Started by Man o Taz, November 09, 2015, 11:30:06 AM
Previous topic - Next topicQuote from: Man o Taz on November 11, 2015, 11:51:11 AM
Male Sprinter
Runhappy
Race Record: 5-5-0-0
Next Race: Unknown
Signature Wins: G1 BC Sprint over Private Zone; G1 King's Bishop, G3 Phoenix Stakes
Private Zone
Race Record: 6-3-2-1
Next Race: Unknown
Signature Wins: G1 Forego, G2 Churchill Stakes, G3 Belmont Sprint Championship
Rock Fall
Race Record: 5-5-0-0
Signature Wins: G1 Vosburgh, G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, G2 True North
This would not just be a sentimental vote. Rock Fall actually possesses the strongest graded stakes resume for the award. He contested only sprint races. He won all of his races. And he competed on the tough NY circuit against older horses the entire year besting Salutos Amigos, a good quality horse, twice.
If Private Zone were to contest and win the Cigar Mile over Tonalist I would give him the champion sprinter eclipse. He would have won 4 graded stakes. 2 G1s and raced from March to the end of November while Runhappy would have raced from July to November. Can Private Zone win the Eclipse even without contesting the Cigar Mile? He finished well in all his races (3 G1s vs. 2 for Runhappy) which were all graded stakes race and he entered more of the top sprint races than Runhappy did. Also, there is some controversy that is following Runhappy and he could lose some votes because of it. I think Runhappy will win, but it could get interesting.
Quote from: Man o Taz on December 30, 2015, 08:02:50 AMI look at it this way, there should be no other finalists for Champion Three-Year-Old Male. If a voter doesn't vote for American Pharoah, they should have their voting rights revoked. Second and Third are irrelevant in this case. As for Runhappy, I always take sprinters with a grain of salt. I've seen too many classy routers over the years beat the best sprinters at their own game--Forego, Ancient Title, Precisionist, Ferdinand, Unbridled, etc. There are a few BC Classic horses from the last few years who if entered in the Sprint would have won. Now Runhappy is reportedly going to stretch out and if he can do so, I'll reassess. Until he does, he's Groovy or Housebuster--nice horses, but limited.
I agree. I just think it would be nice for Runhappy to be nominated for two Eclipse Awards.
Hopefully he stays healthy and we get to see full seasons from him at 4 and 5 as his connections have suggested.
Also, I hope Dortmund is also there among the finalists. He finished up a strong year with his 4th graded stakes win in the Native Diver - the only other 3 year old to win against older horses except Runhappy and American Pharoah in graded stakes that I am aware of.
Quote from: Man o Taz on January 11, 2016, 12:51:57 PMI love Beholder. She's the best mare I've seen since Azeri and is closing in on my top five but she wasn't horse of the year.
I agree. But acclamation is not an easy thing. We shall see just how many votes there were for Runhappy and Beholder. I would hazard a guess its more than were for someone other than Griffey.
Quote from: Man o Taz on January 21, 2016, 10:49:16 AMI agree about the general lack of surprises. I expressed my reservations about Honor Code before--I respect Tonalist's campaign more--but I can't argue as to his resume and obviously that was what the voters were looking at when they made their selections.
I thought the program ran very smoothly and the remarks were kept to a minimum in most cases. The longest remarks were from the presenter for the achievement of merit it seemed.
On the results, there were few surprises.
La Verdad was a surprise winner for me, but after looking at her performances that should not have been the case.
Songbrid and Nyquist were no surprise.
I felt bad for Victor Espinoza. We know he is headed for the hall of fame, but what he did on California Chrome and American Pharoah should have given him the Eclipse. Granted his numbers could not compare with Javier Castellano, but neither could Zayats as a breeder or owner , or Baffert as a trainer,compare with the other nominees there. If you make an exception for one, it should happen for all.
I thought Big Blue Kitten was a deserving winner over The Pizza Man.
I thought Ahmed Zayat's remarks were gracious and I liked how different family members got the spotlight.
