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Why I Voted for Taiba

Who was the most talented 3-year-old male to race this year? I will not argue with anyone who says the answer is Epicenter (Not This Time). He won the GII Louisiana Derby, finished second in the GI Kentucky Derby and second in the GI Preakness S. From there, he won the GII Jim Dandy S. and the GI Runhappy Travers S. before an injury kept him from finishing the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Other than the Classic, he finished first or second in all of his starts and won four graded stakes. Classy, talented, consistent, Epicenter checked a lot of boxes.

But was he the most accomplished 3-year-old male to race in 2022 and what bearing should that have on the Eclipse Awards? That's where this gets tricky. After his win in the Travers, it looked like Epicenter had wrapped up the 3-year-old championship, but he never won again, while Taiba (Gun Runner) finished the year with a flourish. He won the GI Pennsylvania Derby, finished third in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and, on Monday, won the GI Runhappy Malibu S. at Santa Anita. Earlier in the year, he won the GI Santa Anita Derby, in what was just his second career start.

Some want to argue that Taiba wasn't overly impressive in the Malibu, that he didn't beat a great field and that his time for the seven furlongs was just .24 seconds faster than the fillies went two races earlier in the GI La Brea S. None of that matters, a Grade I win is a Grade I win and, for Taiba, it was his third this year. Epicenter won only one Grade I, the Travers.

So do you go with the best horse (probably Epicenter) or the one who accomplished the most (probably Taiba)? There's no wrong answer here, but I have always given preference to the horses who won the most Grade I races and the score is Taiba 3-Epicenter 1. That's why I filled out my ballot for Taiba.

For a horse to be deserving of a championship they must have succeeded at the highest levels of the sport. The way we keep score is with the graded stakes system and Grade I's are the gold standard when it comes to accomplishments. In this one very important category, Taiba was clearly the winner over Epicenter.

When it comes to head-to-head competition, neither comes out ahead. Epicenter finished in front of Taiba in the Kentucky Derby, but Taiba was making just his third lifetime start and wasn't ready for such a tough assignment. Taiba finished ahead of Epicenter in the Breeders' Cup Classic, but you can't fault Epicenter for being injured. Had trainer Bob Baffert not been suspended by NYRA, Taiba very well could have faced Epicenter in the Travers, a race that could have gone a long way toward proving who was better, but we weren't lucky enough to see that showdown.

A lot of Epicenter fans say he should be rewarded for his body of work. But what about Taiba's body of work? He started seven times and won four races. That's comparable to Epicenter, who ran eight times and also won four starts.

As is usually the case, most other Eclipse categories were no-brainers. There were, however, a couple of races worthy of debate.

I was ready to vote for War Like Goddess (English Channel) after she ran a creditable third against males in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. That race came after she beat the boys in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. But my vote went to Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom). The vote was based on the same logic I used for Taiba-versus-Epicenter. Regal Glory won three Grade I races and War Like Goddess won only one.

In the human categories, Irad Ortiz Jr. (jockey), Todd Pletcher (trainer), Godolphin (owner and breeder) were all obvious winners. The one vote I cast that went against the grain was in the apprentice jockey category. I voted for Vicente Del-Cid, who dominated at Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs. While it's true he didn't ride at top-tier tracks, through Dec. 26 he had 274 wins. Trailing only Irad Ortiz, that's second best in the country and 91 wins ahead of Jeiron Barbosa, second in that category among bugs. It won't be long before Del-Cid is winning races on a regular basis at a top track.

The Eclipse Awards ceremony honoring this year's champions will be held Jan. 26, 2023, at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida. It's then that we will find out if the 3-year-old title goes to Epicenter or Taiba. Both are deserving winners, it's just that Taiba deserves it a little more.

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Kimura, Casse Win 2022 Woodbine Titles

Eclipse and Sovereign Award winner Kazushi Kimura earned his second consecutive Woodbine jockey crown at the recently concluded Woodbine Thoroughbred meet with 152 wins. Overall his mounts earned $8.9 million (CDN).

Born in Hokkaido, Japan, Kimura joined the Woodbine jockey colony as a 19-year-old apprentice in 2018. He finished his first Woodbine campaign sixth in the standings with 89 wins and his mounts totaled more than $2.3 million in earnings which earned him an Eclipse Award as North America's outstanding apprentice jockey. He also took home the Sovereign Award as top apprentice in both 2018 and 2019, and was Canada's outstanding journeyman rider in 2021.

