Virtual Eclipse Awards Thursday

The 50th annual Eclipse Awards, honoring champions of 2020, will be held virtually Thursday beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET. The ceremony, presented by Spendthrift Farm, will be televised on TVG and RTN and streamed by a number of other industry outlets, including on the TDN website. The official digital program can be viewed at NTRA.com. GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief) appears likely to take home Horse of the Year honors, along with champion 3-year-old male for a 2020 campaign that also included a win in the GI TVG.com Haskell S. and seconds in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and GI Preakness S. Fellow Bob Baffert trainee Improbable (City Zip) is also a Horse of the Year finalist as well as presumed champion older male. He took a trio of prestigious Grade I events last year–the Hollywood Gold Cup S., Whitney S. and Awesome Again S. before finishing second in the Classic. Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), the leader in the champion  older female category, rounds out the Horse of the Year finalists. Named champion 3-year-old filly in 2018, the Brad Cox pupil missed of all 2019, but capped a four-for-four 5-year-old season with her second GI Breeders' Cup Distaff title. She subsequently sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at Fasig-Tipton November. See Friday's TDN for a complete recap of the awards.

The post Virtual Eclipse Awards Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Ghaiyyath Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was officially named Longines World's Best Racehorse on Tuesday having been assessed to have posted the top two performances of 2020. His high mark of 130 was gained in the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York, which was also named Longines World's Best Horserace for the first time. The former Charlie Appleby trainee also recorded a mark of 127 in the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup which, in a pandemic-disrupted season, was moved from Epsom to Newmarket.

Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud from the 2006 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Nightime (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Ghaiyyath won his first four starts in 2020, starting out with a facile victory in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. at Meydan in track record time. Returning to the UK, the 5-year-old beat the previous season's Derby winner Athony Van Dyck (Ire) in the Coronation Cup before claiming an even bigger scalp with his victory over Enable (GB) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse. His championship performance came with his three-length strike in the International, in which fellow Group 1 winners Magical (Ire), Lord North (Ire) and Kameko filled the minor places. Ghaiyyath has now retired to his owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's Kildangan Stud in Ireland.

“In some ways he was the perfect racehorse; he had so many positive attributes,” said Joe Osborne, managing director of Godolphin Ireland. “He campaigned internationally and he was at that age to have reached his peak form. He was the kind of brand ambassador that Godolphin has been famous for down the years. His high cruising speed and his ability to find acceleration at the end of his races was what really set him apart.”

Charlie Appleby added, “It was a great privilege to be involved with a horse like Ghaiyyath. Right from the start he was one of the horses we were very find of and to train a horse like this for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and for Godolphin was a great honour.

“The most pleasing victory in 2020 was the Juddmonte International. I felt it just confirmed what we had seen in the Eclipse when he beat Enable.”

The ongoing Covid-19 restrictions meant that for the first time the awards, organised for the eighth year in tandem by Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), were presented in an online ceremony hosted by Francesca Cumani as Newmarket's National Horseracing Museum instead of in London.

A stellar season for the Bob Baffert-trained Authentic (Into Mischief) saw him win the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell S. but it was his 2 1/4-length victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic which was judged to be his standout performance of the year on 126,. This placed him second overall in the rankings and made him the world's best 3-year-old and highest-rated dirt horse.

Authentic is now at stud at Spendthrift Farm, which comprised one part of his large syndicate of owners during his racing days. The group included Myracehorse Stable, with members in every state in America and from more than 20 countries around the world.

“I used to love looking forward to making that trip to London even though it was always freezing,” said Baffert via video link from his home in California. The trainer was also responsible for Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup Classic winner American Pharoah, who was the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2015, as well as Arrogate, the world's top-rated horse of 2016 and 2017.

He continued, “Authentic was just getting better and better and better. He had a lot of speed and he could carry a mile and a quarter effortlessly. It takes a really good horse to win the Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic. Is it's just an honour to be involved in this. Racing is all about bragging rights so to have a horse as good as this is what it's all about.”

