HorseCenter: Mid-Season awards & Ohio Derby top picks

With the completion of the Triple Crown signaling the unofficial midpoint of 2025, Brian Zipse and Matt Shifman recap the first half of the racing season by handing out their coveted HorseCenter Mid-Season Awards.

Will victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes be enough for Sovereignty to reign supreme, or will an older horse sneak into the position as the Mid-Season Horse of the Year on the HorseCenter ballots?

Matt and Brian also will take their annual visit to Thistledown for the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby as their race of the week. The nine-furlong test is topped by the speedy son of American Pharoah, Clever Again, who suffered his first career defeat last time in the Preakness Stakes.

3-year-old male 

Brian: Sovereignty - The strapping son of Into Mischief may have lost the Florida Derby (G1), but that was just a prep for bigger things to come. Wins in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes over an excellent rival in Journalism point him out as one of the best sophomores we have seen in recent years. Skipping the Preakness was a disappointment, but you can’t argue with his four races this year.

Matt: Sovereignty – The team of Bill Mott and Junior Alvarado made all the right moves with Sovereignty and that includes the Florida Derby. His two wins in the Triple Crown races were impressive and convincing that he is the best 3-year-old ahead of another excellent horse in Journalism. More great performances should be expected for a horse that has an imposing physical presence.

3-year-old filly 

Brian: Nitrogen - This is an interesting choice between Nitrogen and Good Cheer. I won’t hold the Acorn flop too much against the Kentucky Oaks winner, but I still like what Nitrogen has done this year even better. The Medaglia d’Oro filly has been increasingly dominant in four straight stakes wins on the grass, and despite it being a three-horse field, she ran big in the off-the-turf Wonder Again (G3). Now 5-for-5 this year, interesting options await this filly.

Matt: Nitrogen – What a dilemma having to choose between a filly that had a seven-race winning streak and another that just won for the fifth time in a row. It would be easy to make a case for either one of them as top sophomore female. Good Cheer thrived on the wet track for the Kentucky Oaks, but not all off tracks are the same as she did very little running at Saratoga after soaking rains turned the track into a sloppy mess. Bottom line is that Nitrogen won the head-to-head meeting and was so impressive moving from turf to dirt.

Older male 

Brian: Raging Torrent - Although he has only run once in America so far this year, this Doug O’Neill-trainee won the right one when he beat Fierceness and White Abarrio in the Met Mile (G1). As an American-based runner, I will also give him credit for his win in the Godolphin Mile (G2) overseas. It is obviously a division that will be decided in the second half, but for now Raging Torrent is on top.

Matt: Raging Torrent – When I was at Saratoga for the Belmont Racing Festival, the win by Raging Torrent was one of the most impressive since he defeated the top two ranked older male horses in the Met Mile. I collected a few wagers on him because of his record for the past year when he won 6 out of 7 races getting better with each start. I know that the wins in 2024 do not count in these kind of awards, but his last two victories are enough.

Older female 

Brian: Thorpedo Anna - The 2024 Horse of the Year disappointed for the first time in a long time last out in the La Troienne (G1) after being crunched heading into the first turn. I am hoping that she can return to her best again next time out, but for now her easy wins in the Azeri (G2) and Apple Blossom (G1) are enough to have her on top through the first half.

Matt: Thorpedo Anna – I do not hold the loss in the La Troienne against Thorpedo Anna. To this day I do not understand why her trainer ran her on short rest when more sensible targets were available at racetracks where she turned in outstanding performances. I hope that last year’s champ will be able to bounce back in the second half of the year. She still has the best resume in the older female division though.

Turf male

Brian: Far Bridge - In a wide-open division, I am going with the distance horse who had to shorten up to nin4-furlongs in the Manhattan (G1) and still almost won. He won two graded stakes at more preferred distances before that, and will be back running long in the near future. Much like his sire, the son of English Channel has become all class as he has matured.

Matt: Spirit of St Louis – Far Bridge and Spirit of St Louis have the best resumes in the division but the latter has a pair of Grade 1 victories which makes him my pick for the mid-season award. Deterministic is an up and comer after winning the Manhattan at Saratoga. We are talking about a division where the likely outcome of the Mile and the Turf at the Breeders’ Cup is that Europeans will be the winners.

Turf female

Brian: She Feels Pretty - She is best on firm turf, but still she was able to roll to another victory in the rain softened New York (G1). Her four-race winning streak has been dominant and comes at three different distances and at four different tracks. The Cherie DeVaux-trained daughter of Karakontie stands alone in this division right now.

Matt: She Feels Pretty - No argument from me, Brian. She Feels Pretty is so much the best. The 3-year-old filly Nitrogen might be my second choice.

Sprinter

Brian: Book’em Danno - Don’t be fooled by the Grade 3 label, his victory in the True North was Grade 1 quality. While others in this division will be stretching out in distance, I see the consistent New Jersey-bred as the best sprinter in the land. I am looking forward to a long and successful career for this classy gelding, who has started his 4-year-old season in top form.

Matt: Raging Torrent – This is an easy category for me. Raging Torrent’s win in the Met Mile gives him the mid-season award. He won the most prestigious one-turn race of the year beating a stellar field at Saratoga.