This year, Kimura won 15 stakes–six graded–at the Toronto oval, including the GI E.P. Taylor with Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) and the GII King Edward aboard Filo Di Arianna (Brz) (Karakontie {Jpn}).

Rafael Hernandez, who finished second with 122 wins, led the way with 17 stakes victories, including the Queen's Plate (to be known starting in 2023 for the first time in more than 70 years as the King's Plate) with the Kevin Attard-trained Moira (Ghostzapper).

Mark Casse topped the trainer leaderboard for the 14th time, saddling 119 winners and banking $9.9 million (CDN) in purse earnings. Casse-trained runners recorded 22 Woodbine stakes victories–13 of them graded.

Al and Bill Ulwelling were the leading money-winning owner of the meet for the first time with $1.6 million (CDN) in purses. Bruno Schickedanz led all owners with 45 wins.

Epilogue and Who's the Star led all horses with five wins each at the meet.

Live Thoroughbred racing will return to Woodbine next spring. Visit woodbine.com throughout the winter for news, notes, features, and other coverage of Woodbine-based horse people.

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‘Ring The Bell’ Program Returns to Oaklawn to Benefit Aftercare

After some test rings last spring, Oaklawn's fund-raising efforts for local Thoroughbred aftercare began in earnest Dec. 9 with the opening of its scheduled 68-day live racing season. The final six days of the 2021-2022 meeting raised $14,000 through the new “Ring the Bell” program, which gives winning connections following each race an opportunity to donate at least $100 toward aftercare.

Money raised is earmarked for the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program and Rehabilitation Foundation Inc., a collaboration between the Arkansas division of the Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and Oaklawn. It was recently established as a safe path to a second career for Oaklawn-raced horses upon retirement.

Donations are signaled–loudly–by hand ringing a large copper-colored bell hung in the back of the Larry Snyder Winner's Circle. The idea of intertwining a bell with aftercare was the brainchild of trainer Ron Moquett, best known for his work with Whitmore, a seven-time Oaklawn stakes winner and 2020 Eclipse Award Champion male sprinter.

“I wanted to bring attention and give everybody the opportunity to, when they're at their happiest, they can help right then,” Moquett said. “Ring that bell and it starts up a conversation. 'Hey, that bell is ringing for the respect and love of the horse.' The bell is symbolic and it teaches everybody through the whole grandstand that whenever you hear that bell, that means somebody has donated money to the retired racehorse program. We'd like to hear the bell ring every race, every day. What the sound means is we're helping retired racehorses.”

For more information about the organization, visit the Arkansas Thoroughbred Retirement Program website.

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Will Take Charge To Darley Japan

Champion Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song–Take Charge Lady, by Dehere), whose 13 black-type winners includes this year's GI Hollywood Gold Cup hero There Goes Harvard, will join the stallion roster at Darley Japan in 2023, according to a post on the nursery's website. Will Take Charge has stood his first eight seasons at stud at Three Chimneys Farm.

Campaigned by the late Willis Horton during his first two seasons at the races and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Will Take Charge won the 2013 GI Travers S. and GII Pennsylvania Derby before dropping a heartbreaking decision in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic. A defeat of his elders in the GI Clark H. secured him the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male. With Three Chimneys joining in as part-owner for his 4-year-old season, the blaze-faced chestnut won the GII Oaklawn H. at Horton's home track and was placed in the GI Stephen Foster H. and GI Whitney S. prior to his retirement to stud.

Overall, Will Take Charge is the sire of 224 winners from five crops to race and a dozen stakes winners in addition to There Goes Harvard, including this year's GII Phoenix S. upsetter Manny Wah and Grade III winners Will's Secret and Abaan. His four Japanese winners from five to race includes France Go de Ina, who participated in the 2021 GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S.

Will Take Charge is out of the gifted MGISW Take Charge Lady, making him a half-brother to WinStar stallion Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy); GISW As Time Goes By (American Pharoah); and to Charming (Seeking the Gold), the dam of promising young Spendthrift sire Omaha Beach (War Front) and Horton's Eclipse Award winner Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway). This is also the family of GISP 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (Tapit) and of Japanese MSW Strong Souther (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), a son of Take Charge Lady's MSW/GSP half-sister Eventail (Lear Fan).

“We are delighted to be able to introduce this horse at a time when he has produced a Grade I winner in the U.S. and has further enhanced his reputation in Japan,” said Darley Japan CEO Harry Sweeney. “We are confident he will be a success in Japan.”

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