Spotlight: 2011 Eclipse Winners
The voting for the 2012 Eclipse Awards will soon be upon us. So I thought that this week I’d take a look at the winners from last year and see what they have been up to. It could be possible that we may see some of these being nominated again this year.
Bolton Valley won the 2-Year Old Dirt Colt award last year and is trained by Dundey8. After winning three consecutive G1 races last year, 2012 hasn’t been as charming. Focused on running in the Triple Crown, Bolton Valley scored a second in the G1 Winter is Coming in March. Next, he tried to earn a lock-in to the Bluegrass Derby by competing in the California Derby only to come up short, finishing fourth.
Bolton Valley would gain entry into the Bluegrass Derby, but failed miserably finishing 19th in the field of 20. It wasn’t until August this year that he would hit the board again in an allowance race, finishing third. He picked up his only win of the year, at the same level, in mid-October. Bolton Valley looks to be getting back into the form he had last year as he most recently finished second in a residency based stakes race, hitting a career best speed of 107 and is currently ranked 12th in dirt routes.
Street Etiquette won the 2-Year Old Dirt Filly for trainer Isllives. She was nearly flawless in 2011 winning 7 of 8 starts, including the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile. Street Etiquette also had sites on the Bluegrass Derby and ran in the event. Her road included a second in the Los Vinegrette Stakes followed by a win in the All Saints Derby lock-in event.
Street Etiquette would be the pace setter in the Bluegrass Derby, but the early pressure in the race would be too much as she would eventually finish ninth. This filly would make her first appearance on the turf in September against a short allowance field, after a 2-month layoff finishing second. This has been her only time she’s been on the board since winning the derby lock-in race. In November she ran in the Breeders’ Bowl Distaff, finishing ninth in the field. As of this writing, she is ranked third in routes and fourth in long routes.
Cyrus De Virus brought trainer Wreckagees the 2-Year Old Turf Colt award. He locked this award upon capturing a win in the Breeders’ Bowl Juvenile Turf. After winning this race, he took a three month leave and started 2012 off with a win in an allowance race. He then tried the dirt for the first time, picking up a win with a speed of 101.
The Arkansas Juvenile, a derby lock race was next on his calendar. Unfortunately, he finished thirteenth, eliminating his hopes for a run in the Bluegrass. Returning to the turf, he finished second in an allowance race and has taken two shots at graded races, finishing off the board both times. In early November, he returned to the winner’s circle against allowance company, hitting a career best speed of 108 and lighting up the calendar that better things may be on the horizon. He’s dropped in rankings to 1,215th in turf routes.
Miss Timoshenko won two eclipse awards last year which included the 2-Year Old Turf Filly and the Horse of the Year. She won these awards for trainer Manoroflad after winning the Breeders’ Bowl Filly Juvenile Turf and the Juvenile Filly to wrap up 2011. But the winning ways would come to an end in 2012 as she would be winless in her first three starts.
Miss Timoshenko would pick up a pair of grade wins in the Grotto and 1000 Guineas in the late spring this season. She looked wreckless in her next four graded races, finishing double-digit lengths behind in three of the races. Things are changing. She’s picked up a pair of seconds and a third in her last four starts. Most recently, she finished third making up 10 strides in the last quarter mile in the Motherly Love Stakes with a career best speed of 115 racing with older horses. This powerhouse lady is now ranked third in routes.
Eric’s Fast won the 3-Year Old Dirt Colt last year based on his second in the Bluegrass Derby and victory in the New Yorker for trainer Rikib.
However, 2012 has not been much of a year as he has only raced once in an allowance race, coming off a 4-month layoff, which he won handily. He has dropped in rankings to 3,901st in dirt sprints as he has not raced for over 10-months.
Hail The Thunder snagged the 3-Year Old Dirt Filly in 2011 for Phillipj3, the trainer of this lady. The award came on the heels of winning a pair of G1 events during the summer.
Hail The Thunder took much of the winter off before appearing in a pair of G1 races in March, the Original Margarita Invitation and Sand Castle Classic. She finished second in the first event, off the board in the second. This led to a five-month hiatus returning in September. She’s raced four more times, finish third three consecutive times in a combination of allowance and low-end stake races. Her last start was in the beginning of December where she picked up her first win in 2012 running at the allowance level. The horse racing industry still considers her formidable, as she is currently ranked 48th in dirt routes.
Yak won the 3-Year Old Turf Colt last year under the leadership of trainer Dreaming. Highlighting his was to the award were speeds off 117 in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf (2nd) and the Japan Classic (win). He loves to go long distances and thus far in 2012, he has not run a speed below 100.
He’s been pretty busy this year with 14 starts and raking in six wins. While four of those wins came in low-end stake races, he did pick up a victory during May in the Tattersalls Gold (G1). Interestingly, he has not gone off at odds over 9-1 during this race season. This, combined with being ranked 2nd in long turf routes make Yak a formidable foe to run against.
