All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

diastu — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 03:10:35 GMT

Oh Mr. Steve,

Once finished with that celebratory bottle of champaigne, me thinks this list needs a little update! ZENYATTA! Yay! Finally!

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

vikingblood22 — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:57:08 GMT

Hi Steve. I like your articles/writing style/blogs very much. I agree but please explain to me why you dismissed Dreaming of Anna as 2YO filly of the decade . . . I disagree with you on that one. With all due respect, Vikingblood.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

bsinboots — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:54:06 GMT

Could not disagree more with your horse of the decade. I don't think Curlin would beat Point Given, Ghostzapper, Invasor or even Bernardini if they all raced the same year. And he didn't deserve HOY in 2008...that was a gift to Jackson for running him at 4.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

robinm — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:38:36 GMT

I was never a huge fan of Curlin, though when he was good, he was very good and always consistent. I can't really argue the choice of "Horse of the Decade" though, because some of the more brilliant horses with higher win percentages did not compete in as many races. There is one category with which I strongly disagree, that being Midnite Lute as sprinter of the decade. He was absolutely brilliant in winning the BC sprint back to back, but his overall record does not match up with Lost in the Fog, or the filly, Extra Heat.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Slew — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 14:37:36 GMT

I've loved horse racing my whole life, and though I have been amazed by Citation, totally awed by Secretariat, I never fell "in Love" with any one horse until the first time I saw Seattle Slew. I though he was magnificent, and one of the all time great American athletes. When I saw Vindication in the BC Juvenile, it was like seeing a re-incarnation of the Slew himself. I thought he was the odds on favorite to be the next Triple Crown winner. Thank you for giving him the 2 year old spot. We lost him much too soon. As for the others on your list, I can't disagree even though I may not completely agree. I guess we all have our own personal opinions on the best, and our own criteria.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

CURLINLOVER — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:10:36 GMT

I'm so glad that so many on this blog agree with Haskin who knows his "stuff" and is a great writer.

CURLIN absolutely deserves the top spot because of his accomplishments over a two-year strenuous racing schedule here and overseas. CURLIN is the horse of the decade! So, you naysayers can have your own opinions! People always do. But both the readers and Haskin have spoken and voted for CURLIN - which should tell you something! Thank you all for supporting my all-time favorite horse, CURLIN!

GO CURLIN!!!!!!!!!!!

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Brown cow — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:06:36 GMT

LAZ

The test for validity of Results is Repeatability-- results are valid for as long as they CAN be repeated, with the same OUTCOME or RESULTS.

RAGS is nice and she beat CURLIN, but like Zenyatta, she retired after that SINGLE EFFORT, which was NEVER REPEATED again EVER. Can we CONCLUDE greatness from that SINGLE monumental victory? Sadly, the answer is NO.

We did not give Alexander the Great the nickname "Great" coz he won ONE BIG BATTLE. Alexander was GREAT because he won many many battles, and expanded his empire from Europe to India, to Asia Minor. Alexander didn't stay home in Macedonia with his dad, but instead, TRAVELLED across Asia, conquering every opponent that challenged him.

If we hastily call any horse who wins One Big Race as "Great" and award them Horse of the Year (or Decade), then we start to lose sight of WHAT IS THE TRUE MEANING OF GREATNESS, and start mistaking the Trivial for the Paramount, the Inconsequential for the SIGNIFICANT. What is sensational is praised, and the Relevant is discarded.

My dear, when that happens, its the Age of Decadence, all over again. The MIDDLE AGES has returned.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

LAZMANNICK — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 23:23:27 GMT

Hey GunBow:

I agree with what you say about Ghostzapper, but not quite in the way you are saying it. When Ghostzapper won the Tom Fool, the fourth place finisher was Lion Tamer who was thoroughly defeated after being in contention throughout much of the race, and would go on to win the Cigar Mile in 1.33.2 later that year defeating a very good Pico Central (He also won won 5 graded stakes).......When Ghostzapper won the Iselin, it is not hard to see why he got a 128 Beyer. Other than a couple of maintenance taps in the stretch after he was well clear of Presidential Affair, he drew off leaving his foes totally defeated (Presidential Affair was whipped continuously). The manner in which he won stuck out far more than the competition and suggests that he could have easily knocked another second or more off the time and still have had a lot left. He only ran 10-F once, but his time was brilliant against an equally brilliant field. He was capable of doing that again and would probably have been able to go longer. I think he was every bit as good as Curlin and probably better, but his knock, of course, was his relatively short career. For that reason, I placed him second in the Horse Of The Decade debate and I don't think he would have had a problem with any horse this decade if he raced against them......As far as Candy Ride, what a horse, but once again, a short career. To me he had a chance to be every bit as good as the others and would have given Ghostzapper a harder time than Curlin. The truth is, I am not taking sides with any of them because they were all favorites of mine, and all were simply brilliant......Regarding Formal Gold.......he just might have been the best Canadian Bred ever, right up there with Northern Dancer. Once his career became established he ran in some very difficult races against the best on the continent and more than held his own......Another fabulous horse. LOL

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

GunBow — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 09:03:19 GMT

I agree Ghostzapper was brilliant, and was in awe of his 2005 Met Mile which left me dreaming of a Whitney-Woodward-BC Classic sweep. Unfortunately, the Met Mile was Ghostzapper's last race, leaving his 11 race career thin in terms of accomplishment.

