Division Rankings: Is it Uni or Sistercharlie for top Turf Female?

Over the last several weeks, debate has continued about the Eclipse Award for Champion Turf Female, leaving the impression that the vote will be much closer than I originally expected between the defending winner, Sistercharlie, and Uni, the Breeders' Cup Mile winner.

Both made four starts in 2019, with all but Uni's season debut in Grade 1 company. 

Uni got to the races in late June, two weeks before Sistercharlie. After winning Belmont Park's Perfect Sting Stakes, the 5-year-old More Than Ready mare went on to face males -- and fellow female, Got Stormy -- in the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga.

Uni finished third that day in what was a nice effort for her second race back after a long layoff. Nearly eight weeks later, she turned up in the First Lady (G1) for a strong 2 1/2-length win at Keeneland that convinced connections to supplement her to the Breeders' Cup.

Sent postward as the second choice to Got Stormy at Santa Anita Park, Uni wore down her familiar rival to win by a 1 1/2 lengths, finishing her 2019 campaign with two Grade 1 victories and three wins from four starts overall.

Sistercharlie, meanwhile, began her season in what was considered one of the strongest female turf races of the year at the time. Trying Saratoga's Diana (G1) off an eight-month layoff was no easy task, and as such, the public sent Sistercharlie off as the second choice to stablemate Rushing Fall. But Sistercharlie didn't need a race, registering a 1 1/4-length win.

Up next was Arlington Park's Beverly D. (G1) -- one of, if not the most prestigious female grass race run in North America. As the defending winner, Sistercharlie didn't disappoint. She not only became the first horse to win the Beverly D. twice, but also broke the course record for 1 3/16 miles, roaring home in 1:52.43.

With two Grade 1 wins already under her belt, she aced a final pre-Breeders' Cup test in Belmont Park's Flower Bowl (G1). After her 3/4-length win, consensus seemed at the time that she was a shoo-in for another Eclipse Award.

In her final start of the season, Sistercharlie finished third in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She simply didn't have the same kick in the stretch over some exceedingly firm turf at Santa Anita Park. It was the first time she had tasted defeat in 17 months, ending a string of six straight Grade 1 wins for the 5-year-old mare.

So, both Uni and Sistercharlie won three of their four starts. Sistercharlie won three Grade 1 events to Uni's two. Uni's case is strengthened, though, on the basis of her win over males in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Got Stormy also threw her hat back into the ring by taking Del Mar's Matriarch earlier this month, though I don't believe her resume matches up to the top two.

This race remains a tough call, and I won't blame voters for looking at it differently than me. But I'll be giving the nod to Sistercharlie.

She's the defending champion, and in a race as close as this, ask yourself these questions: Did Sistercharlie do enough to lose her title? Or, did Uni do enough to take the title away?

My answer to both is an emphatic no.

So in this Eclipse race, the defending champion gets my vote because quite frankly, no other horse in the division did enough to dethrone her.

Below, this week's Division Rankings feature the Top 3 from each equine race that I plan to write into my ballot when the time comes. I take all three spots seriously, as No. 1 votes carry the most weight, but to be an Eclipse finalist is also a prestigious matter for connections.

Here's an updated look:

Older Dirt Males

1.  Mitole – The Breeders' Cup Sprint winner will be the No. 1 horse on my ballot for this division. No other older male can match his resume: six wins at five tracks from seven starts. His four Grade 1 wins are double that of his next-closest pursuer.

2.  Vino Rosso – Made it clear to everyone that he is the best 10-furlong dirt horse in the country with a powerful win in the Breeders' Cup Classic. His margin of victory was the fifth-largest in the race's 36-year history. Winning three of six starts on the year, the Classic was his second Grade 1 win. Also remember he was disqualified in that Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), too.

3.  McKinzie – The Breeders' Cup Classic favorite ran a game race when finishing a clear second. He likely ends his season with two wins from seven starts and a win in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga.


Older Dirt Females

1.  Midnight Bisou – She tried her hardest, but she couldn't quite catch Blue Prize in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. The loss not only spoiled her unbeaten season, but also her Horse of the Year chances. Maybe the long year caught up to her, or she didn't quite like the deep Santa Anita track. But she ends her season with seven graded wins.

2.  Blue Prize – Joined Bayakoa and Paseana as Breeders' Cup Distaff winners bred in Argentina. After losing the first three starts of her season, she got hot and won her last three.

