End Of Year Thoughts & Eclipse Award Selections
It’s hard to believe the year is almost over as we approach the wire in 2015 with only four Grade 1 races left to be run. The year started off great with the California Chrome and Shared Belief battle, became historic with the American Pharoah story, and is nearing an end with a sour taste in my mouth due to the Shared Belief tragedy. Of course, there were many other horses and people that touched everyone’s hearts during the course of this year, I can’t do them all justice. The great part about this sport is that you never know from year to year which horse or horses will capture your heart, make you say “wow” over a performance, or surprise you by winning you over. Make no mistake, though, it doesn’t have to be a household name to do this. One of my favorites on the track was a $5k claimer that ran at Arlington 20 years ago, and you know what? I still haven’t forgotten him. With all that said, let’s turn our attention to the Eclipse Awards.
I will start with the two-year-old males and Nyquist. Obviously he is going to win the award, what is sort of surprising here is the lack of respect I see out there for this guy, and I am one of the guilty parties involved. I am changing my tune now. He is the first two-year-old male in 40 years to have three Grade 1 wins and go unbeaten as a juvenile; Foolish Pleasure was the last. Yes, he was slower than the fillies, but let’s be realistic, this is not an uncommon occurrence with juveniles. He shocked everyone by how he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, you can’t sit there and say you thought he would win the race like that coming off the pace can you? Could he fizzle out as a three-year-old? Sure, but we ask that question every year about the two-year-old champ as they move on to age three. For now, though, this guy deserves much more respect than he has gotten.
Moving on to the two-year-old females, only one name is mentioned, and rightfully so, Songbird. In short, my opinion is that if she stays healthy, she could be one of the best we've seen in a very long time. I am a firm believer that if they pointed her to the 2016 Kentucky Derby she would be the play. I think the sky is the limit for her, and that she will fill the void left by American Pharoah in 2016 as far as the sport's top star. I haven’t been this high on a two-year-old filly since Go For Wand.
On to the three-year-olds, and on the male side where there is no suspense, and no need to discuss, American Pharoah took us all on a ride we will never forget. The female side is very contentious, even for me. Can Stellar Wind win this award off of one Grade 1 win at the beginning of April and running four times after, with no more? She may be the best, but I don’t think she should be awarded the Eclipse, and some of that fault has to fall on her connections for the races they chose. I am not criticizing their choices as I am sure they had the well being of the horse to consider, but if you wanted the Eclipse, the standards have to be set higher. I’m a Chatterbox ended her year with runs in five straight Grade 1 races, and acquitted herself nicely with one win and on the board in three others. She was 4 for 8 this year. What about Curalina? She won two Grade 1 races, beat I’m a Chatterbox in two of the three races they were in against each another, and she ran well against older. If it were up to me, I would give Curalina the nod.
Moving on to the older horses, we will start with Beholder, who will be the obvious choice in her division for the Eclipse. Make no mistake, she reached new heights that few thought she could attain. If someone had told any of us at the start of the year that the daughter of Henny Hughes would run away with the Grade 1 Pacific Classic in August by almost nine lengths in a shade under 2:00, they would have been met with much skepticism. She is a perfect example of a horse who shocked me, as I didn’t think she was capable of a performance like that. It was historic. One of best 10 furlong dirt races a female has ever run in this sport.
As for the older males, there is much debate on which horse deserves this Eclipse. This can go several ways and I could write all day on this one division. Everyone knows the race obviously boils down to Liam’s Map, Tonalist, Effinex, and Honor Code. This is such tough year to find a deserving winner that I could make a strong case for Shared Belief because as has been said on this site by Zipse At The Track, if you asked most experts who was the best older male to step foot on a track in 2015, the overwhelming answer would be Shared Belief.
Let’s take them one at a time and start with Effinex. Ended the year with a strong run in the Classic, and a win in the Gr1 Clark over a strong field. Was it enough? I don’t think it will be. He just simply ran out of time this year. He was obviously the best older male in training at the end of the year, but I don’t believe he won over enough voters. The JCGC and Woodward losses hurt his chances. What about Honor Code? I would be stunned if he received the Eclipse, and I blame his connections. Running one time in of all races the Gr2 Kelso, at a mile, between the Whitney and Breeders’ Cup, did him in. It didn’t help that he was beaten double digit lengths in the Classic either. Next we have Tonalist, who finished his career very nicely in the recent Grade 1 Cigar Mile. Was it enough for him to gain some late support with two Grade 1 wins? Perhaps, but not from me. He had a solid campaign, the off the board in the Classic sticks out to me and really hurts his chances here. Lastly, we have Liam’s Map, the most brilliant member of this quartet. He was clearly the fastest horse of these four, not sure if he would have liked 10 furlongs but it doesn’t matter now. He dominated the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in a way not many thought he would, by coming from off the pace. Although he had a short campaign, and career for that matter, I believe he will be voted the champion.
In the Sprint division, this one was a two horse race, and was settled on the track in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Runhappy won the Eclipse with his win over a battle tested warrior in Private Zone. I feel bad for Private Zone’s connections, this guy was a monster this year, but he will have to settle for second in voting as Runhappy had as strong of a campaign as a three-year-old sprinter has in a long time to win this Eclipse.
Lastly, we have the turf division and I will start with the females. It’s pretty clear to me that this one will go to Tepin after her overpowering win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, her second Grade 1 win of the year. Let's be honest though, as was the case with the older males and Shared Belief, wasn’t Lady Eli the best U.S. based female to step foot on the turf in 2015? Yes, I believe she was. She won all three of her starts, but will mostly be remembered for her win against Laminitis. To me, she should get strong consideration for this award.
For the turf male, the race will boil down to The Pizza Man vs Big Blue Kitten. Big Blue Kitten has one more Grade 1 win than The Pizza Man, but The Pizza Man beat him on the square in the Grade 1 Arlington Million, and then went to the Shadwell Mile to close like a freight train finishing second a head back. He then made a move in the bizarrely run Breeders' Cup Turf to finish 5th, four lengths back. After that, his connections didn’t sit back, they shipped him to California for the Hollywood Turf Cup in late November, and he responded by dominating the race and winning by open lengths. Big Blue Kitten had a nice campaign, but I believe that Arlington Million was the key race. Trading wins with Slumber in those Grade 1 races in New York wasn’t enough for me, but maybe for some voters. The final push of “all in” by Midwest Thoroughbreds by running at Del Mar a few weeks ago did it for me, and I believe they should be awarded the Eclipse Award.