Neo Forty, the 3-Year Old Turf Filly, had a great 2011 season for trainer Lopic. She won 7 of 11 starts with G1 victories in the Oaks de English, United Oaks and the Liz Taylor. After taking the first two months off in 2012, she returned to the track in early March and started a campaign that may lead to another award this year.
Neo Forty ended 2011 with a win and picked things up with a win in her first start in 2012, an allowance race as a tune-up when she returned to the track. Later in March, she ran in the G2 Saint Ana coasting to a three length win. In Mary, she would pick up her second grade victory in the Ugly Breeders Bowl Distaff. Neo Forty would bring a 6-race win streak into the Lone Star Park in July, where it would end with a third place finish. One more G1 would be added to her collection with a win in the October running of the Prix Opera. She is currently ranked #1 in route races and looks promising to be on the ballot for 2012.
Twist Twist took the Eclipse award for Older Horse on Dirt and is trained by Wfstables3. The timing was perfect as he won the G1 Jockey Guild Gold Cup and Breeders’ Bowl Classic to get his name nominated in this category.
Unforunately, Twist Twist has not won a race since the Breeders’ Bowl Classic last year. While racing much of 2012 with mixed results, he seems to be back on his game. A decent second in the non-grade Poker in the Black Dirt led him to follow the same path that gained him the award last year. Entered back into the Jockey Guild Gold Cup, he tired from the lead to finish second. In the Breeders’ Bowl Classic this year, he also tired from being on the lead, but did hit the board with a third place finish. Currenly ranked 44th in route races, Twist Twist looks to have a few good races still in him.
Union Jack Flyer won the 2011 Older Mare on Dirt for trainer Poowillck after wins in four G1 races starting with the Original Margarita Invitational and ending with a Breeders’ Bowl in the Distaff. A brief winter rest found this gal in shape as she easily started the 2012 season with a win in an allowance race.
By June, Union Jack Flyer would start a streak of 4 consecutive grade level wins, three in G1 events which included the Very Vane, Go for the Gold Stakes and the Great Dame. The streak ended when she made her third consecutive appearance in the Breeders Bowl Distaff. She finished fifth, which she did back in 2010, sandwiching around her win last year. She is now ranked #1 in the dirt route class and the 2012 season she is having could very well get her nominated for another Eclipse award this year.
Signs of Change took the Older Horse on Turf under the leadership of trainer Eml1. Winning 5 graded stakes, of which four were consecutively done, this guy earned the Eclipse award. The flagship of wins came in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf. 2012 did not start off with a bang. After a layoff this past March due to an injury, he returned to the track in June, however, at the allowance level.
The allowance start was the right move, as he finished with a sharp second and immediately advanced back to the graded level. From July through October, Signs of Change finished second a total of three times and notched a win in the G2 Kergorlay. He returned to the Breeders’ Bowl Turf for the November running, finishing a decent third. His last start was in the early December Japan Classic and he never fired up his late speed as he finished a chilling ninth. Currently ranked 25th in long routes, Signs of Change has had some solid starts as well as some forgettable ones.
Network News picked up the Older Mare on Turf for Lenny11 last season. She earned the award while recording a record of 7-3-1 in 11 starts. Five of the wins were in graded races and she missed by a quarter-length in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf Sprint where she finished second.
The 2012 season has not been as fruitful. Her record is 1-3-1 in eight starts this season. Her sole win for the season came in the non-grade Friendlypersuasion Turf Mare Challenge as the 6-5 betting choice. Most recently, she made a re-appearance in the Breeders’ Bowl Turf Sprint finishing a mid-field eighth. Despite having only a second and a third in graded competition this season, Network News remains ranked #1 in sprint racing for her age category.
Rozelle Zapper was the champion Sprinter of Dirt in 2011, trained by Thebandit. To his credit, he picked up G1 victories late in the season in the Iceberg and Breeders’ Bowl Sprint. After a second in the DPCD Sprint Championship, he took the winter off.
2012 kicked off with the non-grade Swift Allen Dirt Dash in March. Still a bit rusty from the layoff, he finished the race in seventh. With hopes that the second race would be a charm, Thebandit moved this 5-year old into the G1 Sand Castle Golding Sprint. Improvement was not seen as Rozelle Zapper finished ninth. He’s had two starts following this event, the last was at the end of June where he was off the board in both starts. The poor results this year has dropped this nicely bred horse to 227th in the sprint class.
SUMMARY
And there you have it race fans, the look-back at last year’s Eclipse Winners. Out of this group, I feel that Neo Forty and Union Jack Flyer have the best chances of the group to be nominated again this year, although you never know, there could be a few surprises too.