Tough Call for the Older Dirt Male Eclipse Award

Who’s it going to be? I don’t know about you, but for me, this past holiday weekend’s results only further muddied the picture as to who most deserves this year’s Eclipse Award for Older Dirt Male. So much so, in fact, that I personally do not have a firm answer. While I waffle, I thought it would be good to lay out the pros and cons of all the candidates to help us all find some clarity …

Honor Code (6-3-0-2) - Everyone loves seeing a deep closer do their thing, and everyone saw this year’s Met Mile and Whitney Handicap. Therefore, it becomes only natural to have a real soft spot for Honor Code. The spectacular nature in which he defeated loaded fields those afternoons at Belmont Park and Saratoga thrust him, without question, to the top of this division. He could have run away from his Eclipse Award competition with just one more victory, but he did not get it. While others on the list finished their respective seasons off with impressive wins, this son of A.P. Indy was not so fortunate. Two nondescript thirds, in the Kelso and then the Breeders’ Cup Classic, left us all wondering where the horse, who had looked so brilliant in the Met Mile and Whitney, had gone. He also did little running in the Alysheba at Churchill Downs in the spring, which adds to the inconsistency question. Having said that, three impressive stakes wins, which includes the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap in March, is as much, or more than, anyone else on this list.

Liam’s Map (4-3-1-0) - If consistent brilliance is your game, then it becomes very hard to look past Liam’s Map. If finishing the season on a high note is important, then Liam’s Map also becomes an obvious candidate. After a sharp allowance score, the lightly raced four-year-old ran his eyeballs out only to get caught in the final jump by Honor Code in the Grade 1 Whitney. That defeat, as good it was, becomes important considering it was his only meeting with Honor Code. Rebounding sensationally from his only loss in 2015, the son of Unbridled’s Song came back to thoroughly dominate the prestigious Grade 1 Woodward, before thrilling us all with a trouble laden winning performance in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Easily overcoming the trap set for him that afternoon was a thing of beauty, but was it enough to win an Eclipse Award with only four races and two stakes wins? Also, should it be held against him that his connections chose the Dirt Mile rather than taking a shot at the Classic? These are questions that each individual voter must decide.

Effinex (8-4-1-1) - Not even a thought for this award six weeks ago, no horse on this list finished off the late season as strongly as the New York-bred did. Looking at his entire body of work, it is now very easy to consider the Jimmy Jerkens trained colt a serious candidate. A winner of three graded stakes, over good horses, and at three different tracks, I believe he also needs to get points for his run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Let’s face it, no one was beating American Pharoah that day, but if you look back at the rest of the star studded field, you will see Effinex nearly as far ahead of the others, as was the winning margin for the champ. The Grade 1 Clark legitimized his candidacy, and he easily beat Honor Code in their only meeting. If the Suburban decision below had gone the other way, we very well could be talking more about the horse just below him, but just watch how game Effinex was to deny Tonalist in the historic race at Belmont Park.

Tonalist (7-3-2-1) - More consistent than a few on this list, Tonalist needed his thrilling stretch run in Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile to cement his candidacy for the award, because he simply was not coming out on top enough for most of the year. Not all graded stakes are created equal, so it is hard to get excited over his win in a very weak Westchester. Then after that, he ran well, but was beaten in three straight important races by either Honor Code (twice) or Effinex. He did finish the year with some gusto, easily winning his second straight Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup in early October, but even that wet track victory may have lost some luster when he could not follow it up with a good performance in America’s richest race. That well beaten fifth in the Classic, does bring up a weakness for him, as well, as each of the three above him were all able to win graded stakes outside of New York, which he has never been able to do.

Shared Belief (3-2-0-0) - Last but not least, we have the 2013 Juvenile Champion. His season was extremely limited due to an injury suffered in the Charles Town Classic, but it was what the four-year-old son of Candy Ride did in his only two races that preceded the injury which make him a candidate for his second championship award. Brilliant wins in the San Antonio, in which he decisively won a showdown with the 2014 Horse of the Year, California Chrome, and an authoritative victory in the Grade 1 Big Cap, made him clearly the top older horse of the first three months of 2015. Can those two wins possibly be enough for a championship, though? My guess is no, but back in 1999, Victory Gallop did get the nod with only three wins from four starts, including one victory coming in an allowance race. One last point to be made for Shared Belief -- if you ask ten people who was the best older dirt male to run this year, I believe he would be the most common answer.