There was a seven-way tie for third between horses trained in Britain, France, America and Australia on a ranking of 125. Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) won three Group 1 races in two different hemispheres for the William Haggas stable in 2020 but it was his season-closing victory in the QIPCO British Champion S. for which he gained top marks, alongside fellow Newmarket resident Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}). The latter was the top-rated European 3-year-old, gaining his mark for his run in the G1 Prix du Haras Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville. Juddmonte's Kingman is also the sire of Persian King (Ire), ranked equal to Palace Pier on 125 after winning the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, while Palace Pier's stablemate Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is again the top stayer in the world having run to 125 when winning the G1 Gold Cup for the third time at Royal Ascot.

The Barclay Tagg-trained Tiz The Law (Constitution) was also awarded 125 for his GI Runhappy Travers S. victory, and  that mark was also achieved by Australian sprinters Bivouac (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) in the G1 Darley Sprint Classic and The TAB Everest respectively. 

Japan's recently retired Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), trained by Sakae Kunieda, was judged to have run to a mark of 124 on two occasions, when winning the GI Victoria Mile and GI Longines Japan Cup for the second time. That same mark was awarded to her compatriot, the Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), whose first taste of defeat came when finishing runner-up to Almond Eye in the Japan Cup.

Also in equal-tenth place on 124 was Hong Kong star Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), now the winner of 15 of his 16 races and gaining his top mark in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile. The impressive victory of Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G1 Qatar Sussex S. and of Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) in the G1 TJ Smith S. also gained marks of 124.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) headed a quintet in joint-15th place on 123.  They included Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's crack sprinter Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), G1 Prince of Wales's S.winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and the Japanese duo of GI Tenno Sho runner-up Fierement (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Improbable (City Zip) was another to reach 123, a mark he gained twice, in the GI Whitney S. and GI Awesome Again S.

The best performance of 2020 for Juddmonte superstar Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) was her record third victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S, for which she was awarded a mark of 122. This same rating was given to Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for her victories in the Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks, as well as 2000 Guineas winner Kameko (Kitten's Joy) for his G2 Shadwell Joel S. success, and to the previous season's European champion 2-year-old Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal). Also on 122 were Maximum Security (New Year's Day), Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock {Aus}), Gamine (Into Mischief), In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike).

Of the 56 horses in the world with a rating of 120 or more in 2020, 14 were trained in Britain, 11 in America, 10 in Ireland, and seven in Japan, while France, Australia and Hong Kong accounted for four apiece, and two were trained in South Africa.

Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who was the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2011 and 2012, achieved the highest-ever rating of 140.

The post Ghaiyyath Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl to Fight Out Horse Of The Year

Authentic (Into Mischief), winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic; ‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable (City Zip), a dual Grade I winner and runner-up in the Classic; and Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), who capped a four-for-four season with a second victory in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, are the finalists for 2020 Horse of the Year as Eclipse Award finalists were announced Saturday on TVG.

Authentic is one of three individual Eclipse finalists in four separate categories for the all-conquering Into Mischief, whose daughter Gamine was nominated for both 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter in a campaign that saw her post wide-margin victories in the GI Longines Acorn S. and GI Test S. against her peers and a defeat of fellow dual-category finalist Serengeti Empress (Alternation) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Into Mischief’s third finalist is Dayoutoutoftheoffice, who defeated Vequist (Nyquist) in the GI Frizette S. in October before the latter turned the tables on Breeders’ Cup Friday at Keeneland. Nyquist is the lone freshman sire of 2020 to be represented by a finalist.

Improbable, who is also a favorite for champion dirt male, was a convincing winner of the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita, the GI Whitney S. and GI Awesome Again S. before falling 2 1/4 lengths shy in the Classic. Monomoy Girl missed the entirety of the 2019 season with a series of setbacks, but proved the queen of the mountain in the dirt female division, completing her undefeated campaign with a smooth win in the Distaff over Valiance (Tapit). She later sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars and remains in training for a 6-year-old season in 2020.

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) was also named a finalist in two divisions (dirt male and sprinter), while recent Lane’s End Farm import Daredevil is the only other stallion to have multiple finalists, with GI Preakness S. heroine Swiss Skydiver and GI Kentucky Oaks upsetter Shedaresthedevil each in the running for champion 3-year-old filly.

