2006 Eclipse Awards

Insight and commentary on the world of thoroughbred horse racing.

Thoughts and opinions about the fascinating sport of thoroughbred horse racing from a racing insider.

Every Vote Counts (Even Pretend Ones)

The finalists for the 2006 Eclipse Awards were announced on January 4 and the voters have some pretty interesting choices for a change this year. I’m not one of those voters but I do have two cents…

There should be little drama in the juvenile categories. Dreaming of Anna strolled away from Breeders’ Cup day with her unblemished record intact. And what an enviable record it is: graded wins on both turf and dirt. She’s a lock for champion juvenile filly.

On the colt side, Street Sense should be crowned king of the hill off his record 10-length win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He beat fellow finalist, Circular Quay, winner of theG1 Hopeful, that day, but did not face the third contender, G2 Remsen winner Nobiz Like Showbiz. It’s possible the voters could get cute here, perhaps knocking Street Sense for his bias-aided win at Churchill. Nobiz certainly looks like the real deal, but he didn’t win a grade one in 2006. And if he’s good enough to be champion what’s wrong with Tiz Wonderful, an unbeaten multiple graded stakes winner? Let’s hope the voters do the right thing and give Street Sense the Eclipse as expected.

It will be very interesting to see what the voters will do in the three year-old colt division where you basically have two Hall of Fame runners to choose from (and in hindsight maybe a third if Discreet Cat has a big 2007). I’m about as big a Barbaro fan as there is and I don’t think he would have let Bernardini beat him if he had finished the Preakness. But an objective comparison of their 2006 campaigns gives Bernardini a (very) slight edge.

Both obviously have scintillating Classic wins on their resumes. Bernardini holds an edge in total grade one wins (3-2), but one of those was essentially a walkover in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (no offense Wanderin Boy and Andromeda’s Hero). Looking at how they both fared against Bluegrass Cat doesn’t reveal much. Barbaro beat the grade one winner in the Derby by 6 ½ lengths, while Bernardini beat him by 7 ½ in the Travers. But when you look at Bernardini’s race in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, it tips the scales slightly. He lost to the very good horse Invasor by one length and finished 2 ½ lengths in front of the in-form dual grade one winner Premium Tap (although you could call into question the real quality of his Woodward and Clark wins). I believe in my heart that Barbaro was the better horse, but I’d have to vote for the horse with the better 2006 resume and that horse is Bernardini.

The three year-old filly race is another interesting debate that could legitimately go to any of the three finalists. Bushfire was the only sophomore filly to win three grade ones in 2006. Pine Island never ran a bad race in her tragically short life and won a pair of grade ones, including the prestigious Alabama. Wait A While won two grade ones on the turf , a grade two on the dirt (well slop anyway), and is the only one of the three to defeat older fillies.

If I had to bet on who will win I’d bet Pine Island, with the sympathy factor tipping the scales. My vote would go to Bushfire though. She trounced Wait A While by 6 ½ in the Ashland in April (with grade one winner Balance back in third). Bushfire didn’t run her race when fifth, beaten 14 lengths by Pine Island in the Gazelle, but did beat her when in- form back in July in the Mother Goose.

Despite Fleet Indian’s own misfortune on Breeder’s Cup day, it’s hard to imagine either Asi Siempre or Round Pond overtaking her for the Older Female title. The daughter of Indian Charlie won all six of the 2006 races she finished and has a pair of grade one trophies on the mantle.

The American turf males were not an overly strong bunch in 2006. Miesque’s Approval gained Eclipse finalist status based on his Breeders’ Cup Mile victory, but it’s really a two horse race between the very consistent English Channel and the nine year-old gelding The Tin Man. English Channel holds a 3-2 edge in terms of grade one wins over The Tin Man, but one of those came over an extremely week field in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. The Tin Man beat English Channel fair and square at Arlington and has a good second to David Junior in the Dubai Duty Free back in March. I’d give a slight edge to The Tin Man.

It’s a tough choice for champion sprinter too. Based on pure talent Discreet Cat is the best of the three finalists. But the simple fact is he didn’t win any races under one mile, which as far as I know are still called ‘sprint’ races. He shouldn’t even be a finalist as far as I’m concerned, but it will be interesting to see how he’s treated by the voters, especially since Daily Racing Form columnist Mike Watchmaker has waged a mini-campaign in his favor.

If I had a vote, and I couldn’t find any coins to flip, I’d probably punch Thor’s Echo on my ballot. His two late season wins were obviously huge (BC Sprint and De Francis Dash). But in his three dirt races prior to the Breeders’ Cup, he ran second three times and was beaten by a grand total of only 3 ¾ lengths. The horses he was beaten by are both grade one winners, Proud Tower Too and Bordonaro, either of whom could and probably should be finalists ahead of Discreet Cat.

Henny Hughes looked awesome in his three 2006 wins and, like Thor’s Echo, won a pair of grade ones. But he defeated only one grade one winner in 2006, an off-form Silver Train in the Vosburgh. I’ll give the nod to ‘Thor’ based on strength of schedule.

A lone Northern American win in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf was enough to earn Ouija Board an Eclipse Award in 2004 and it will likely be enough again in 2006. I happened to watch the Breeder’s Cup Filly and Mare Turf from the apron on the first turn. I didn’t see much of the race itself, but I had the great fortune to watch Ouija Board gallop out after her easy win and then prance back to the winner’s circle. She’s one of the classiest animals I’ve ever seen. Gorella and Wait A While are both very nice fillies, but Ouija Board is in a class by all by herself.

I have to admit I pay about as much attention to Steeplechase racing as I do professional bowling. The PP’s show that McDynamo won the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase by 22 lengths. That’s good enough for me.

Matt O'Neil has been a racing enthusiast since the mid 1980's. He currently works for Taylor Made Stallions, Inc. in Central Kentucuky and is published regularly in Owner-Breeder International and The Florida-Horse. Contact Matt O'Neil