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Apparently with the way the Eclipse Awards voting works it is impossible for Wise Dan to be Horse of the Year and NOT be the Turf Horse of the year as well. But let's assume that we can separate the two out. Does Wise Dan still deserve the Turf accolades? The way I see it, there are three main candidates:
Point of Entry: $1,746,600 earnings in 2012
|
Grade |
Race |
Finish |
Surface |
|
G1 |
BC Turf |
2nd |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Man o' War Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G2 |
Elkhorn Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
Wise Dan: $2,622,037 earnings in 2012
|
Grade |
Race |
Finish |
Surface |
|
G1 |
Breeders' Cup Mile |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Ricoh Woodbine Mile Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G2 |
Fourstardave Handicap |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Stephen Foster Handicap |
2nd |
Dirt |
|
G3 |
Ben Ali Stakes |
1st |
AWT |
Little Mike: $2,668,742 earnings in 2012
|
Grade |
Race |
Finish |
Surface |
|
G1 |
Breeders' Cup Turf |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes |
5th |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Arlington Million Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Shoemaker Mile Stakes |
3rd |
Turf |
|
G1 |
Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
|
G3 |
Canadian Turf Stakes |
4th |
Turf |
|
UnGr |
Florida Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes |
1st |
Turf |
Point of Entry showed that when in top form, he's nearly impossible to beat. He's also a great story since he was running in AOC and Allowance races at the beginning of the year. Wise Dan is obviously horse of the year, but was not the most dominant at the classic turf distance of 12 furlongs. Little Mike won three of the biggest (maybe even THE three biggest) classic distance-ish turf races in North America in the Arlington Million, the Woodford, and the BC Turf. So who is the best TURF horse?