Eclipse finalists announced
The triumph of the Breeders’ Cup as the decider of postseason honors has taken much of the drama out of the Eclipse Awards. Last year, by an average vote of 192-30 over the next-highest vote getters, 10 of 12 awards went to horses who had won races at the Breeders’ Cup. This year’s Eclipse voting looks like it should be more competitive. Following are four divisions that appear to lack obvious favorites, with the three finalists in each listed in parentheses. Winners will be announced on Jan. 28.
Three-year-old filly (Gamine, Shedares the devil, Swiss Skydiver) – Gamine has two things in common with Covfefe, last year’s champion 3-year-old filly. Both are daughters of leading
sire Into Mischief, and both were also finalists in the female sprinter category. Covfefe faced moderate competition in becoming the first horse to win both awards in the same year. Gamine is a lock to be named champion female sprinter but faces a tougher task in the 3-yearold filly division.
Gamine crossed the finish line first in five of six starts – she was later disqualified from her allowance win at Oaklawn Park because of a medication issue – capping the year with a smashing 6¼-length triumph in the BC Filly & Mare Sprint. However, Gamine finished third behind winner She dares the devil and Swiss Skydiver in the Kentucky Oaks, the only race in which all three met.
With five graded wins that included the Alabama and Preakness, as well as seconds in the Kentucky Oaks and Blue Grass, Swiss Skydiver made 10
starts at nine different tracks. Beaten horses in the Preakness included Authentic, the likely 2020 Horse of the Year. In fact, had she overcome a poor start and won the Distaff, and Authentic hadn’t prevailed in the Classic, Swiss Skydiver might have been the favorite for Horse of the Year.
Male sprinter (Vekoma, Volatile, Whitmore) – The male sprinter category features a contest between a pair of flashy front-running types with fashionable pedigrees and a cranky old gelding who represents a nearly extinct sire line (Ribot).
Vekoma and Volatile both had tremendous years, winning most of their races by open lengths. But both horses missed the Breeders’ Cup and were retired with just six and eight career starts, respectively.
Whitmore won the Sprint in his fourth try (he finished second in 2018 and third in 2019), demolishing a full field by 3¼ widening lengths in what was arguably the most popular result at the 2020
Breeders’ Cup – especially for those who had him at 18-1. An Eclipse Award would be a fitting honor for an 8-year-old who has never ducked anyone in his 38-race career, winning 11 stakes and earning more than $4.2 million.
Male turf horse (Channel Maker, Order of Australia, Zulu Alpha) – European-bred horses had a strong Breeders’ Cup, winning five of seven turf events, including the Mile, Turf and Filly & Mare
Turf. Most of these horses had solid records in Europe, but Order of Australia – a 73-1 winner of the Mile – had never won beyond the allowance level prior to the Breeders’ Cup.
Zulu Alpha had a strong start to the year, winning the Pegasus World Cup Turf and Mac Diarmida in his first two outings, But the then 7-year-old gelding’s last win occurred in mid-July and he did not make the Breeders’ Cup.
After failing to win in his first five 2020 starts, Channel Maker turned into a free-running terror when put on the lead, coasting to easy wins in
the Sword Dancer and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic. He then nearly ran off with the BC Turf before giving way late to Tarnawa and Magical, finishing third, a length and a nose behind the former.
Female turf horse (Audarya, Rushing Fall, Tarnawa) – As winners of Breeders’ Cup races last fall, Tarnawa (Turf) and Audarya (F&M Turf) would seem to have the inside track for this award. Both were also G1 winners in France earlier in the year, and Tarnawa was unbeaten in four 2020 starts.
Rushing Fall lost her Breeders’ Cup race, outfinished by a neck in the F&M Turf. Rushing Fall, however, is no ordinary Cup runner-up. She won all three of her previous 2020 starts, two of them G1s, and finished her career with 11 wins and three seconds in 15 starts while battling the best of her division over the past three years. Perhaps her overall excellence, together with being a member of the home team, will give her the needed edge here.