Male Sprinter
In considering the three finalists for this category, it became clear that my concept of what type of horse qualified for this title may no longer be correct. A review suggests that, depending upon which qualifications are emphasized, any of the three finalists could rightfully be anointed as champion.
If one is looking for the most outstanding sprinter competing exclusively upon turf, and at the classic turf sprinting distances of from 5 to 6 ½ furlongs, then there can be no doubt that Regally Ready is clearly the most outstanding horse in such a consideration. With 9 starts at 5 different racing facilities, and an outstanding resume of 6 wins and 2 thirds including G1 wins in the Nearctic at Woodbine and the Breeder’s Cup Turf Sprint at Churchill, this 4 year old gelded son of More Than Ready stands unchallenged as the turf sprint champion…but is that what champion “Male Sprinter” has traditionally implied?
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| Regally Ready, post parade for Breeder's Cup Turf Sprint |
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| Regally Ready, Breeder's Cup Turf Sprint |
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| Regally Ready, mid stretch, Breeder's Cup turf Sprint |
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| Regally Ready |
If, on the other hand, one is searching for the most outstanding middle distance horse in America, that horse excelling at the challenging sprint distances of 6 ½ to 7 furlongs, with the capability of stretching that quality an extra furlong against the best company, then Caleb’s Posse would be the man. With 5 victories in ten outings, he clearly showed his ability at the “longer” sprints in both the G2 Amsterdam and the G1 Kings Bishop at 6 ½ and 7 furlongs respectively, winning these contests with authority and in most impressive times. He then concluded his season with a resounding and most emphatic victory in the G1 Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile against a star studded field of “middle distance” horses. Interestingly, however, he never competed at the North American traditional sprint distance of 6 furlongs, and it is apparent that his connections made a conscious decision to stretch out to the mile rather than drop back to the ¾ mile distance and challenge the “pure” sprinters. A very consistent colt of much quality, he too fails to fulfill the requirements of what has historically been accepted when contemplating our champion in this arena. Had he contested and proved victorious in the Breeder’s Cup Sprint he would be champion without question. That he did not so compete begs the question of whether even his connections had confidence that he was capable of defeating the best sprinters at the distance of their strength. If we had an award for “Best Miler,” he’d likely be our boy…but we don’t.
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| Caleb's Posse |
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| Caleb's Posse, Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile |
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| Caleb's Posse |
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| Caleb's Posse, authoratiative win in Breeder's Cup Dirt Mile |
This brings us now to Amazombie, a tough and gutty five year old whose stellar career defines “American sprinter.” With 9 outings this season, he competed at distances from 6 to 7 furlongs, only once stretching to 7 ½ furlongs and that against state bred competition. His aggressive running style resulted in his disqualification in the G3 Los Angeles Handicap when, boxed behind a wall of horses in mid-stretch, he created his own opening as he forged to victory. While his antics indeed cost him the garland, they also demonstrated to all that this was a horse to be reckoned with. Not only very fast, he demonstrated this day his great will to win and the heart of a champion. A narrow loss to the excellent Euroears was followed by a decisive victory in the G1 Ancient Title, this in turn setting him up perfectly for his highly impressive victory in the G1 Breeder’s Cup Sprint. Taking on the very best of the North American sprinters in that contest, he prevailed in a taxing stretch drive, in so doing authoritatively defeating all other serious contenders for the sprinting crown.
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| Amazombie, Breeder's Cup Sprint |
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| Amazombie, winner Breeder's Cup Sprint |
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| Amazombie in hard fought victory in Breeder's Cup Sprint |
All three finalists are outstanding horses, each is worthy of accolades in their area of dominance. In my opinion, however, the horse who best fulfills the tradition of the American sprinter, raw speed on the dirt at 6 furlongs, and thus most deserving of the Eclipse, is California’s Amazombie.
Female Sprinter
Our trio of finalists for this award is an accomplished group, of diverse background and running style, each of whom has a solid claim to this year’s Eclipse.
In one, Hilda’s Passion, we see the brilliance of that animal who, bursting from the gate, seeks to immediately grasp and control her race, throwing at her opposition blistering fractions with disdainful ease, blasting opening quarters in 22 flat, halves in 44 and change then, ears pinned flat to head, finishes with ferocity as she widens in the stretch, literally running her opposition to defeat with her exceptional cruising speed. When she was a the top of her game she appeared untouchable, and her speed figures of 107 in the Vagrancy and 109 in the Inside Information topped those of any other sprinting female this year.
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| Hilda's Passion, Keeneland, 10-23-2010, winning Lexus Raven run |
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| Hilda's Passion, Keeneland |
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| Hilda's Passion, Corey Lanerie up, after winning Keeneland's Lexus Raven Run |
After opening her 2011 campaign with a fast closing second at Gulfstream in January, she converted back to her front running style, in so doing rolling off two graded stakes wins at that Florida track in highly impressive fashion. Next taking on a fellow Eclipse finalist, Sassy Image, in the G1 Humana Distaff, early fractions of 22.1 and 44.3 here took their toll, the latter filly running Hilda down in the long Churchill stretch. Not to be forgotten nor ignored, however, is the fact that Sassy Image was in receipt of 4 pounds in this encounter, 122 to 118, and while perhaps not quite enough to explain a 3 length margin, equal weights could most certainly have found them sniffing noses at the wire.
