Another Eclipse show is in the books! Congrats to all of the winners especially Horse of the Year, Wise Dan, whose connections had a monster night . Here are the other big winners on the night.
2 Year Old Female: Beholder- This was a no brainer after Excutivepriviledge bombed in the Starlet. She starts her 3yo campaign tomorrow.
2 Year Old Male: Shanghai Bobby- He was actually the closest winner on the night to being unanimous (Future Canadian 2 yo champ Uncaptured got the other vote). He will be starting his 3yo campaign on Saturday..
3 Year Old Female: Questing (GB)- HARD SPUN HAS AN ECLIPSE CHAMPION!!!!! Okay now I'm done. Seriously though it was a very tight finish between her and My Miss Auriela. People will say that the wrong horse won, but honestly I was secretly hoping for a tie.
3 Year Old Male: I'll Have Another- This was a no brainer, actually Paul Reddam did a nice job staying in the time limit.
Older Female: Royal Delta- The second year in a row where I've seen the eventual Older Female champ in person. I'm hoping she comes back to defend her DelCap title as the Classic is the end if the year goal.
Older Male: Wise Dan- It was a big night for his connections, this was the second of his awards that he got.
Turf Female: Zagora (FR)- The reason why there was a time limit because of Kendall Hanson and Martin Schwartz. Luckily unlike last year when he gave Stacilita's life story, Schwartz kept it shorter.
Turf Male: Wise Dan- Should have Little Mike won this division? Possibly, but the voters thought that WD was the better turf horse in 2012.
Sprinter Female: Groupie Doll- She wasn't unanimous as Mizdirection got a couple 1st place votes. She had a minor setback with her bloodwork, but it looks like she will be okay.
Sprinter Male: Trinniberg- Not a fan of his, but this was a pitiful division. Complaining about the time limit made me dislike his connections even more. Everyone was on a time limit. Becomes the first 3yo to win the Sprint Eclipse since the late great Lost in the Fog
Trainer: Dale Romans- Loudest ovasion of the night. He flat out deserved it, 3 finalists plus Dullahan. What a Year!
Owner: Godolphin- A big win for the boys from Dubai. Alpha, Better Lucky and their Champ Questing led the way in the JS plus denied Camelot the British Triple Crown and won the Dubai World Cup for the first time in 6 years.
Breeder: Darley- Once they won this, my confidence in Questing winning went up. Other then the first three in Owner who I listed, they also bred one of my favorite sprinters Sean Avery who returned a winner
App. Jockey: Jose Montano- If he hadn't lost his bug in Feb., Irad Ortiz would have won this division easily. Instead this years title goes to the Charles Town based 26 year old. The cool thing was that his translator was Laffit Pincay Jr.!
Jockey: Ramon Dominguez- A bittersweet three-peat for him as Friday he suffered a serious injury (reports are he is expected to fully recover from his fractured skull). Very nice of the other two finalists Javier Castallano and John Velazquez excepting the award on his behalf.
As we turn the page to 2013, I'm very excited to see what this year brings to the table. Some other thoughts from last night:
* Please don't invite Jeannine Edwards as host again, she was aweful again.
* Better production please.
* Frankel gets a HOY vote. Really? I love him, but he never ran in NA.
* Newly unretired Gary Stevens gave a shoutout to Frankel and Black Caviar.
* It would be so much fun if the Pincay's hosted next year, father son banter would be cool!
* Dream for next year: If Paynter returns with gusto, and he wins an award, I fully expect a standing ovation. Of course this is me dreaming.
* Jerry Bailey on a step so he would be even with the Miami Heat's Rashard Lewis (who is a TB owner). And Rashard's shoutout was cool too.
* Last years NHC winner. Michael Beychok talking about horse retirement.
I will have a Pedigree Look post on Wise Dan this week.
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