Yesterday, the Eclipse finalists where announced. These will be the horses who you'll be hearing about over the next couple of weeks leading up to the ceremony which will be held on January 19th at Gulfstream Park. HRTV will be the station where you can watch and ESPN's Jeannine Edwards will once again host the ceremony. Lets take a look at this years contenders, I will also have my official picks as there will be some changes due to a few horses not doing well in their final races of the year.
2yo Filly: Beholder, Dreaming of Julia, Executiveprivilege
Even though after the Breeders' Cup, Executiveprivilege was still the leader in the division, losing the Starlet cost her. For that reason, Henny Hughes will get his first champion in Beholder. Dreaming of Julia could be an interesting horse down the line.
2yo Male: Shanghai Bobby, Uncaptured, Violence
Don't think it will be a unanimous title for Shanghai Bobby, but it will be close. Uncaptured will be the Champion 2yo in Canada and Violence well... His name isn't the best.
3yo Filly: Believe You Can, My Miss Aurelia, Questing (GB)
Before I walk about the actual award, this might be the first snub is. Many people believe that Lady of Shamrock should be here instead of Believe You Can who didn't run past June. As for the award, if MMA wins it will be because people didn't wait till after the La Brea before submitting. I'll take Questing's two G1's over hers and runner up finish in the LC. (Yes I'm being a little biased) Expect this to be a very tight finish.
3yo Male: Bodemeister, I’ll Have Another, Union Rags
Talented, but fragile is what you can call this group. None of these horses ran past June. Poor Dullahan, wins the Pacific Class and not even a finalist. History is on I'll Have Another's side.
Older Female: Groupie Doll, Include Me Out, Royal Delta
I think Royal Delta will win, but fully expect Groupie Doll to take some 1st place votes. Glad to see Include Me Out here instead of Love and Pride.
Older Male: Fort Larned, Little Mike, Wise Dan
While all three have had multiple G1 seasons, honestly I would have replaced Little Mike with Shackleford as the third finalist. Wise Dan is the heavy favorite for the win, but don't be surprised if Fort Larned wins instead.
Female Turf: Marketing Mix, Tapitsfly, Zagora (FR)
This division was well... Interesting. Honestly, I felt that Winter Memories had she not gotten injured would have won here. With that being said, Zagora won the BC while Marketing Mix came up just short. Tapitsfly did well this season as well.
Male Turf: Little Mike, Point of Entry, Wise Dan
If Wise Dan loses Older Male, he wins here I think. Little Mike win the Arlington Million and BC Turf, possibly the two most important turf races in the US for Older Males. Point of Entry had a great season in the wrong year.
Female Sprinter: Contested, Groupie Doll, Mizdirection
This is really the only slam dunk division with the exception of Bobby. Groupie Doll stood out from this group its not funny. She is more then likely to be unanimous. Contested didn't run past August, while Mizdirection won the BC Turf Sprint over makes.
Male Sprinter: The Lumber Guy, Shackleford, Trinniberg
I love Shackleford as much as the next person, but I wouldn't call him a sprinter. Trinniberg showed that the Derby didn't run him when he returned to his preferred Sprint distance. Thus I feel he deserves it.
Steeplechase: Demonstrative, Divine Fortune, Pierrot Lunaire
Unfortanlly, I didn't follow Steeplechasing this year, so I'm abstaining.
App. Jockey: Jose Montano, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Angel Suarez
Apparently, Ortiz only had his bug for a month in 2012, so it's wierd that he's on here. That being said, 3 G1 wins at Saratoga is pretty impressive.
Jockey: Javier Castellano, Ramon Dominguez, John Velazquez
This is a tough one, but I expect Dominguez wins going away. Velazquez is the only jockey who rode a HOY contender this year among the finalists.
Trainer: Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Dale Romans
A career year for Romans could lead to his first Training Eclipse. After all he did train Little Mike and Shackleford.
Owner: Godolphin Racing LLC, Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc., Reddam Racing LLC
Two of these three owners won multiple G1's this year. The other though set a record for number of wins in a season. Honestly, I hope Godolphin wins, but Midwest more likely.
Breeder: Adena Springs, Darley, Brereton C. Jones
Adena always wins this award, and will likely win it again. However I would love to see the former Govenor of Kentucky win it this year, Darley has a big chance to with a big meet at Saratoga with 4 G1 wins.
Horse of the Year: Fort Larned, I’ll Have Another, Wise Dan
The Classic winner, the Derby winner and the Mile winner. No matter who wins, for the first time since 2008 the Horse of the Year will be male. Wise Dan should and more then likely win the award this year. 3 G1's on turf plus a runner up finish in the Foster will be more then enough. Fort Larned had an amazing year, but will come up just short. Had I'll Have Another ran in and won the Belmont, then we wouldn't be having this conversation.
Win or lose, it's still an honor to be considered a finalist. Good luck to all and there will be a recap post after the ceremony on the 19th.