Ghostzapper only won 4 grade 1 races. Yes, he won from 6.5 to 10 furlongs, but does anyone remember who ran 2nd in his Vosburgh(at 6.5 furlongs? How about Aggaden. As for his slugfest with Saint Liam in the Woodward as well as his BC Classic and Met Mile wins, I have nothing but respect. Keep in mind, however, that because the Woodward was at Belmont in 04', only ONE of Ghostzapper's gr.1 wins came around 2 turns(BC Classic). If 10 furlongs is the classic distance for males in the US, how can we rate a horse that won 1 race at the distance over horses like Tiznow(4 gr.1 wins at 10 furlongs) or Curlin(4 gr.1 wins at 10 furlongs + a Preakness win)?

Some point to Ghoszapper's high Beyer speed figs as proof he was best of the decade. Ghostzapper ran 4 Beyers of 120 or higher, a 120 in the 04' Tom Fool, 122 in the 05' Met Mile, a 124 in the 04' BC Classic, and that 128 in the 04' Iselin. As I mentioned above, the BC Classic and Met Mile performances were just awesome, even though the field for the Met Mile was not exactly vintage. What about the Tom Fool and Iselin? Well, in the Tom Fool it was that less than immortal Aggaden that again ran 2nd behind Ghostzapper, while in the Iselin the runner-up was the gr.3 horse Presidentialaffair.

Beyers certainly have their place when making historical comparisons, but they should never outweigh accomplishments(which includes the quality of fields). Afterall, the fastest horse, according to Beyers, of the last 20 years is not Ghostzapper, nor is it Cigar, Skip Away, Best Pal, or even Gentlemen. It is Formal Gold. Formal Gold ran Beyers of 126, 125, 124, 122, and 118. His top 3 Beyers(as an average) are better than Ghosztapper's top 3(Ghostzapper 128, 124, 122) as are his top 5(Ghostzapper(128,124,122, 120, 116). Formal Gold also owns the highest Beyer for a maiden race, a 114. Yet, no one, except perhaps Beyer worshippers, would rank Formal Gold ahead of Cigar, Skip Away, or even Silver Charm, Best Pal, Holy Bull, among others. I also wouldn't rank Formal Gold ahead of Ghostzapper, since Ghostzapper, unlike Formal Gold, was able to win more than 2 gr.1 races, win a race of national importance(BC Classic), and win an Eclipse.

While Ghostzapper might have been the most brilliant horse of the decade, although the even less accomplished Candy Ride might have been his equal, his lack of accomplishments, particularly around 2 turns(just 2 graded stakes wins around 2 turns), led me to rank Curlin, Tiznow(although he also just had 4 gr.1 wins, but all at 10 furlongs and twice in BC Classics), and Invasor ahead of him. Yes, in a single race, Ghostzapper might have won. But what about a series of 7, 10, or 12 races? Well, after about 5 races, would we even see Ghostzapper? Pure talent is captivating, but a horse must be able to stay sound enough long enough to actually accomplish things on the track. Ghostzapper did accomplish some wonderful things, but not nearly as much, in my opinion, as Curlin, Tiznow, and Invasor. In the end, I felt the accomplishments of these 3 horses counterbalanced Ghostzapper's advantage in natural talent and versatility.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

GunBow — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:29:44 GMT

Edward, in Ghostzapper's ONE 10 furlong race, his 6 furlong split was 1:11 and 1. Solid, but hardly spectacular. With Frankel/Stronach having agree with Roses in May's owner, Ken Ramsey, not to let their horses become embroiled in a speed duel, Ghostzapper was able to back the pace up, and he and Roses ran 1-2 the entire way. Pleasantly Perfect, who finished 3rd, was severely compromised by the moderate pace and having to go about 7 wide.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Edward — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:03:13 GMT

I have to agree with some posters in that I was Ghostzapper hater but I have yet to see a horse run as fast as he did. His final times are jaw-dropping and if you really want to be blown away, go check out the splits he sets in those 9 and 10 f races without slowing for the last furlong. Who on this list could possibly catch him when he hit 6F in 1:08 and change and finished in :24? Which horse?

