DEROSA’S BLOG
JANUARY 3, 2014
2013 Eclipse Award Votes
by Ed DeRosa
Here are my selections for each Eclipse Award category. I have limited
discussion to just my first-place votes because those are the only ones that
count toward the actual award (2nd- and 3rd-place votes only help determine
finalists).
I am going in order of the ballot, which eliminates most drama because I
think there are four tight categories, and two of them are among the juveniles,
which leads things off.
For a nearly comprehensive list of potential finalists, including lifetime
PPs courtesy Brisnet.com, visit the
HelloRaceFans Eclipse Awards page!
Champion two-year-old male: New Year’s Day
Horse races are decided by noses every day. Even with that slimmest of
margins, though, many horseplayers know who won without aid of the photo finish
camera, but this isn’t one of those races. I used every bit of my resources to
finally land on Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner New Year’s Day for the top prize
but can’t begrudge anyone who chose Hollywood Futurity winner Shared Belief.
One element I try to bring to my voting is consistency, and I’ve long
supported that not all Grade 1 races are created equal with the idea that the
original Breeders’ Cup races are among those better than the rest.
I also try not to let post-race hype in terms of a horse’s connections or
ratings get in the way, either. The goal in top-level racing is to win Grade 1
races and win money, and the Breeders’ Cup accomplishes both of those. However,
there was such a disparity between the talent level of Shared Belief and New
Year’s Day based on figures that I felt the former deserved careful
consideration.
In the end, I did end up on New Year’s Day not only because he won the
Breeders’ Cup but also because that race included the horses you’d expect in a
championship setting, including two Grade 1 winners from New York racing as well
as top stakes winners from the Midwest.
For me, the Eclipse Awards reward accomplishment more than talent, and while
Shared Belief likely has more of the latter, New Year’s Day won the better race
and gets my vote.
Champion two-year-old filly: Chriselliam
I expect to be in a bigger minority here than in the male category, and
that’s fine. Anyone who votes for Ria Antonia or She’s a Tiger certainly has
plenty of license to do so, but Chriselliam backing up her Shadwell Fillies’
Mile win with a second Grade 1 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf over
what I thought was a good field that included My Conquestadory.
Champion three-year-old male: Will Take Charge
No denying this one the top spot after a second half of the year that
included wins in the Clark Handicap, Travers Stakes, and Pennsylvania Derby and
runner-up finishes in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Jim Dandy. 5-3-2-0 was a
nice way to go out after ending the first half of the year with dreadful runs in
each of the Triple Crown races (spare me the “he’d have won the Derby” talk. He
was eighth by 12 lengths and was nowhere in either of the next two races).
Still, he’s the clear choice here as one of four three-year-old males with
two Grade 1 wins with his win over Game On Dude in the Clark finally tipping a
scale that was fairly balanced after his nose defeat to Mucho Macho Man in the
Classic.
Champion three-year-old filly: Beholder
This is one of those nose decisions where you don’t need the camera. Both
Beholder and Princess of Sylmar had phenomenal years with four Grade 1 wins
apiece, including two against older.
In the end, I sided with Beholder because of the Breeders’ Cup.
Champion older male: Mucho Macho Man
There are very little official guidelines when it comes to who to vote for,
but each voter is certainly free to establish his or her own principles with
applying them consistently the key to an informed ballot.
For me, one of those principles is that this category is largely a main track
award. I.e., turf horses have their own category, and for that reason Wise Dan
isn’t even a consideration for me here.
Mucho Macho Man gets the nod with wins in the Awesome Again and Breeders’ Cup
Classic to close out a compact year that began with a DNF in the Sunshine
Millions. The only other multiple Grade 1 winner was Game On Dude, and while his
three is better than Mucho Macho Man’s two, both of Mucho Macho Man’s two came
in Game On Dude’s backyard.
Champion older female: Royal Delta
An absolutely awful collection of older distaffers, which should improve next
year with Beholder, Close Hatches, Emollient, and Princess of Sylmar all
advancing, but the drubbing Royal Delta took at the hooves of the top
three-year-olds after she decimated her peers in the Delaware and Personal
Ensign Handicaps tells me all I need to know about this group.
