Havre de Grace Named 2011 Horse Of The Year
by Matt Gardner on Jan 16, 2012 10:46 PM EST
in General Horse Racing
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Havre de Grace, winner of the the Azeri, Apple Blossom, Obeah, Woodward and Beldame during a fantastic 2011 racing season, became the third consecutive filly to be named Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards. Rachel Alexandra was named Horse of the Year in 2009, followed by Zenyatta in 2010. Havre de Grace was also named Champion Older Filly at this year's Eclipse Awards.
Havre de Grace, a daughter of Saint Liam out of a Carson City mare (Easter Bunnette), is owned by Fox Hill Farms and trained by Larry Jones.
Below are all the winners of the 2011 Eclipse Awards, as voted on by the Daily Racing Form, NTRA and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association.
Horse of the Year: Havre de Grace
Older Male: Acclamation
Older Female: Havre de Grace
3YO Male: Animal Kingdom
3YO Female: Royal Delta
Male Turf: Cape Blanco (IRE)
Female Turf: Stacelita (FR)
Male Sprinter: Amazombie
Female Sprinter: Musical Romance
2YO Male: Hansen
2YO Female: My Miss Aurelia
Steeplechase: Black Jack Blues
Trainer: Bill Mott
Breeder: Adena Springs
Owner: Ken and Sarah Ramsey
Jockey: Ramon Dominguez
Apprentice Jockey: Kyle Frey
Award of Merit: Cot Campbell
Special Eclipse Award: Rapid Redux
Photography: Bob Mayberger, Sports Illustrated Snapshot
Writing - Feature: Claire Novak, ESPN.com
Writing - News: Jennie Reese, Louisville Courier-Journal
Television - Live Racing: ESPN, The Breeders' Cup Classic
Television - Feature: HRTV, Inside Information/Randy Romero
Audio and Multi-Media Internet: Thoroughbred Times
Some thoughts on tonight's winners below the jump.
- Animal Kingdom edged out Caleb's Posse by three votes (114 to 111) to win Champion Three-Year-Old of 2011, carrying on a tradition that rewards horses that win a Triple Crown race. I noted a couple of months ago that 2011 looked like it would be only the eighth time in 51 years that a horse that didn't win a Triple Crown race would be named the top three-year-old in the country (Caleb's Posse). After all, Caleb's Posse won the Breeders' Cup Mile, the King's Bishop, the Amsterdam, and the Ohio Derby. That, to me, is enough to overcome Animal Kingdom's Derby and Spiral Stakes. Apparently, it wasn't enough for the voters.
- I thought that the juvenile male category would be fairly close but Hansen ran away from Union Rags, winning by a final score of 194 to 52. Secret Circle garnered one vote.
- My Miss Aurelia win in the juvenile fillies category was almost unanimous. Almost. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner received 247 votes. Stephanie's Kitten received one.
- Another category that I thought would be closer was the Eclipse Award for Female Sprinter battle between Musical Romance, Hilda's Passion and Sassy Image. In the end, the voting wasn't that close; Musical Romance bested Hilda's Passion by a 131 to 52 count. Sassy Image pulled in 46 votes.
Top three voting, via the Daily Racing Form:
| Award | First | # | Second | # | Third | # |
| Horse of the Year | Havre de Grace | 166 | Acclamation | 26 | Game On Dude | 10 |
| 2YO Male | Hansen | 194 | Union Rags | 52 | Secret Circle | 1 |
| 2YO Female | My Miss Aurelia | 247 | Stephanie's Kitten | 1 | ||
| 3YO Male | Animal Kingdom | 114 | Caleb's Posse | 111 | Shackleford | 12 |
| 3YO Female | Royal Delta | 243 | Awesome Feather | 2 | Plum Pretty | 2 |
| Older Male | Acclamation | 95 | Game On Dude | 70 | Tizway | 52 |
| Older Female | Havre de Grace | 245 | Blind Luck | 2 | Awesome Maria | 1 |
| Male Turf | Cape Blanco (IRE) | 172 | Acclamation | 55 | St Nicholas Abbey (IRE) | 16 |
| Female Turf | Stacelita (FR) | 158 | Perfect Shirl | 28 | Never Retreat | 25 |
| Male Sprinter | Amazombie | 201 | Caleb's Posse | 42 | Regally Ready | 2 |
| Female Sprinter | Musical Romance | 131 | Hilda's Passion | 53 | Sassy Image | 46 |
| Steeplechase | Black Jack Blues (IRE) | 137 | Tax Ruling | 80 | Decoy Daddy (IRE) | 1 |
| Trainer | Bill Mott | 83 | Bob Baffert | 60 | Todd Pletcher | 57 |
| Owner | Ken & Sarah Ramsey | 66 | Midwest Tbreds | 60 | Team Vaor | 25 |
| Breeder | Adena Springs | 151 | Ken & Sarah Ramsey | 62 | Ocala Stud | 5 |
| Jockey | Ramon Dominguez | 197 | John Velazquez | 30 | Javier Castellano | 14 |
| Apprentice | Kyle Frey | 77 | Ryan Curatolo | 57 | Rossario Montanez | 19 |
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very quick
with the post… nice job Matt
Jared L. Christopher
@TheDerbyTrail
by Jared L. Christopher on Jan 16, 2012 11:17 PM EST reply actions
I type fast...
but not always accurately!