Female sprinter 

Brian: Kopion - After finishing off 2024 with a powerhouse win in the La Brea, this Richard Mandella-trained filly has kept things rolling this year with two equally impressive victories. Take note that the daughter of Omaha Beach actually ran faster than Mindframe in her win on Kentucky Derby Day.

Matt: Kopion – Two more graded stakes wins for Kopion this year, including the Derby City Distaff (G1) by three-lengths where her closing move down the stretch made the other horses look like they were standing still. I cannot even think of another one to consider.

Horse of the year 

Brian: Sovereignty - There’s no doubt about it for me, Matt. The 3-year-old males were the stars of the show in the first half of the season. Sovereignty has been terrific in four starts and was ready to shine on the biggest stages at Churchill Downs and Saratoga. Hopefully, we will see much more of his rivalry with Journalism.

Matt: Sovereignty – Right now the 3-year-olds are the favorites in the race for horse of the year and Sovereignty is on top as we already discussed. Big races like the Haskell (G1) and the Travers (G1) for the sophomores in the second half of 2025 along with the Breeders’ Cup Classic will help to determine the horse of the year.

Brian: I don’t know what it is about the Ohio Derby, but it is consistently one of my favorite races immediately following the Triple Crown. I guess it is the fact that so many of the past winners have been horses I have really liked. Smarten, Broad Brush, Lost Code, Skip Away, Caleb’s Posse, Irap and Two Phil’s all visited and won at Thistledown. Who will it be this year?

The 2025 edition is an interesting field which has attracted a field of 10 colts and geldings. Clever Again took plenty of action in the Preakness and is the clear morning line favorite here. He won nicely twice at Oaklawn Park this year, including the Hot Springs Stakes, but I did not like him at all against the class in the Middle Jewel. He set the pace at Pimlico before getting roughed up at the rail when he was fading. He should once again be out on the pace on Saturday. With other speed in the race, I will once again be playing against him.

Matt: For me Brian, I have a connection with the Ohio Derby because Thistledown was my racetrack of choice during college. I find it interesting to see where the 3-year-olds show up in their first start after the Kentucky Derby trail and the Triple Crown. The Ohio Derby has attracted five of them.

I liked Clever Again heading into the Preakness coming off those two front-end victories. His speed figured to be an asset at Pimlico, but as much as I disagreed with the way the steward’s inquiry was handled, the bottom line was that Clever Again was quitting badly. The Steve Asmussen runner will get some class relief at Thistledown, but he will have plenty of company early in the race. With a month between starts I don’t know why I should expect him to show more stamina.

Brian: The next two on the morning line are both interesting. Chunk of Gold was my Louisiana Derby pick and he ran well at 10-1. His middle of the pack finish in the Kentucky Derby was predictable and now he has had plenty of time to refresh since the first Saturday in May. A strong pace should suit him, as will the nine-furlong distance.

After a solid start to his career, McAfee stalled a bit when fifth in both the Gotham and the Wood Memorial. The half-brother of Thorpedo Anna turned things around last time with a game second in the Peter Pan (G3). Now five races into his career, this would seem to be a time when he should move forward and prove himself a graded stakes performer for trainer Rick Dutrow.

Matt: Chunk of Gold had some trouble in the run for the roses, getting his back hooves clipped coming out of the gate. With a half-mile to go, he got up to fifth-place and then ended up ninth. Horses that have that kind of finish on the first Saturday in May frequently go on to do good things in the mid-major Derbys. It is probably fair to be concerned about the three second-place finishes in a row by Chunk of Gold, but at the same time a positive pace projection on Saturday is a big plus.

McAfee will need to run like he did in the Peter Pan, when he had the lead in the stretch but was run down by Hill Road, who ran a disappointing fifth in the Belmont Stakes. The barn of Rick Dutrow has been very cold the past weeks. The biggest plus for McAfee is that his regular rider John Velazquez will make the trip to the suburban Cleveland track. Hall of famer Johnny V. is riding as well as at any point in his career.

Brian: Mo Plex is the other one in the field with strong stakes experience. The speedy New York-bred son of Complexity made a name for himself last year with a pair of stakes wins at Saratoga. He had his winning streak snapped after leaving the Spa but has rebounded nicely in two starts this year. His win in the Bay Shore last time was sharp. There is speed in the race, though, with Clever Again and Master Controller, and ultimately that is why I believe he will come up a little short in the Ohio Derby stretch.

Matt: Mo Plex is the kind of horse that I would love to own. He has top three finishes in all seven starts with four wins and $445,000 in earnings with three stakes victories including a Grade 3 at Saratoga. However, he has never run farther than a one-turn mile, all of his wins were in shorter sprints, and the Ohio Derby is nine furlongs.

Brian: I see this year’s Ohio Derby setting up well for a horse to come from off the pace and that points to Chunk of Gold. As much as I liked the last race of both McAfee and Mo Plex, I can’t ignore the strong early pace expected here while going the 1 1/8-mile trip. The Louisiana Derby runner-up has been a consistent horse, is proven in graded stakes company, and likes to come from behind. I like his chances to pick up the pieces under Jareth Loveberry on Saturday. Chunk of Gold is my top pick.

Matt: Chunk of Gold is the 7-2 third choice on the morning line, although I feel that those odds are a bit generous. The Ohio Derby is an ideal spot for the Kentucky-based runner to pick up his first graded-stakes win. I agree with Zipse here and Chunk of Gold will be my top pick, also.