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Friday, Jan. 09, 2009

Curlin, Big Brown top Eclipse finalists

After a racing season filled with many twists and turns, there was relatively little drama when the finalists for the 2008 Eclipse Awards were announced on Thursday.

To the surprise of no one, reigning champion Curlin, dual classic winner Big Brown, and undefeated Zenyatta headlined the list of finalists for their respective divisions with each expected to contend for Horse of the Year honors when the Eclipse Award ceremony is held Jan. 26 in Miami.

Finalists for Horse of the Year will be announced at the ceremony.

Curlin, who is aiming to become the first horse since Cigar (1995-96) to win back-to-back Horse of the Year honors, established the North American record for career earnings this season with a bankroll of more than $10.5 million. He is the overwhelming favorite to take home the older male championship over fellow finalists Einstein and Commentator.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown is the odds-on pick to claim 3-year-old male honors over Colonel John and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Raven's Pass while Zenyatta, unbeaten in nine career starts including her win in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, is a virtual lock to be named champion older female over defending divisional champion Ginger Punch and Grade I winner Cocoa Beach.

"It's not in our hands (if she wins Horse of the Year)," owner Jerry Moss said of Zenyatta after her Breeders' Cup win. "That's not our concern. She seems to be at the top of her division rather firmly and to have a champion would be the ultimate thrill for us. It would be our first one."

In what is arguably the deepest category on the ballot, multiple Grade I winners Proud Spell and Music Note were both among the finalists for champion 3-year-old filly, as was the ill-fated Eight Belles, runner-up in the 2008 Kentucky Derby.

While Music Note earned three Grade I wins to Proud Spell's two, Proud Spell won what is considered the two biggest filly races in the Kentucky Oaks and the Alabama Stakes. In the Alabama, she defeated Music Note by a head after losing to her rival in the Mother Goose Stakes.

Another tight category could be the race for champion turf female between European-based Goldikova and Forever Together. Both Goldikova and Forever Together won Breeders' Cup races (Goldikova beat males in the Mile and Forever Together won the Filly and Mare Turf) and each has three Grade/Group I wins this year.

Grade I winner Cocoa Beach is also a finalist for turf female in addition to being up for older female honors.

Like their dominant charges, those in the camps of Big Brown and Curlin were also among the Eclipse finalists.

Curlin trainer Steve Asmussen and Big Brown trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. are both up for champion trainer along with Bobby Frankel.

While Dutrow has two potential champions in Big Brown and Benny the Bull — a finalist for top male sprinter — many believe this is the year Asmussen will win his first Eclipse Award after he shattered his own North American record for wins in a single season with 622.

Curlin's regular rider Robby Albarado is a finalist for champion jockey, but he would be hard pressed to overtake Garrett Gomez, who led the nation in both earnings and graded stakes wins.

IEAH Stables, majority owners of Big Brown, won 11 Grade I races this year, good enough to make them a finalist for champion owner along with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Godolphin Racing and Stronach Stables, which was second in the nation in earnings.

The race for leading owner featured a couple of mildly surprising omissions as Ahmed Zayat, whose Zayat Stables led the nation in earnings with $6,883,902, and Jess Jackson, owner of Curlin, were not among the finalists.

Other notable finalists include last year's champion 2-year-old filly Indian Blessing, who is up for champion female sprinter this season; the Helen Pitts-trained Einstein, a finalist for both older male and champion turf male; Midshipman and Stardom Bound, the heavy favorites to win champion 2-year-old male and champion 2-year-old female, respectively, and Stonerside Stable, up for champion breeder along with Adena Springs and WinStar Farm.

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by three groups: the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, National Turf Writers Association, and Daily Racing Form.