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Edward — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:53:57 GMT

2 year old fillies catagory seems odd to see Sweet catomine and Indian Blessing over Halfbridled, Storm Flag Flying, and Stardom bound...huh?

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Jim P — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:25:25 GMT

The Sportsmanship Award of the Decade goes to Lord Derby and Ouija Board: 75,000 miles: anyone, anywhere, anytime. Thank you for three straight thrilling Breeder's Cup.

You weren't that far girl, just a better trip away probably, from taking down the Arc and Deep Impact. We'll be cheering for your babies.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

da3hoss — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:35:00 GMT

Lost In The Fog was the best sprinter of this decade.

10 straight wins, then running with massive amounts of cancer in all his major organs, along his spinal cord and 2 the size of footballs... and still managing a win that last summer...

In the woulda, coulda, shoulda's of life, had he remained healthy I bet he would have gone down as the greatest sprinter ever. We can only base it on his 2005 form, and figure the last year of his life, including the BC sprint, was run on sheer heart.

He is one of my favorite racehorses ever, right from his maiden...

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Alysse — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:13:42 GMT

I think I have to give Horse of the Decade to Ghostzapper. It's rare that once I've decided I'm not a fan of a horse that I switch sides. Ghostzapper forced me to do so. Looking back on his career, what he did (distances, fast, sloppy), the varied ways he could do it (wiring, closing, everything in between), and almost every time...that horse was just a freak of nature. I feel like too often people forget how exceedingly brilliant he was due to his abbreviated career. But I don't forget it and Ghostzapper was absolutely the best horse I saw this decade.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

da3hoss — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:36:23 GMT

The few horses that physically "wowed" me this decade, early in their careers I sat up and went "wow" at their physical presence:

Barbaro, absolutely #1.

Rags To Riches, the most beautiful, tomboy athelete filly ever.

Tiznow, sheer power and fire.

Big Brown, my eyes popped out of my head at how pretty he was the first time I saw him.

Curlin, I thought what a monster he'll be.

Summer Bird, can't wait for him as a 4 year-old.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

da3hoss — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:27:16 GMT

Curlin was a horse who raced for 2 seasons at the very top level non-stop...pretty impressive...he did not get a winter break between 3 & 4 as he trained up to Dubai...he did not get much of a break after Dubai before he began his late summer/fall campaign...

Curlin is a great horse. He equaled the Preakness stakes record in his 5th start.. he was #1 World Timeform his entire 4 year-old year, and got beat his last race by the best of Europe's great grass horses (ranked 2 & 4 on Timeform behind him all year) on a non-dirt surface...nothing for him to be ashamed of...he did some spectacular things and we got to see it in "real time"...

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

GunBow — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:18:30 GMT

My rankings(just for the seasons in which the Eclipse awards were given rather than career):

2 Yr Filly- 1.Halfbridled 2.Indian Blessing 3. Sweet Catomine

2 Yr Male- 1. Johannesburg 2. War Pass 3. Street Sense

3 Yr Filly- 1. Rachel 2. Rags to Riches 3. Ashado

3 Yr Male- 1. Point Given 2.Smarty Jones 3.Curlin 4.Tiznow 5. Afleet Alex

Older Female- 1. Zenyatta(09') 2.Azeri(02') 3. Zenyatta(08') 4.Riboletta(00') 5. Azeri(03') 6.Azeri(04)

Older Male- 1. Invasor(06') 2.Ghostzapper(04') 3. Tiznow(01) 4.Mineshaft(04') 5. Saint Liam(05') 6.Curlin(08')

Female Turf(includes Euro form)- 1. Goldikova(09') 2. Ouija Board(06') 3. Ouija Board(04') 4. Islington(03')

Female Turf(just North America based)- 1. Perfect Sting(00') 2. Forever Together(08') 3. Golden Apples(02') 4. Intercontinental(05')

Male Turf(Euro form included)-

1. Fantastic Ligth(01') 2. High Chaparral(02') 3. Gio Ponti(09') 4. Kalanisi(00') 5. Kitten's Joy(04') 6. English Channel(07')

Male Turf(just US)

1. Gio Ponti 2. Kitten's Joy 3. English Channel

Sprinters- 1. Kona Gold(00') 2. Midnight Lute(07') 3.Speightstown(04') 4. Lost in the Fog(05') 5. Orientate(02')

Career Rankings:

Sprinters- 1. Kona Gold 2.Midnight Lute 3.Xtra Heat 4.Lost in the Fog 5.Speightstown

Turf Females- 1.Goldikova 2.Ouija Board

US based- Perfect Sting

Turf Males- 1.Fantastic Light 2.High Chaparral 3.Conduit

US based- 1. English Channel 2.Gio Ponti 3.Kitten's Joy

Dirt/Synth Females- 1.Zenyatta 2.Rachel Alexandra(although 09' best season of any horse) 3.Azeri 4.Rags to Riches 5.Ashado 6.Sightseek 7.Ginger Punch