The other Eclipse Award finalists, which include no fewer than six ‘TDN Rising Stars’ are as follows:

2YO Male

Essential Quality (Tapit), ‘TDN Rising Star

Fire At Will (Declaration of War)

Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music)

 

2YO Female

Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), ‘TDN Rising Star

Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief)

Vequist (Nyquist)

 

3YO Male

Authentic (Into Mischief)

Nadal (Blame), ‘TDN Rising Star

Tiz The Law (Constitution)

 

3YO Female

Gamine (Into Mischief), ‘TDN Rising Star

Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil)

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil)

 

Older Dirt Male

Improbable (City Zip), ‘TDN Rising Star

Maximum Security (New Year’s Day)

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg})

 

Dirt Female

Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute)

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar)

Serengeti Empress (Alternation)

 

Male Sprinter

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg})

Volatile (Violence)

Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect)

 

Female Sprinter

Gamine (Into Mischief), ‘TDN Rising Star

Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead)

Serengeti Empress (Alternation)

 

Turf Male

Channel Maker (English Channel)

Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB})

Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire})

 

Turf Female

Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB})

Rushing Fall (More Than Ready), ‘TDN Rising Star

Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal)

 

Steeplechase

Moscato (GB) (Hernando {Fr})

Rashaan (Ire) (Manduro {Ger})

Snap Decision (Hard Spun)

 

Horse of the Year

Authentic (Into Mischief)

Improbable (City Zip)

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar)

 

Owner

Godolphin

Klaravich Stables

Spendthrift/MyRacehorse/Madaket/Starlight

 

Breeder

Peter Blum Thoroughbreds

Calumet Farm

WinStar Farm LLC

 

Jockey

Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Joel Rosario

John Velazquez

 

Apprentice

Luis Cardenas

Yarmarie Correa

Alexander Crispin

 

Trainer

Steve Asmussen

Bob Baffert

Brad Cox

 

The post Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl to Fight Out Horse Of The Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Horse Of The Year, 16 Divisional Eclipse Awards Finalists Named

Led by Horse of the Year candidates Authentic, Improbable and Monomoy Girl, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) on Saturday announced the finalists for the 2020 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing.

Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on TVG, and other outlets, during a virtual ceremony of the 50th annual Eclipse Awards, presented by Spendthrift Farm, on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. ET.

Of the 249 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel,  the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 238 (95.58%) took part in the voting. Finalists were determined in each category by voters' top three selections, using a 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are determined solely by first-place votes.

The 2020 Eclipse Awards finalists (in alphabetical order) are:

Horse of the Year:         Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl

Two-Year-Old Male:      Essential Quality, Fire At Will, Jackie's Warrior

Two-Year-Old Filly:       Aunt Pearl (IRE), Dayoutoftheoffice, Vequist

Three-Year-Old Male:   Authentic, Nadal, Tiz the Law

Three-Year-Old Filly:    Gamine, Shedaresthedevil, Swiss Skydiver

Older Dirt Male:            Improbable, Maximum Security, Vekoma

Older Dirt Female:       Midnight Bisou, Monomoy Girl, Serengeti Empress

Male Sprinter:               Vekoma, Volatile, Whitmore

Female Sprinter:           Gamine, Glass Slippers (GB), Serengeti Empress

Male Turf Horse:           Channel Maker, Order of Australia (IRE), Zulu Alpha

Female Turf Horse:       Audarya (FR), Rushing Fall, Tarnawa (IRE)

Steeplechase Horse:    Moscato (GB), Rashaan (IRE), Snap Decision

Owner:                         Godolphin LLC; Klaravich Stables Inc.; Spendthrift Farm LLC, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, and Starlight Racing

Breeder:                        Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds LLC, Calumet Farm, WinStar Farm LLC

Trainer:                         Steve Asmussen, Bob Baffert, Brad Cox

Jockey:                         Irad Ortiz, Jr., Joel Rosario, John Velazquez

Apprentice Jockey:     Luis Cardenas, Yarmarie Correa, Alexander Crispin

In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Thomas Goldsmith will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2020 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.

Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), and Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

The Eclipse Awards are sponsored by Spendthrift Farm, Keeneland, Racetrack Television Network, Four Roses Bourbon, Daily Racing Form, Breeders' Cup, FanDuel Group, The Stronach Group, TVG, Dean Dorton, Stonestreet Farm, Jackson Family Wines, Florida HBPA, Runhappy, Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, Hallway Feeds and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.

The post Horse Of The Year, 16 Divisional Eclipse Awards Finalists Named appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights