Taking a look at some of the Horse of the Year contenders
As the year that has seemed underwhelming comes to an end and the
season records of some of the “bigger” horses are examined, the year has turned
more exciting. A few names have been mentioned for Horse of the Year honors
(both by myself and others) and for the sake of being able to look at all of their records together, I decided to put them in a blog post. I don’t get a vote but the process always interests me
so without farther ado, here are some of the Horse of the Year nominees that
have been talked about both seriously and not-so-seriously in the past few weeks (names
are in alphabetical order).
Note: This only includes North
American races.
Fort Larned-
Overall 2012 record: 9-5-1-1 for $3,598,455 in earnings.
Wins:
Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I)
Whitney Invitational Handicap (gr. I)
Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap (gr. III)
Skip Away Stakes (gr. III)
Challenger Stakes (UG)
Second:
Alysheba Stakes (gr. II) to Successful Dan
Third:
TVG Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational Stakes (gr. III) to Flat Out and
Stay Thirsty.
Unplaced:
Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) eighth, the top three were Ron the
Greek, Wise Dan, and Nates Mineshaft
Tampa Bay Handicap fourth, the top three were Wiki, Successful Mission,
and Swift Warrior
Overall count:
2 G1 wins
2 G3 wins
1 ungraded win
1 second in a G2
1 third in a G3
 |
| Game On Dude (8) in the 2011 Classic (Melissa Bauer-Herzog) |
Overall 2012 record: 6-4-1-0 for $860,00 in earnings
Wins:
Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (gr. I)
Awesome Again Stakes (gr. I)
Californian Stakes (gr. II)
San Antonio Stakes (gr. II)
Place:
TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (gr. I) behind Dullahan
Unplaced
Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) seventh behind top three Fort Larned, Mucho Macho
Man, and Flat Out
Overall count:
2 G1 wins
2 G2 wins
1 second in a G1
Groupie Doll-
Overall 2012 record: 8-5-1-1-2 for $1,315,314 in earnings
Wins:
Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (gr. I)
Humana Distaff (gr. I)
Vinery Madison Stakes (gr. I)
Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (gr. II)
Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (gr. II)
Second:
Optional Claiming race
Third:
Inside Information Stakes (gr. II) to Musical Romance and Hot Summer
Overall count:
3 G1 wins
2 G2 wins
1 third in G2
It is possible that she could run in the Cigar Mile (gr. I).
I’ll Have Another-
Overall 2012 record: 4-4-0-0 for $2,629,600 in earnings.
Wins:
Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I)
Preakness Stakes (gr. I)
Santa Anita Derby (gr. I)
Robert B. Lewis Stakes (gr. I)
Overall count:
3 G1 wins
1 G2 win
Little Mike-
Overall 2012 record: 7-4-0-1 for $2,668,742 in earnings.
Wins:
Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I)
Arlington Million Stakes (gr. I)
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (gr. I)
Florida Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes (UG)
Third:
Shoemaker Mile Stakes (gr. I) to Jeranimo and Suggestive Boy (ARG)
Unplaced:
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitation Stakes (gr. I) behind the top three
of Point of Entry, Treasure Beach (GB) and Kindergarden Kid
Overall count:
3 G1 wins
1 ungraded win
1 third in a G1
Point of Entry-
Overall 2012 record: 7-5-1-0 for $1,746,600 in earnings.
Wins:
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (gr. I)
Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (gr. I)
Man o’ War Stakes (gr. I)
Elkhorn Stakes (gr. II)
Allowance
Second:
Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I) to Little Mike
Unplaced:
Allowance optional claimer behind top three of Sky Blazer, Slow Pace
and Hailstone
Overall count:
3 G1 wins
1 G2 win
1 second in a G1
Royal Delta-
 |
| (Melissa Bauer-Herzog) |
Wins:
Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (gr. I)
Beldame Invitational Stakes (gr. I)
Delaware Handicap (gr. II)
Fleur de Lis Handicap (gr. II)
Seconds:
Personal Ensign (gr. I) to Love and Pride
Sabin Stakes (gr. III) to Awesome Maria
Overall count:
2 G1 wins
2 G2 wins
1 second in a G1
1 second in a G3
Wise Dan-
Overall 2012 record: 6-5-1-0 for $2,622,037 in earnings
Wins:
Breeders’ Cup Mile (gr. I) ntr
Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (gr. I)
Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes (gr. I)
Fourstardave Handicap (gr. II)
Ben Ali Stakes (gr. III) ntr
Second:
Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) behind Ron the Greek
Overall count:
3 G1 wins
1 G2 win
1 G3 win
1 second in a G1
For comparison stats:
* Wise Dan, Point of Entry, Little Mike, Groupie Doll, and I’ll Have
Another are all tied at Grade 1 wins with 3 apiece
* Groupie Doll and Wise Dan are tied with the most graded stakes wins
at 5 each.
* Many of the horses on this list have five wins overall on the season.
Opinion time: This is the
first time in a long time that I can think of more than two horses deserving
Horse of the Year honors. While I have a good idea who is going to win the
award just from listening to conversations, I think that an argument could be
made for most of the horses on this list to take home the top honor.
Interestingly, some of the horses on this list may not take home any awards,
especially in the Turf Male category. From my view, that definitely makes 2012 looks
much more competitive than it did in the summer when we were more focused on
horses retiring than racing.
Of course, we still have some big races to run in the coming weeks so all of this could change if someone wins another Grade 1. It was announced today that depending on weights, Groupie Doll could make a start against the boys in the Cigar Mile (gr. I), if she won the race it could change the whole landscape of Horse of the Year,
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