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

 

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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.

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Mr. Monomoy Brings NY Pedigree to Waldorf Farm

Last year, veterinarian Jerry Bilinski and his wife Darlene celebrated the 25th anniversary of their purchase of Waldorf Farm, a stately property in North Chatham, New York, with hundreds of acres of rolling horse-friendly pastures and solid well-insulated barns.

Upon their purchase of the property, they also brought back its original name, Waldorf Farm, and began standing stallions and boarding broodmares.

Today, Bilinski foals between 105 to 110 mares each year.

This year, when Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice) begins his new career at stud, he will join Bustin Stones (City Zip) at Waldorf Farm. Mr. Monomoy will stand as the property of Climax Stallions, LLC, Michael Dubb and Madaket Stables. His initial stud fee has been announced as $5,000.

When Climax Stallions set out to find a prospect to stand in New York, Mr. Monomoy checked all of the boxes as the half-brother to a two-time Distaff winner in seven-time Grade I-winning champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar).

Mr. Monomoy’s sire Palace Malice (Curlin) won more than $2.6 million, raced until age five, and his titles include winner of both the GI Metropolitan H. and GI Belmont S. The Grade I-producing third-crop sire stands at Three Chimneys Farm.

A member of his sire’s first crop to hit the track, Mr. Monomoy broke his maiden under trainer Brad Cox in his second start as a two-year-old at Churchill Downs going 6 1/2 furlongs and winning by 5 1/2 lengths. After finishing in the money in his next two starts, including a third-place effort in the GIII Lecomte S. behind Enforceable (Tapit) and Silver State (Hard Spun), he culminated his career with a 2 1/2-length wire-to-wire victory in the GII Risen Star S., defeating those same rivals he had finished behind in his previous start.

“We are very excited to have such a high-caliber stallion here in New York,” said Jerry Bilinski. “This is a top-notch stallion for this region. We had talked to Sean Feld of Climax Stallions about eventually having a horse that we could stand here at Waldorf. We were just holding our breath that someday, that would happen. A month or two ago, he called, and the rest is history.”

Bilinski said that Mr. Monomoy has a physical that should easily attract breeders.

“He’s got great size to him and he’s got a great stride,” he said. “If you look at his conformation photos, you’ll see exactly what we mean–that he does have what it’s going to take to be a sire.”

Sean Feld, managing partner of Climax Stallions, said that the intention was always to stand the Grade II winner in New York.

“We bought Mr. Monomoy specifically for the New York breeding program,” said Feld. “Mr. Monomoy had speed and he had speed on dirt. In New York, horses race on only dirt for almost half the year. He won going short and long. He broke his maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs and then won a Grade II going nine furlongs.”

He added that both Mr. Monomoy’s sire and his half-sister Monomoy Girl have great name recognition in New York.

“His sire Palace Malice was a monster in New York,” said Feld. “He won the Met Mile and the Belmont S., and his start at stud has been good. He throws stone-cold runners and his crop of mares last year is going to be great after he had Structor win the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Mr. Monomoy will be the first of many sons out there.”

“Our business model has turned into buying siblings of really good horses,” he continued. “We started with Bullet Train (GB) (Sadler’s Wells), a half to Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), then had Curlin to Mischief (Curlin), a half to Into Mischief and Beholder, as well as Editorial (War Front), a half to Uncle Mo, and St Patrick’s Day (Pioneerof the Nile), a full-brother to American Pharoah.”

But Feld said that Mr. Monomoy offers unique appeal compared to most stallions that begin their stud career in the program.

“One difference is that Mr. Monomoy has a really good race record,” he said. “He was able to win going short and then win a major Kentucky Derby prep by carrying his speed around two turns at a mile-and-an-eighth.”

“Those are two major check marks that make a top sire in my opinion,” added Brad Cox, who spoke with the TDN last December.

Feld pointed to the correlation of success at stud for half-brothers of two-time Distaff winners.

“There have only been four two-time Distaff winners,” he said. “The first was Bayakoa (Arg) (Consultant’s Bid), then Royal Delta (Empire Maker), whose half-brother Khozan (Distorted Humor) stands in Florida, next came Beholder (Henny Hughes), who is a half to Into Mischief and Mendelssohn and then the fourth one is Monomoy Girl. It has definitely correlated into stallion success.”

As owners, Feld said, Climax Stallions takes its marketing responsibility seriously for breeding and then later when the stallion’s foals hit the sales.

“Our main source of supporting the stallions we own is our marketing,” he said. “We throw a lot of money into really branding the horse. Success comes not just in breeding. We need people to like him at all points. We will also support him at the yearling sales. Mr. Dubb kept a piece of him as did Mr. Kumin. His team can’t wait for the foals.”

Bilinski reported that Mr. Monomoy has settled in easily at the sprawling upstate Waldorf Farm.

“He arrived approximately at seven in the morning and came off the van happy,” he said. “We put him in the stall. He looked around and started eating hay and it didn’t faze him a bit. He has an excellent mental attitude. My farm manager Kenny Toye says he’s been nothing but a gentle giant. And so, we’re very happy with that.”

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Kentucky Oaks Winner Shedaresthedevil Back At Oaklawn; May Target Azeri Stakes

Shedaresthedevil, among the country's leading 3-year-old fillies of 2020, returned to Oaklawn in around 4 a.m. (Central) Saturday, according to her co-owner, Staton Flurry of Hot Springs.

Shedaresthedevil wintered last year at Oaklawn and won its $300,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) in March before going on to capture an allowance race at Churchill Downs, the $200,000 Indiana Oaks (G3) and the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.

Following a third-place finish in her first start against older horses, the $400,000 Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 4 at Keeneland, the Daredevil filly received a 60-day break, Flurry said, before resuming light training in mid-December in Kentucky. Trainer Brad Cox said the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) for older fillies and mares March 13 at Oaklawn is a possible first 2021 target for Shedaresthedevil.

“Glad to have her back on track and back here,” Flurry said. “She looks phenomenal. It seems like she enjoyed her time off and it did her well. She's put on some weight and seems very bright eyed. Excited to see what 2021 holds in store for her, beginning with the Azeri.”

The Azeri is the final major local prep for the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 17. Cox said champion Monomoy Girl is pointing for the second race in the prep series, the $250,000 Bayakoa Stakes (G3) Feb. 15, for her 2021 debut. Monomoy Girl is based at Fair Grounds.

Oaklawn's first major Apple Blossom prep is the $150,000 Pippin Stakes Jan. 23. Nominations to the 1-mile event closed Thursday.

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