Commentary

COMMENTARY

JANUARY 3, 2013

Little Mike as Horse of the Year

by Ed DeRosa

I said it once, and I’ll say it again: It’s a shame that Rachel Alexandra and
Zenyatta put together their best seasons in the same year (2009) because either
campaign was so much better than anything we’ve seen since, and both stack up
well to the very best campaigns of the 21st century (Mineshaft in 2003, Saint
Liam in 2005, Invasor in 2006 & Curlin in 2007).

I don’t know which has been more diluted in recent years: The Horse of the
Year award or the Breeders’ Cup Classic’s influence on it. A Classic winner
hasn’t gone on to win Horse of the Year since the aforementioned Curlin in 2007,
and that streak is likely to continue this year with Fort Larned unlikely to get
the necessary support, though I did vote him second for Horse of the Year and
first among older males.

All that said, it is Horse of the Year, and someone has to win. That someone
is Little Mike whose treble of the Breeders’ Cup Turf, Arlington Million and
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic trumps what any other horse accomplished this
year.

I try to remain consistent in how I vote for the award — especially given
there has been no slam dunk since 2006-2007 when both Invasor and Curlin,
respectively, were obvious choices. My recent HotY votes have gone to Curlin
(2008), Rachel Alexandra (2009), Blame (2010) and Cape Blanco (2011), but I
certainly understood why people leaned in Zenyatta’s direction in 2009 and
toward Havre de Grace in 2011.

Why weren’t they the choices for me those years? Well, the big thing I
remember going back to was asking myself, “Which races would I most like to
win?” The owner accepts equine Eclipse Awards, so I think it’s a fair question
to ask with the caveat that I disqualify the Derby from answering this question
since everyone wants to win the Derby, but I don’t think its winner should be
Horse of the Year every year.

In the case of 2012, I thought Little Mike put together the campaign I would
most want as an owner: A Grade 1 on Derby day, the Arlington Million and the
Breeders’ Cup Turf are tremendous prizes, and that they came at distances
ranging from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles while shipping all over the country
makes it all the more impressive.

Little Mike has some marks against him, of course. Some of the losses were
downright bad, and it’s fair to say that Wise Dan dominated the Mile division
more than Little Mike did his division, but I’m big on Grade 1 wins, and I like
Little Mike’s wins at that level better.

All three of my Horse of the Year finalists (Little Mike, Fort Larned, and
Wise Dan) are returning for 2013, and with Wise Dan pointing to the Classic this
could certainly be his year. Point of Entry was too good not to get a
championship, but if Zenyatta could be denied HotY in 2009 then Point of Entry
can deal with it in 2012.

My complete list of Eclipse Award selections:

Category		1st		2nd		3rd
Horse of the Year:		Little Mike		Fort Larned		Wise Dan
Two-Year-Old Male:		Shanghai Bobby		Uncaptured		Violence
Two-Year-Old Filly:		Beholder		Executiveprivilege		Dreaming of Julia
Three-Year-Old Male:		I’ll Have Another		Bodemeister		Dullahan
Three-Year-Old Filly:		Questing		Lady of Shamrock		Grace Hall
Older Male:		Fort Larned		Game On Dude		Shackleford
Older Female:		Royal Delta		Love And Pride		Include Me Out
Male Sprinter:		Trinniberg		Shackleford		Emcee
Female Sprinter:		Groupie Doll		Mizdirection		Dust And Diamonds
Male Turf Horse:		Little Mike		Wise Dan		Point of Entry
Female Turf Horse:		Zagora		Tapitsfly		Marketing Mix
Steeplechase Horse:		abstain		abstain		abstain
Owner:		Oxley, John		Reddam, J. Paul		Fink, Morton
Breeder:		Fink, Morton		Fred & William “Buff” Bradley		Jones, Brereton
Jockey:		Dominguez, Ramon		Velazquez, John		Smith, Mike
Apprentice Jockey:		abstain		abstain		abstain
Trainer:		Romans, Dale		Mott, Bill		Pletcher, Todd

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