Still, Royal Delta did beat her peers handily, but it wouldn’t hurt my
feelings if this category was canceled and the three-year-old fillies got two
awards.
Champion male sprinter: Points Offthebench
The only two-time Grade 1 winner in the group, Points Offthebench, didn’t get
a chance to lock up this category in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but his victories
over eventual Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Goldencents are enough for him to
earn my vote over Sahara Sky and Secret Circle.
Champion female sprinter: Groupie Doll
What appeared to be a wide open category going into the Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Sprint wasn’t 81 seconds later after Groupie Doll defended her crown over a
who’s who of the division.
Champion turf male: Wise Dan
Four Grade 1 wins in a division where only three others had two make Wise Dan
the clear choice here.
Champion turf female: Dank
Another no brainer, as Dank won both the Beverly D. and Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Turf with that latter race including the absolute best of the division. A
true “to the victor go the spoils” Breeders’ Cup race.
Champion steeplechase horse: NO VOTE
I didn’t watch a single steeplechase race this year, and I don’t believe in
voting for awards off a list of past performances.
Outstanding owner: the Ramseys
Grade 1 wins are the most important things to me when it comes to the Eclipse
Awards, but they’re not the only thing. Which doesn’t necessarily matter in this
case because the Ramseys have plenty of Grade 1 wins, too, but another thing I
like to consider for these awards is who won the races people most want to win
(e.g. Kentucky Derby > Belmont even both are Grade 1 classic races). In the case
of owner, the Ramseys setting records at Keeneland and Saratoga qualifies.
Outstanding breeder: the Ramseys
What the Ramseys have done building up not only their racing program but also
their breeding program around Kitten’s Joy lands this award for 2013.
Outstanding jockey: Gary Stevens
I struggled with this one. A not-so-short list would include Javier
Castellano, Joel Rosario, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, and John Velazquez. I try
not to get too lost in raw statistics because Castellano certainly benefited
from injuries to Ramon Dominguez, Rosario, and Velazquez, and the East Coast
riders in general had more opportunity than both Smith and Stevens who accept
fewer mounts.
Velazquez is the regular rider for my Horse of the Year while Stevens had my
champions Beholder and Mucho Macho Man and Smith was aboard my picks of Royal
Delta and Points Offthebench.
Rosario won the Derby, Stevens won the Preakness, and Smith won the Belmont.
I think the human awards allow for some intangibles away from the racetrack,
and with so many factors balancing this quintet, I let that be my guide and put
Gary Stevens in the top spot.
Outstanding apprentice jockey: NO VOTE
There’s been talk about eliminating this category, and I would certainly
welcome that development.
Outstanding trainer: Todd Pletcher
It didn’t seem like a banner year for the Todd squad, but his stable earned
more money in 2013 than since 2006 or 2007 when he truly was dominant. No
trainer had that kind of domination this year, but his stable won the most money
along with training titles at elite meetings and that’s good enough for this
year.
Horse of the Year: Wise Dan
I didn’t vote for him last year, but he’s impossible for me to deny this year
as one of just three horses with four Grade 1 wins. The other two are Beholder
and Princess of Sylmar and none of their wins came against males.
Game On Dude would have gotten this vote with a Breeders’ Cup win, which was
the case in 2012 as well and both years yielded similarly dull results for him.
The biggest criticism of Wise Dan this year centers around his supposed weak
campaign, but five Grade 1 races and a pair of Grade 2 events (seven races) in
four different states/provinces over a seven-month period seems like a good
season to me.
Andy Beyer argues for Mucho Macho Man, who began his season pulling up in a
restricted stakes before failing to win a listed event. Mucho Macho Man also
scratched out of a wet Woodward while Wise Dan still ran in the off-the-turf
Shadwell Turf Mile going 1 1/16 miles on Polytrack.
Will Take Charge has also gotten some buzz, but how to justify valuing his
two Grade 1 wins as being worth more than Mucho Macho Man’s when the latter
defeated the former heads up in our nation’s richest race?
The good news is they’re all coming back next year, but if Beholder adds a
Grade 1 win against males to her repertoire (Met Mile?) she could be poised for
the gold statue.
And finally, for those who just can’t stand not knowing who I filled in for
the second and third spots in each category, is my completed ballot:
