The best of 2021, through one scribe’s Eclipse Award ballot

One of my favourite things astir turning the leafage connected a caller twelvemonth is the accidental it affords to revisit the 1 conscionable past.

In this space, that means reliving a fewer little shining moments of 2021 that mightiness person been overlooked oregon underappreciated during what wide was a pugnacious twelvemonth for the athletics of equine racing.

My yearly travel down representation lane comes from doing my homework earlier voting successful the yearly Eclipse Awards, which volition beryllium presented Feb. 10 astatine Santa Anita Park.

So beryllium backmost and bask a fewer bully memories from the twelvemonth that was:

Horse of the Year

and Older Dirt Male

It’s hard for maine to spot either of these trophies going to anyone different than Knicks Go. The Brad Cox-trained 5-year-old won 5 of his six U.S. starts, capped by a comparatively casual triumph successful the $6 cardinal Breeders’ Cup Classic. Foes ever knew helium was going to travel the proposal of legendary East Coast trainer “Father Bill” Daly, who past has it told immoderate forgotten jockey to “go to the beforehand and amended your position,” but nary could bash thing astir it astatine distances of 1⅛th oregon 1¼ miles. We should get to spot him successful enactment 1 much clip aboriginal this period successful the $3 cardinal Pegasus World Cup Invitational. I had Maxfield 2nd and Silver State third.

Older Dirt Female

Letruska deserves the laurels for her assemblage of work, which included six graded-stakes victories for Mexico-based trainer Fausto Gutierrez, 4 of them Grade 1s. Shedaresthedevil was my 2nd choice, with As Time Goes By successful third.

2-year-old honors

In the colts division, the Bob Baffert-trained Corniche seems a shoo-in, unless there’s immoderate benignant of protestation ballot due to the fact that of the contention hanging implicit the Hall of Fame trainer from Medina Spirit’s inactive unresolved cause affirmative aft winning the Kentucky Derby. This colt did thing incorrect successful a three-for-three play that culminated with a triumph successful the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. In the fillies division, you can’t look past Echo Zulu, who finished the twelvemonth with 4 wins from 4 starts, including a waltz successful the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

3-year-olds

This was astir apt the closest telephone for me, but Essential Quality got my ballot arsenic the apical colt. He won 5 of 7 starts, astir notably the Belmont and Travers Stakes. Medina Spirit was a adjacent second, successful my estimation, adjacent though helium finished up of Essential Quality some times they met. The ill-fated colt, who died aft completing a workout connected Dec. 6 and remains the Kentucky Derby victor for now, won 3 graded stakes, however, to Essential Quality’s five. Life is Good, the champion miler, and Jackie’s Warrior, the champion sprinter, some merit accolades arsenic well, but my 3rd placing went to the former. In the fillies division, I gave it to Malathaat, victor of 3 Grade 1s and ne'er disconnected the committee successful 5 starts. I could spot immoderate opting for Going Global, a five-time graded stakes victor successful California who seems the lone morganatic threat.

And the rest

My different apical equine selections: Sprint: Jackie’s Warrior, narrowly implicit Aloha West and Golden Pal; Female Sprint: Gamine, with Ce Ce and Bella Sophia successful the insignificant placings; Male Turf: Colonel Liam by a whisker implicit Domestic Spending and Smooth Like Strait; Female Turf: the precocious Santa Barbara, implicit Althiqa and Going Global.

For the humans: Cox repeats arsenic apical conditioner, edging retired caller all-time winningest trainer Steve Asmussen. Don’t spot however you could contradict Joel Rosario his archetypal Eclipse Award arsenic apical rider, fixed helium astir broke the all-time net record. Jessica Pyfer was apical apprentice, riding successful the pugnacious Southern California colony. Time to admit Godolphin arsenic Owner and Breeder of the Year, aft the unchangeable tally by the ruling household of Dubai topped astir each category. A peculiar nod, though, to Maryland breeder Angie Moore, who produced Knicks Go astatine her humble Greenmount Farm operation.

Mike Brunker’s equine racing file appears Fridays. He tin beryllium reached astatine mbrunker@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker connected Twitter.