Eclipse finalists announced
This year’s Eclipse Award finalists, which were announced last Saturday, may seem thinner than usual in some categories. In the 2018 Horse of the Year category, however, Accelerate, Justify and Monomoy Girl constitute one of the strongest groups of HOY candidates in recent years. Together the three finalists won 14 Grade 1s, including two Breeders’ Cup races and, of course, the Triple Crown.
There have been years when Monomoy Girl would have been a cinch for Horse of the Year, especially after her decisive victory over her elders in the BC Distaff. Unfortunately for the then 3-yearold filly and her connections, she is almost certainly destined to finish third in the HOY voting behind Accelerate and Justify.
There are good reasons why Accelerate should be Horse of the Year. He won more big races than Justify; he competed over virtually the entire racing year, not just half; and his victory in the BC Classic was arguably the most impressive in any race all year. In the end, though, Eclipse voters will probably be unable to deny the HOY award to a horse who won the Triple Crown.
The tally in at least seven other equine Eclipse categories is unlikely to be close. The expected winners are four-time Grade 1 winner Sistercharlie (turf female); back- toback BC Sprint winner Roy H (male sprinter); Game Winner and Jaywalk in the 2- year- old male and 2-year- old filly categories, respectively; and HOY finalists Accelerate (older dirt male), Justify (3-year- old male) and Monomoy Girl (3-year- old filly) in their respective categories.
The remaining three equine categories are more competitive. A victory in the BC Filly & Mare Sprint would have locked up the female sprinter award for Marley’s Freedom, who came into the
race off three emphatic graded victories. Her fastclosing fourth in the race, beaten less than a length, may still be good enough to earn her a championship. Marley’s Freedom’s chief rival is Shamrock Rose, the 25-1 upset winner of the F& MSprint; she also ran off three stakes wins prior to the Breeders’ Cup, albeit versus lesser competition.
Marley’s Freedom is also one of three finalists, along with Abel Tasman and Unique Bella, in the older dirt female category. Abel Tasman had a splendid career, winning five Grade 1s and an Eclipse Award as last year’s champion 3-yearold filly. She won only two of five starts in 2018, however, finishing off the board in the three others, including last of 11 in the BC Distaff. Unique Bella raced only four times this year, most recently on July
29, but having won three of them, she is the most likely choice here.
The finalists in a wideopen turf male category are Expert Eye, a Group 3 winner in England whose head victory in the BC Mile came in his only U. S. start; Glorious Empire, who won (in a dead-heat) Saratoga’s Bowling Green Handicap (G2) and Sword Dancer Invitational (G1), but finished last in the BC Turf; and Stormy Liberal, winner of the past two editions of the BC Turf Sprint.
Stormy Liberal had the most consistent record of the three finalists, finishing in the exacta in six of seven starts. Are voters ready to hand an Eclipse Award that has always gone to a two-turn horse to a 5 ½ -furlong sprinter, though? It’s doubtful, but we’ll find out for sure when the winners are announced on January 24.