3.  It's undecided between Elate, who went 2-for-7 this season and capped her career with a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Classic, and Come Dancing, who was 4-for-6 and didn't run her race in the Filly & Mare Sprint but did win four graded events in 2019.

3-Year-Old-Males

1.  Maximum Security – The No. 1 horse here since early May, he reaffirmed why in the Cigar Mile (G1). A deserving Eclipse winner. 

2.  Code of Honor – Off the board in the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Travers (G1) winner simply didn't fire over the Santa Anita track. He finished the season with four wins from eight starts, with one of those via DQ in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

3.  Omaha Beach – Connections decided against shipping to New York to take on Maximum Security, ending any hope of an Eclipse. The runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile to fellow 3-year-old Spun to Run is pointing to next week's Malibu (G1) at Santa Anita. He has run in four graded stakes this season, winning three.

3-Year-Old-Females

1.  Covfefe - Will likely get my vote for the Eclipse in this division based on her outstanding season sprinting.

2.  Serengeti Empress - The Kentucky Oaks winner ran a full season and should be commended for it. She ran a big race when third in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

3.  Guarana - Her Cotillion loss and non-participation in the Breeders' Cup will cost her the Eclipse in this division.

Turf Males

1.  Bricks and Mortar – If he isn't a unanimous choice in the vote for this division, there should be an investigation. Simply an outstanding season and is set to join Wise Dan, Kotashaan and John Henry as the only grass horses to win Horse of the Year in the Breeders' Cup era.

2.  Arklow - There's quite a gap between Bricks and Mortar and everyone else. You can take any one of half a dozen horses and round out the second and third spots on your Eclipse ballot in this division. Although he was up the track in the Breeders' Cup Turf, Arklow won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic (G1) and placed in four other graded stakes.

3.  World of Trouble - Thinking outside the box here, but this guy was brilliant on the grass, winning all three of his starts on that surface in 2019.

Turf Females

1.  Sistercharlie – Had a six-race win streak snapped when third in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. As the incumbent Eclipse winner of this division, Sistercharlie’s three Grade 1 wins this season are enough for me to place her above her main rival for the Eclipse, Uni. 

2.  Uni – The Breeders’ Cup Mile heroine was spectacular in victory over Got Stormy. Overall on the season she won two Grade 1 races with three wins from four starts. She won’t dethrone Sistercharlie on my ballot. Both ran four times, but I believe Sistercharlie did more with her four starts.

3.  Got Stormy – The Breeders' Cup Mile runner-up won the Matriarch (G1) in early December and was a winner of four of eight on the season. In August she won the Fourstardave (G1) over the boys.

Male Sprinters

1.  Mitole – A lock for the Eclipse in this division, he is one of the best sprinters we have seen in the last 20 years.

2.  Imperial Hint – Scratched from the Breeders' Cup Sprint, he won two Grade 1 races before that, finishing 2-for-4 on the season.

3.  Shancelot - The Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up is certainly a talented colt. But I acknowledge it's a stretch to place him third on the ballot with a single graded win. Others could be considered here.

Female Sprinters

1.  Covfefe –  Simply overwhelmed the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint competition. Finished her season with five wins from six starts, and she bagged two Grade 1 wins this season. A sure bet to win the Eclipse in this division.

2.  Come Dancing – Was the leader of this division before her showdown with Covfefe in the Breeders' Cup, where she simply didn't fire in her sixth-place finish. She won four graded stakes this year, including the Ballerina (G1).

3.  Belvoir Bay – The Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint heroine started her season in January and won her first two starts before her narrow loss in Dubai's Al Quoz Sprint (G1). She finishes her season with three wins from six starts.

2-Year-Old Males

1.  Storm the Court – The Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner will hold on to this spot.

2.  Structor – The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner is 3-for-3 with two graded wins. Will get support for the Eclipse.

3.  Eight Rings – American Pharoah (G1) winner Could have earned votes for the top spot had he run in and won the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2).

2-Year-Old Females

1.  Bast – Rebounded from her narrow Breeders' Cup loss to win the Starlet (G1), giving her three Grade 1 wins on the season. Gets the slight nod over British Idiom.

2.  British Idiom – Narrow winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, she finishes her season 3-for-3 with a pair of Grade 1 scores.

3.  Donna Veloce - Followed up her remarkable runner-up finish to British Idiom in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies after making her career debut only one month earlier with another runner-up finish, this time to Bast in the Starlet.