Dirt/Synth Males- 1.Curlin 2.Tiznow 3.Invasor 4.Ghostzapper 5.Point Given 6.Lava Man 7.Smarty Jones

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

mglynn — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 06:29:34 GMT

I really enjoy reading the different List and watching the races, This may not be the proper place but what ever happened to the Pamplemousse? I grew up watching secretriat and ruffian. I Love all the horses but Zenyatta she captured my heart. I have always wanted to pick some foals and follow them from birth to the track. Maybe somebody will do that with a Zenyatta baby. I live in Ga so it is geographically too far. Imagine if someone had done that with some of our stars today wow. Bless you ! Thanks for bringing us outsiders into the world of racing!

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Soldier Course — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:42:54 GMT

The Associated Press (AP) has just given Zenyatta the #2 spot for its Female Athlete of the Year award, right behind #1 winner Serena Williams. Now that's impressive.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Ranagulzion — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:58:56 GMT

I have to agree with COLDFACTS' Horse Of The Decade verdict: INVASOR indeed. He is one of those special thoroughbreds that you have to stretch your immagination to picture him being beaten in a race ...not so with Curlin, sorry Steve.

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Leon — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 20:56:38 GMT

Lazmannick:

I agree with you & Steve.

I love Curlin, because his accomplishments speak for themselves. No other horse in the decade competed and won at the top of the game for as long as he did.

I disagree with you regarding Rags to Riches. While I do agree that her win in the Belmont was one for the ages, and one of the best races I've ever seen, that race basically knocked her out of contention. She was injured in her very next and last race.

That's why RA's accomplishments cannot be underestimated. Many of the great fillies & mares of the century defeated boys once. Not only does it take a ton of ability for a filly to defeat males, it also takes guts, heart & a special ability to recuperate from a supreme effort to do it repeatedly vs males.

The best thing is that she is not done yet...!

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

Virgil Fox — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:23:04 GMT

Steve,

I understand your reasoning on Tiznow. Could be wrong, but this might be the only list that he did not make.

Very pleased with Ouija Board as Grass Female and so glad to see English Channel get some props.

- Peace

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

OLD TIMER — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:35:35 GMT

Great list, Steve. I do not understand when people get all bothered about who is/was better. The whole purpose of the list is to generate those civil discussions. The Blood Horse got really brave back in 2000 when they issued their best horses of the century list!

I have a hard time arguing with any of your picks.

I do believe that, had he not gotten injured, Point Given would top your decade list hands down. The fact that you put him in a tie with Curlin for the three year old male makes me think that you tend to agree.

I also agree with the writer who wonders if Tiznow should be in there somewhere.

Also, isn't it interesting that the top two year old, Vindication, never really did much after that great two year old season, while Curlin, who never even ran as a 2 year old, was phenomenal at three and four and earned your horse of the decade.

Anyway thanks for going out on a limb (once again).

re: All Decade Eclipse Award Winners

LAZMANNICK — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:04:17 GMT

Leon:

I'm inclined to agree with you regarding Ghostzapper. In terms of raw talent he was certainly one of the top two this decade and IMO one of the all time greats. However, in terms of accomplishments he simply didn’t run in enough races to accomplish what Curlin did, though I have no doubt if he would have raced more he would have remained just as dominant. He had the highest ever Beyer (128) since 1992. In terms of versatility, no horse this decade could match him when you consider that he posted big time numbers at virtually every distance, short or long from 6-F to 1-1/4M. I believe that he would have had no trouble getting 1-1/2M because of his ability to rate or set the pace (a fast head-to-head pace at that). The BCC field he faced was one of the toughest all time. In a fitting tribute, Bobby Frankel, a man who has trained about a billion top horses and who won 25 G-1 races in one year said that Ghostzapper was the best horse he ever trained.

I love Curlin. He did almost everything they asked him to do. In my opinion it was a questionable ride that got him beat in the BCC, not the track surface. His turf foray was pretty good when you consider he was defeated by a BC Turf winner yet finished in front of another BC Turf winner. He was a world traveler, at one time the world’s number one rated horse, and look at the money he won. He was totally dominant in his BCC win at three against a field close in competitiveness to Ghostzapper’s. He won numerous awards because he earned them, not because of popularity polls. If there can be one knock......he was defeated by a filly (in this case a monster who in my humble opinion was the top 3 y.o filly of the decade just ahead of Rachel).

That being said, the others on this list aren’t exactly chicken soup. There are a lot of extremely talented horses here, male and female, and they are all deserving of our respect and admiration. However, any way people want to look at it, Curlin was number one.