Last
week, I wrote in this space that the Breeders’ Cup always delivers memorable
moments. Once again, it didn’t disappoint as there were a number of stellar
performances and outrageous pari-mutuel payoffs. Congratulations to the
connections of all the winners and participants, and hats off to the Breeders’
Cup and Churchill Downs for hosting a terrific two-day event.
The
Breeders’ Cup results set the stage for an interesting couple of months leading
to the Eclipse Awards, which
will be held January 16 in Beverly Hills, Calif. While several horses such as
Royal Delta and My Miss Aurelia undoubtedly locked up divisional honors through
their performances at the Breeders’ Cup, other divisional races were thrown
wide-open. Most notably, the debate over who should be Horse of the Year will
continue. With a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, Havre de Grace, Flat
Out, Game On Dude—or even Uncle Mo or Stay Thirsty—could have laid claim to the
sport’s highest honor. But when Drosselmeyer and Mike Smith rallied to win the
Classic at odds of 14-1, they muddled the voting not only for Horse of the
Year, but for Champion Older Horse and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt or Gelding as
well. Click here for the final NTRA
Thoroughbred Poll of 2011. Now it will be left to the voters to sort it all out
and determine who is most deserving of an Eclipse Award in these and other
categories.
Will
it be Havre de Grace, the brilliant filly who is seeking to become the third
straight female to capture HOY (following in the footsteps of Rachel Alexandra
and Zenyatta)? Havre de Grace finished fourth in the Classic, but in front of
most of those considered her key rivals for Horse of the Year. She also
successfully stepped outside her division in September when she beat Flat Out
and other males in the Woodward at Saratoga. Will it be Game On Dude, who
won the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup and came within feet of
making Chantal Sutherland the first female jockey to capture the Breeders’ Cup
Classic? And what about Acclamation, who missed the Breeders’ Cup due to an
injury, but won a pair of Grade I races on turf (Hollywood Park’s Charles
Whittingham Memorial Handicap and Del Mar’s Eddie Read Stakes) and also
captured Del Mar’s signature event, the Grade I TVG Pacific Classic, on the
main track? What if Classic winner Drosselmeyer and others decide to race
once more this year? There are similar storylines playing out in other
divisions as well.
All
of this should make for some lively debate over the next couple of months. Who
do you think should be Horse of the Year? Now is the time to express
yourself. I can assure you that many of the Eclipse Award voters will be
listening carefully to fans using the expanding universe of horseracing
-focused social media to let their views be known. Speak up.
