Pioneerof The Nile, and many more. I predict 2010 will be even better.

Jockey: Ramon Dominguez- This was one of the toughest picks I had to make. Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, and Julien Leparoux all had wonderful years. I had to go with Ramon Dominguez. He dominated with a massive 23.6% winning percentage and he finished in the money 56% of the time. He amassed earnings of 18,348,422 for 2009. He won the Spring/Fall riding title at Belmont Park, and also took the title at Saratoga. I congratulate him in an excellent 2009 campaign.

Apprentice Jockey: Christian Santiago-Reyes- I’m a big follower of California racing, and I love betting this guy. He has broke into the big time fast and he is here to stay. He is fearless in the irons and I expect to see him winning big time races very soon.

Who do you like to win an Eclipse Award? Leave a comment and lets discuss!

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Eclipse Awards

January 21, 2008 By 2 Comments

Likely Horse of the Year Curlin

Happy MLK Day to everyone! This was a pretty slow weekend racing wise. My long shot selection Decado came up short and ran fifth in the San Marcos. The very heavy favorite Champs Eylees came out on top. Look for him to make a big impact on the turf division this year. In the Tuzla Stakes, Doug O’Neil’s Trick’s Pic came out on top for a return of $14.40. This weekend will be one of the best times for racing this year. You guessed it! The SunShine Millions is this weekend. Check back later this week for all my selections.

The Eclipse Awards are tonight. Click here for my selections in each category. I will be watching live and you can too. Just turn on TVG at 9:30 EST. I watched last year, it’s pretty good. Just think the Academy Awards with horse racing mixed in. Nick Zito was given a bit of a scare when War Pass was discovered to have a touch of colic. Everything turned out fine, thankfully. We’ve seen too many incredible horses go down before the Kentucky Derby. Daaher remains on schedule for the Donn Handicap. He worked 5 furlongs in a very sharp 59.97. Corey Nakatani has been on TVG due to a broken collarbone which is preventing him from riding. I haven’t got a chance to see him yet, but I hear he is good.

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2007 Eclipse Award Finalists

January 7, 2008 By 1 Comment

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.

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