The champions on my Eclipse ballot
It's not too early to divulge my votes for divisional champions and Horse of the Year.
By Bill FinleyWith the Hollywood Futurity the only race left on the year that could have any impact on the Eclipse Awards, it's not too early to divulge my votes for divisional champions and Horse of the Year. As usual, there are a bunch of no-brainers, but there are also some intriguing and competitive battles, none more interesting than the Horse-of-the-Year race, where my vote, with an explanation to come, will go to Ghostzapper. A look at how I will fill out my ballot:
2-Year-Old Filly: Sweet Catomine
No contest
2-Year-old Male: Declan's Moon
You simply cannot vote for Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Wilko, who was
just 2-for-10 in England, where he failed to win a stakes race. He won
still another weak Juvenile and wasn't able to run as fast as Sweet
Catomine did when winning the Juvenile Fillies. Declan's Moon looks like
an exceptional talent and he should end his season with a perfect
4-for-4 record, providing he wins the Dec. 18 Hollywood Futurity. This
is one fast horse. Should he lose the Hollywood Futurity, my vote will
likely go to Afleet Alex.
3-Year-Old Filly: Ashado
No Contest
3-Year-Old Male: Smarty Jones
No Contest
Older Filly or Mare: Sightseek
There are two very deserving candidates in this category, Sightseek and
Azeri, and it's hard to chose between the two. Both won three Grade I
races this year and they faced each other twice, with a split decision.
Azeri beat Sightseek in the Go for Wand and Sightseek drilled Azeri in the Ogden Phipps. The tie breaker is their records. Sightseek was 4-for-7 on the year, also winning the Rampart. Azeri was 3-for-8, though two of their losses came against males. Though there's nothing concrete to base this on, I believe Sightseek was the better horse last year and would have proven her superiority over Azeri had the two faced each other more often.
Older Male: Ghostzapper
No Contest
Sprinter: Speightstown
This is another close race that has two deserving candidates. Pico
Central fans point to the fact that he beat Speightstown the only time
the two met, in the Vosburgh. But that one loss for Speightstown is not
enough to deprive him of a championship. He was 5-for-6 this year and
won the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Had the Pico Central team wanted an
Eclipse that badly, they should have come up with the cash to supplement
their horse to the Breeders' Cup. It's also important to note that Pico
Central's win in the prestigious Met Mile should have no bearing on this
divisional race. One turn or not, the Met is a mile race, which is not a
sprint race.
Turf Filly or Mare: Ouija Board
Normally, I loath the fact that European-based Breeders' Cup winners
are so often handed Eclipse Awards after swooping in for one victory in
North America. A championship is supposed to encompass what a horse
accomplished over the course of a year and not over the course of a
single day. But Ouija Board is a worthy exception. She was brilliant in
her victory in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and there are no
other top candidates in this division.
Turf Male: Kitten's Joy
Kitten's Joy wrapped up the division when Better Talk Now failed to win
the Hollywood Turf Cup.
Steeplechaser: ?
I'd have a better idea of how I will vote if I could actually name one
steeplechase horse.
Trainer: Steve Asmussen
As great a year as Todd Pletcher had, what he accomplished is no
different than anything a lot of other good trainers with well-stocked
barns have done over the years. He won a lot of races and his stable
earned a ton of money. Steve Asmussen might not have the cache that
Pletcher has or a Pletcher-like barn loaded with well-bred, classy
horses, but he did something this year that has never done before,
something that makes him very deserving of an Eclipse Award. Asmussen
has already smashed Jack Van Berg's record for most wins in a year while
becoming the first trainer to ever win 500 races. By year's end, he'll
probably have about 550 wins, an incredible feat considering Van Berg's
record of 496 stood for 28 years. Pletcher will win a bunch of Eclipse
Awards before his career is over. This is Asmussen's time to shine.
Jockey: John Velazquez
Jerry Bailey's run of four straight Eclipse Awards is about to come to
an end. With John Velazques far in front in the money-won standings and
third in the nation in wins, he will be a deserving winner of his first
ever Eclipse Award.
Apprentice Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.
Hernandez more than held his own on the tough Kentucky circuit,
winning, to date, 233 races and piling up $4,149,731 in earnings. He
looks like a star in the making.
Breeder: ?
Sorry, I don't really care
Owner: Frank Stronach
He campaigned Ghostzapper and won a ton of races. Enough said.
Horse of the Year: Ghostzapper
What is the definition of Horse of the Year? The best horse to race?
The horse who achieved the most? The horse who best captured the
public's imagination. The thing is, nobody really knows, which is why
there is such a sharp divide this year between those who favor Smarty
Jones and those who favor Ghostzapper.
With one being a 3-year-old whose season ended in June and the other being a 4-year-old whose season didn't begin until July, there is really no way to compare them. The feeling here, though, is that, as good as Smarty Jones was, Ghostzapper was the better horse. His speed figures and the way he dominated the competition in the Breeders' Cup Classic make him worthy of inclusion on anyone's list of the all-time greats in this game.
I'm voting with my head and not my heart, but my feelings about Smarty Jones' retirement are hard to ignore. People say that shouldn't be held against him. Why not? Don't owners have any obligation to worry about the good of the game and not just their bank accounts? The Chapmans swore they would be different, swore they understood this was the people's horse and swore they'd race him at four. Instead, they couldn't retire him soon enough. I have no problems with a voter holding that against Smarty Jones. It's fair to send a message that people will be held accountable when it comes to sportsmanship and doing what is right for the sport.