Voter participation rate: 261/281= 92.88%
(Horse ages in parentheses where applicable; Country codes indicate a foreign breeding designation)
Two-Year-Old Male: Nyquist
Two-Year-Old Filly: Songbird
Three-Year-Old Male: American Pharoah
Three-Year-Old Filly: Stellar Wind
Older Dirt Male: Honor Code (4)
Older Dirt Female: Beholder (5)
Male Sprinter: Runhappy (3)
Female Sprinter: La Verdad (5)
Male Turf Horse: Big Blue Kitten (7)
Female Turf Horse: Tepin (4)
Steeplechase Horse: Dawalan (FR) (5)
Owner: Zayat Stables
Breeder: Zayat Stables
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Apprentice Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione
Horse of the Year: American Pharoah
Two-Year-Old Male (Name, First-Place Votes)
Nyquist, 255; Mohaymen, 3; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Two-Year-Old Filly
Songbird, 260, Catch a Glimpse, 1.
Three-Year-Old Male
American Pharoah, 261.
Three-Year-Old Filly
Stellar Wind, 108; I'm a Chatterbox, 47; Found (IRE), 46; Lady Eli, 34; Lovely Maria, 12; Curalina, 11; Include Betty, 2; Voter Abstentions, 1.
Older Dirt Male
Honor Code, 126; Liam's Map, 95; Tonalist, 14; Effinex, 12; Shared Belief, 9; California Chrome, 3. Voter Abstentions, 2.
Older Dirt Female
Beholder, 256; Stopchargingmaria, 4; Sheer Drama, 1.
Male Sprinter
Runhappy, 255; Private Zone, 2; Rock Fall, 2; Mongolian Saturday, 1; Secret Circle, 1.
Female Sprinter
La Verdad, 98; Wavell Avenue, 90; Lady Shipman, 41; Cavorting, 19; Unbridled Forever, 5; Ageless, 1; Birdonthewire, 1; Fantastic Style, 1; Voter Abstentions, 5.
Male Turf Horse
Big Blue Kitten, 134; Golden Horn (GB), 63; The Pizza Man, 41; Flintshire, 18; Chiropractor, 1; Grand Arch, 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Female Turf Horse
Tepin, 211; Found (IRE), 38; Stephanie's Kitten, 8; Lady Eli, 2; Curvy (GB), 1; Voter Abstentions, 1.
Steeplechase Horse
Dawalan (FR), 165; Bob Le Beau (IRE), 47; African Oil (FR), 2; Demonstrative, 2; Grinding Speed, 1; Voter Abstentions, 44.
Owner
Zayat Stables, 220; Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 26; Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc., 6; Reddam Racing, 2; Godolphin Racing, 1; Voter Abstentions, 6.
Breeder
Zayat Stables, 190; Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, 39; Darley, 13; WinStar Farm, 5; Adena Springs, 4; Spendthrift Farm, 1; Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, 1; Voter Abstentions, 8.
Trainer
Bob Baffert, 200; Todd Pletcher, 44; Chad Brown, 12; Karl Broberg, 1; Jerry Hollendorfer, 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Jockey
Javier Castellano, 184; Victor Espinoza, 70; Joe Bravo, 1; Pedro Monterrey, Jr., 1; Irad Ortiz, Jr., 1; Joel Rosario, 1; John Velazquez, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Apprentice Jockey
Tyler Gaffalione, 149; Eric Cancel, 63; Angel Cruz, 9; Ashley Broussard, 6; David Lopez, 3; Jorge Robles, 1; Voter Abstentions, 30.
Horse of the Year
American Pharoah, 261.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/american-pharoah-unanimous-horse-of-the-year-champion/
Quote from: curtis on January 21, 2016, 12:12:21 PM
I agree about the general lack of surprises. I expressed my reservations about Honor Code before--I respect Tonalist's campaign more--but I can't argue as to his resume and obviously that was what the voters were looking at when they made their selections.
I disagree about Victor Espinoza though. Other than a few years early in the 2000's he has not been the best jock on his own circuit and that is even more true now. Being lucky enough to fall into the mount on Anerican Pharoah shouldn't net him an Eclipse award. I also don't understand what California Chrome has to do with it. The horse ran twice last year--only once in North America--and finished second both times. I don't remember who won in 1977 but I'd be surprised to find it was Jean Cruguet. Cauthen may have won in 1978--I don't remember--but I do remember that Laffit Pincay Jr.--ironically Sham's jockey--won in 1973. He deserved it to as he had a much better year than did Ron Turcotte. In the scheme of things I tend to believe that these awards are much ado about nothing but if they are to exist they should at least reflect historical accuracy and Javier Castellano had a much better year, and is currently a better rider, than Victor Espinoza.