In this regard I will take this opportunity to momentarily digress and cast opinion on the issue of weight differential in graded stakes. If a horse lacks the quality and ability to win a Grade 1 race without benefit of a weight concession then that horse is not deserving of such accolade. Grade 1 races should be contested, not as weighted handicaps, but at equal weights, for such races are our premier racing events, and as such should allow us the opportunity to witness those claiming to be “the best” competing as equals, with victory or defeat determined by the talent of the horse, the skill of the rider, and the vagaries of racing luck. Such races should not influenced by undue advantage nor disadvantage imposed by the opinion of man. It is senseless to punish our most outstanding animals for previous success while heaping concessions upon those less accomplished. Further, the weight carried by all contestants in such a contest should be such as to impose a challenge to all. For males, 3 years and up, 126 pounds is a well established standard and would appear very acceptable, but for select races, if so desired, the impost for all could be increased to 130 or thereabouts to allow opportunity for today’s horses to prove themselves as one with the weight carriers of old. For the ladies, when competing within their own sex group, I see no problem with a standard of 126 pounds, but would not argue about a lesser weight of 123 pounds, but in truth find no need for this (Weaker sex, indeed! I don’t think so!). Similarly, Grade 2 and 3 races should also have fixed upper weight limits and, if any weight differential is allowed, it must be minimal. For consideration, perhaps a Grade 2 race might impose a top weight of 124 pounds with no runner receiving more than 2 pounds (ie 122) from the top weighted horses; for a Grade 3, consider top weight of 122 pounds and no weight concession greater than 3 pounds (ie 119). The message here must become that being a graded stakes winner implies a very real accomplishment. If you want to run with the big boys, you’re going to have to earn it!
Now back to Hilda. Her 2nd place finish in the Humana was followed by an outstanding victory in the Vagrancy at Belmont, where she received a 107 Beyer while blasting 6 ½ furlongs in 1:14.4. This effort was followed with her only sub par performance of the year as she never really got involved in the Bed o’ Roses, finishing a very lack luster 6th, her performance so out of character as to strongly suggest major issues were at play that day. Regardless, like the best so often do, she bounced back off that effort to put on a dazzling performance in the G1 Ballerina at Saratoga. Left in her wake that day was the aforementioned Sassy Image. Like Hilda in her race before, Sassy Image’s performance was so poor that day as to require explanation. This was soon forth coming with the announcement that she had come out of the race with ankle chips, this necessitating surgery and a conclusion to her 2011 campaign. Hilda’s performance, however, stands on its own merit as one of the most brilliant races put in by any horse this season, and was so dominant as to leave one wondering if any filly, regardless of circumstance, was going to able to challenge her on this day. Anticipating a great performance in the Breeder’s Cup Sprint, it was thus with much dismay that we soon became advised that Hilda too was finished for the year, having sustained a condylar fracture either during the running of the Ballerina or shortly thereafter. Her retirement from racing was soon announced, and she was subsequently sold as a broodmare prospect at Keeneland November.
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| Hilda's Passion, G1 Humana Distaff, Churchill Downs, May 2011 |
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| G1 Humana distaff mid stretch, Sassy Image (#1) about to overtake Hilda's Passion (#7) |
Sassy Image came back from an 11 month lay off in January of this year with a good 2nd place effort in a 100K optional claimer. Her next start disappointed, but by her 3rd outing she again had the game figured out, taking on and soundly defeating Hilda’s Passion in the G1 Humana Distaff as discussed previously. Staying at Churchill, the G3 Wining Colors proved a hard fought victory, setting her up beautifully for the G1 Princess Rooney at Calder, where she put forth a devastating closing kick in the final furlong to run down Musical Romance and win going away, even while giving Musical Romance a weight concession of 7 pounds, 124 to 117, this making her victory all that more impressive. Her final start was a much anticipated second meeting with Hilda’s Passion in the G1 Ballerina, on this occasion equally weighted with her adversary at 122 pounds. As discussed, the gods of racing once again proved unkind to this outstanding filly as injury prevented her from being competitive in this outing. An ankle chip, discovered after the race, was surgically removed and the hope is that she will return next season to again display her brilliance. With only 2 starts in 2010, followed by an 11 month lay off, and only 6 outings this year, one wonders about the wisdom of again asking the question of this very talented but unfortunately injury prone filly. With two grade 1 victories in her resume, and with a demonstrated unfortunate predilection to unsoundness, perhaps prudence might suggest enough is enough. Carefully selecting her partner while considering her strengths and weaknesses, it follows that caution might recommend her next outing should be a date with some amorous young stud in the breeding shed!
