Eclipse Award Finalists

[Kasept]

• Horse of the Year: Blame
• Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo
• Two-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather
• Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky
• Three-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck
• Older Male: Blame
• Older Female: Zenyatta
• Male Sprinter: Smiling Tiger
• Female Sprinter: Rightly So
• Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti
• Female Turf Horse: Tuscan Evening
• Steeplechase Horse: Slip Away

• Owner: Claiborne/Dilschneider
• Breeder: Brereton C. Jones
• Trainer: Todd Pletcher
• Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
• Apprentice Jockey: Omar Moreno

[Travis Stone]

Dangerous Midge trumps Paddy O Prado on the turf list.

[Clip-Clop]

Originally Posted by Kasept

• Horse of the Year: Blame
• Two-Year-Old Male: Uncle Mo
• Two-Year-Old Filly: Awesome Feather
• Three-Year-Old Male: Lookin At Lucky
• Three-Year-Old Filly: Blind Luck
• Older Male: Blame
• Older Female: Zenyatta
• Male Sprinter: Smiling Tiger
• Female Sprinter: Rightly So
• Male Turf Horse: Gio Ponti
• Female Turf Horse: Tuscan Evening
• Steeplechase Horse: Slip Away

• Owner: Claiborne/Dilschneider
• Breeder: Brereton C. Jones
• Trainer: Todd Pletcher
• Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
• Apprentice Jockey: Omar Moreno

Do you get to vote?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Clip-Clop

Do you get to vote?

If he's really voting that ballot I hope not.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Clip-Clop

Do you get to vote?

Not currently. May join the revised NTW+BA ("+B" = Broadcasters) this year...

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

If he's really voting that ballot I hope not.

More of a gut level reaction as opposed to a 'vote'.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Kasept

More of a gut level reaction as opposed to a 'vote'.

Someone had to jab you about Rightly So and Smiling Tiger (to a lesser extent).

[Sightseek]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Someone had to jab you about Rightly So and Smiling Tiger (to a lesser extent).

She wins the Bias Aided Eclipse.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

Someone had to jab you about Rightly So and Smiling Tiger (to a lesser extent).

Why wouldn't Smiling Tiger be worthy of it? A bob from a Malibu win that arguably guarantees him the award as a 3X G1 winner (plus the good 3rd in the BC Sprint). Majesticperfection ran the best single race in a G1, but why does that lock it up? And Big Drama to me is a cop out selection.

Rightly So was so good in the Ballerina that it left the best impression on me (Suppose that makes her similar to Majesticperfection.) Dubai Majesty is going to win and deserves it. Certainly deserves it more than Big Drama does on the other side. Champagne is a personal fave but tailed off to such an extent that it's hard to embrace her for the Test-Acorn Double only..

[Sightseek]

I would vote Switch before Champagne or Rightly So and am surprised she isn't a choice.


Don't you think you're overrating that Ballerina considering the track that day? Agree that Dubai Majesty will take it, but I can't look it up right now, what was her record away from CHD?

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Why wouldn't Smiling Tiger be worthy of it? A bob from a Malibu win that arguably guarantees him the award as a 3X G1 winner (plus the good 3rd in the BC Sprint). Majesticperfection ran the best single race in a G1, but why does that lock it up? And Big Drama to me is a cop out selection.

Rightly So was so good in the Ballerina that it left the best impression on me (Suppose that makes her similar to Majesticperfection.) Dubai Majesty is going to win and deserves it. Certainly deserves it more than Big Drama does on the other side. Champagne is a personal fave but tailed off to such an extent that it's hard to embrace her for the Test-Acorn Double only..

Smiling Tiger beat up on horses that weren't even in the mix for the BC Sprint. He's a nice horse, I really like him going forward, but the best horse he beat in the CA races was Cost of Freedom. Had he made the BC Sprint decision a little bit closer than the argument would carry a bit more water I think. I'd vote for Majesticperfection, even being fully aware that his campaign was cut short. His Iowa Sprint Handicap and Alfred G. Vanderbilt wins were the two best sprinting performances of the year in a landslide.

I wasn't as taken by Rightly So's Ballerina and thought Dubai Majesty slammed the door on everyone in the Breeders' Cup. She won races on synth, dirt, and turf, beat horses who were at the top of their game at the time like West Ocean sprinting on the turf, Secret Gypsy on the dirt at Churchill, Informed Decision on her favorite track and everyone on 11/6.

[Kasept]

Originally Posted by Cardus

Tuscan Evening is an audacious selection, Steve (though Proviso was probably a better choice), but Gio Ponti poses a conundrum for me. (Winchester should have been inked.)

Tuscan Evening, as I mentioned on ATR this week, was 6 for 6 before her sad passing from 6.5f to 10f. Proviso viable and Goldikova Ouija Board-style worthy... but for all the genuflecting over a nearly unbeaten mare, why not respect Tuscan Evening given this final opportunity? (And as an aside, would have liked it if Wasted Tears had gotten a little nod.)

Winchester barely edged by Gio Ponti in my mind via the latter's versatility winning the Shadwell and placing being Goldikova. Winchester has finally won my respect though.

[DaTruth]

Originally Posted by Kasept

but for all the genuflecting over a nearly unbeaten mare

It drives me crazy that many who have publicly stated they have voted for Blame feel compelled to apologize for not voting for Zenyatta.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Cardus

It's embarrassing, really.

Not to mention how egregious the rationale used by some voters among the DRF writers has been for voting for her. I had stopped thinking about it for a month but now that it's getting close the stupidity is flowing in full force.