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 16, 2012 11:22 PM EST up reply actions
Acclamation
Wins in 2011:
Jim Murray H. Grade 2- 12F Turf
Charles Whittingham Memorial H. Grade 1- 10F Turf
Eddie Read S. Grade 1- 9F Turf
TV Pacific Classic S Grade 1- 10F SYNTH
Hirsch Turf Championship S Grade 2- 10F TURF
and yet still I hear some grumbling about him winning Older Male. Won at multiple distances, two different surfaces and won 3 grade ones. A deserving champion if you ask me.
Definitely.
He did enough to win the award. I liked the year Tizway had but he didn’t run much in the later half of the year and that probably resonated with the voters. Plus, Acclamation ran at a high level all year long and it’s hard to discount multiple Grade 1 wins in a year where there weren’t a lot of horses pulling off that feat.
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2012 12:07 AM EST up reply actions
Yep
I’m not sure how a horse can win five stakes races on the year, four of which are graded and two are Grade 1s, and lose to a horse that won a single Grade 1 race and a Grade 3. The Derby is great but that’s way too much weight given to a single race.
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2012 12:27 AM EST up reply actions
Ridiculous
Yes, Animal Kingdom appears to be a fantastic horse with a very neat pedigree. Yes, he won the most highly publicized event in the sport. Yes, he almost won the Preakness. But no, he did not deserve the Eclipse Award.
Caleb’s Posse, while a later bloomer than several of his more publicized contemporaries (AK, Uncle Mo, Shack) put together a much better resume than any of those three even came close to.
Churchill Downs 11/05/11 Race 7 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile – Gr.1 1st
Hoosier Park 10/01/11 Race 12 Indiana Derby – Gr.2 3rd
Saratoga 8/27/11 Race 11 Foxwoods King’s Bishop Stakes – Gr.1 1st
Saratoga 8/01/11 Race 8 Amsterdam Stakes – Gr.2 1st
Prairie Meadows 6/25/11 Race 8 Iowa Derby – Gr.3 4th
Thistledown 6/04/11 Race 8 Ohio Derby – Gr.3 1st
Oaklawn Park 4/16/11 Race 11 Arkansas Derby – Gr.1 12th
Oaklawn Park 3/19/11 Race 10 Rebel Stakes – Gr.2 2nd
Oaklawn Park 2/21/11 Race 9 Southwest Stakes – Gr.3 6th
Oaklawn Park 1/17/11 Race 8 Smarty Jones Stakes 1st
Great, no Triple Crown victories, or even starts. But the overall body of work clearly puts him as the class of his peers. Saying that the 3yo of the year has to have won a Triple Crown race (and clearly the Derby is the preference) is exactly like saying the Horse of the Year has to have won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a claim that invalidates Zenyatta, Rachel, and Curlin in 2008 as the Horse(s) of the Year the past three years, not to mention Havre this year. Curlin won both in 2007, and Invasor (2006), Saint Liam (2005), and Ghostzapper (2004) did the same. But the two are not one in the same and to place undue emphasis on the Derby is a mistake. 3yos are still growing, and to disqualify late bloomers is plain ignorant.
Exactly, there's really no comparison between the two.
I think running throughout the whole year should count for something, as well. Sure, Caleb’s Posse didn’t win the “sexy” races, at least in the eyes of the casual fan, but he was clearly better over the entire year than Animal Kingdom.
Like you wrote, Animal Kingdom is a nice horse and he had a great win in the Derby, but his record isn’t anywhere close to as accomplished as Caleb’s Posse.
I’m curious as to how many of the voters actually follow the sport on a weekly basis; did they just not know about Caleb’s Posse? That’s the only way I can explain this result.
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2012 11:37 AM EST up reply actions
Clearly ESPN is obligated to be awarded the Live Racing Award
Since you can’t give it to HRTV/TVG and NBC couldn’t even manage to show the Dixie Stakes this past year.
I'm hoping NBCSN has ample opportunities to win it this year
although I’m kind of curious as to what the voters base their decisions on for that particular award.
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2012 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
More detailed voting
Steven Crist at the Daily Racing Form has a full breakdown of the entire voting in each category. As is usually the case, there are a few head scratchers among the votes, particularly the vote for Drosselmeyer as champion male turf horse. Yeah, turf horse. I don’t get it either.
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
I wonder how much of this is like the BBWAA
Where some of the guys haven’t written about baseball in years, but still have a vote. I wouldn’t be surprised if every writer at ESPN, FoxSports, and Sports Illustrated who has ever written a piece on the Derby has a vote as part of the Turf Writers Association. It just doesn’t make sense otherwise.
That's basically what I was thinking
Otherwise it’s hard to figure out how somebody that follows racing on a consistent basis and (presumably) as part of their job could make some of these votes.
Now, it could be that there was a mistake made. Last year someone voted for a horse other than Zenyatta as champion older mare until it was reported that the voter made a mistake on his ballot. And, honestly, that’s about the only way I could see someone voting for Drosselmeyer as champion turf horse considering his only start on turf in the G1-Sword Dancer saw him finish seventh beaten ten lengths!
"A bad day at the track is better than a good day at the office."
And Down The Stretch They Come | @PressThePace
by Matt Gardner on Jan 17, 2012 4:47 PM EST up reply actions
Hansen
While I thought Hansen was the 2 year old male of the year, I thought the voting would be much closer. Union Rags is a great horse. I truly hope these two have a great start to 2012 and wind up in the Ky Derby. derbydeals.com
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