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| Sassy Image, G1 Humana Distaff, Churchill Downs, May 2011 |
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| Sassy Image, G1 Humana Distaff |
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| Sassy Image pulls off from Hilda's Passion while in receipt of 4 #, G1 Humana Distaff, May 2011 |
While the first two candidates saw their seasons terminated by the wrath of unsoundness, Musical Romance proved just the opposite. A pillar of strength, this newly turned 5 year old mare has faced the starter now 33 times in her outstanding career, with totals of 9 wins, 5 seconds and 7 thirds. While always a very nice filly, it was not until the 2011 season, however, that she found her best stride and subsequently stepped out of the minors and into the “Majors.” With 14 starts this year she exceeds by one the combined total of starts in 2011 of the other two candidates. The first 8 of these starts followed her previous fashion of running in smaller stakes in southern Florida, always avoiding the more accomplished sprinters when they invaded to challenge for the more prestigious races. However, after putting together back to back wins in such smaller stake races, the connections of this filly felt the time was ripe to challenge the “big girls,” and she thus made a quantum leap when she stepped to the plate for the G1 Princess Rooney. Acquitting herself admirably, she missed narrowly to Sassy Image, just failing to hold that one off, although it must here be noted that she was in receipt of a rather large gift of 7 pounds from the winner. With confidence surrounding this filly now at an all time high, two more starts at Calder were followed by her first excursion outside of Florida, when she went to Presque Isle Downs and narrowly won the G2 Masters in a driving finish. Here she was again the beneficiary of weight concessions, receiving a minimal 1 pound from the 2nd place finisher but an imposing 7 pounds from the 3rd place finisher, the very good Shotgun Gulch, who in spite of this handicap was defeated by only 3/4th of a length for all the money. A trip to Keeneland for the G2 Thoroughbred Club of America proved that her recent form was very legitimate. Here Musical Romance was narrowly defeated for the win while tenaciously holding off the outstanding Switch for 2nd money. While her form was clearly rapidly improving, and she had now demonstrated her ability against top class sprinters outside of Florida, she was nonetheless allowed to go off at 20:1 for the Breeder’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. She rewarded her backers with an extraordinary effort, charging from just off the pace to grasp victory by a convincing 1½ lengths, the nose of Switch once again being tickled by her tail, and this time at equal weights with the entire field. It took quite some doing, and the road was twisting, but Musical Romance ultimately proved victorious in the biggest, and arguably most prestigious, race of the season.
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| Musiical Romance, Keeneland paddock, TCA 10-8-2011 |
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| Musical Romance, Keeneland 10-8-2011, Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes |
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| Musical Romance, Churchill Downs, Wed AM, 11-2-2011 |
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| Musical Romance 11-2-2011 Churchill Downs |
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| Musical Romance |
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| Musical Romance, post parade, G1 Breeder's Cup Female Sprint |
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| Musical Romance, winning G1 Breeder's Cup Female Sprint, 11-4-2-11 |
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| Musical Romance, winner G1 Breeder's Cup Female Sprint |
The toughest and most durable of these three is most certainly Musical Romance, and without doubt she did the win the big one. However, while she was toiling in lesser arenas the other two were trading blows with the heavyweights of the division, clashing time after time with the best and doing so with predictable brilliance. Further, while she did win the Sprint at equal weights, her other major victories occurred with significant weight concessions, sometimes as much as 7 pounds and, on the occasion of the G1 Princess Rooney, she was defeated by Sassy Image while in receipt of this weight, suggesting to me that the latter was clearly her superior. Finally, through no fault of her own, it is a fact that neither Sassy Image nor Hilda’s Passion were physically able to contest the Breeder’s Cup Sprint, and Musical Romance was thus denied the opportunity to demonstrate that her improvement in form was such that she was now superior to her main adversaries. I am of the opinion that it is unlikely she would have defeated either of them at their best. For these reasons I find I cannot give her my support for the Eclipse based upon her one brilliant effort in the Sprint while the other two finalists showed sustained excellence throughout the season.
Separating the remaining two is difficult. Sassy Image had the better of Hilda in the G1 Humana, but did receive a 4 pound weight advantage. In essence, from a talent perspective, such a weight differential makes that contest almost a draw. In their only other head to head encounter this season Hilda prevailed in a breathtaking victory but, in truth, Sassy Image had no chance to compete, clearly having been injured during or prior to the running of the race and was effectively eased down the stretch. At her best, Hilda’s Passion gave every impression that she was the fastest female sprinter in America this year, boasting the two highest Beyers among the ladies throughout this season. Her victories in the Inside Information, the Vagrancy, and the Ballerina were spectacular, and I believe exceeded the best efforts of the other contenders this year. With little to separate them, my Eclipse goes to Hilda’s Passion, a winner by the narrowest margin over the outstanding Sassy image.
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