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Story by MC_Excelsior "The Stick"  We have the final point standings according to the NTRA. Horse of the Year to be decided soon, our vote goes to Ghostzapper ! Read our entire story below point standings
For more info in the Breeders Cup and NTRA point standings, visitThe Breeders Cup web site The Horse of the year title is up for grabs this year and many different camps are campaigning for votes and the coveted title. Horse of the year also has significant monetary value for the owners and breeders of the horse. If the horse is capable of stallion duty, his fee could rise by as much as $50,000 per share or more. The owners of the sire and dam of the Horse of the year can also lay claim to have the gene pool at their facility to make champions and command higher fee's for their stallions and mares. All the way around, being named Horse of the year is a win-win situation for the connections. We can start with the 2 year olds and work our way up to the handicap ranks in helping you decide who you like for Horse of the Year. Don't forget, you can VOICE your opinion on who you like for Horse of the year on our Stick Message Board. Stick take on the 2 yr olds.
Afleet Alex was very solid earlier in the year with 3 grade one victories. At that time he was undefeated and looking very nice. He later was defeated by Declan's Moon, but that does not take away from his powerful performances earlier in the year. Roman Ruler is one of the nicest looking sons of Fusaichi Pegasus we have seen in action so far. His victories at Del Mar were effortless, runaway, romps ! If you take away his loss to Declan's Moon and his B.Cup Juv race, you have a solid 2 yr old who should be respected next year. Proud Accolade was a late bloomer who won impressively at Belmont Park for Todd Pletcher, but was just not ready to handle the Lone Star Park B.Cup Juv. It takes nothing away from him and we look for this one to be solid as a 3 yr old also. Declan's Moon surprised everyone, except his connections, when he jumped up and defeated Roman Ruler in California. The race was very tough and could have gone either way, but on that day, Declan's Moon was just too strong. He capped off that victory with a later win at Hollywood Park a few weeks ago and throws the 2 yr old picture into a jumble. Stick take on 2 yr old fillies.
Balletto was ultra impressive at Belmont in the Frizette, and the Breeders Cup Juv Fillies. This girl is one of those Euro-Dubai imports that is classically bred and trained. We like her and feel she has every opportunity to step up into the 3yr old ranks and have an undefeated season. Nice filly ! Sense of Style, Sweet Catomine, Classic Elegance, all can be mixed and matched in this division. They are all really nice fillies with great talent and ability. We just have not seen them run against each other often enough and consistently enough to determine who is the best of these girls.
Stick take on the Sprinters !
We love this division. They thrilled us and excited us all year long ! Pico Central is the Paulo Lobo trained, California speedball who ran big on both coasts. He even ran huge in the Met Mile, which is a solid sign of stamina for a sprinter. I honestly have to say, I kept looking for him to bounce mid year, and he just kept running big. A wave of The Stick to Lobo and the connections. Victor Espinoza was willing to give up a day of riding in Southern California to fly anywhere to ride this horse. He knew what we know now, Pico Central is AWESOME ! Kela turned a normal $100K Sprint at Del Mar and turned the Bing in his Zing. Coming from off the pace, and racing in about the 5 path, Kela gave a rally of unprecedented power. I have seen strong sprint closers, but when Tyler Baze dropped the hammer on Kela, he set off afterburners and rocketed to the lead in the Bing Crosby. For some reason, the connections did not have tyler up on him for the Breeders Cup Sprint, but it probably would not have mattered as Kela was coming in off top output performances. Bear Fan brought back Wesley Ward into the spotlight. While Bear Fan ran some huge speed figures in his winning races, the bear simply caught a year where the entire division was on fire all year long. If Bear Fan ran 3 or 4 years ago, the bear would be the sprint champ. Speightstown was Todd Pletchers star this year. He was so dominating in the Breeders Cup and he won everywhere around the country this year. Throw out that loss of his before the Cup and you have a strong contender for Horse of the year right here. What more could he have done ? Run against his bias in a distance race ? That would have been foolish and he would have lost at a distance. The only advantage Ghost Zapper has over Speightstown is that he won at a distance, but put these two in a match race at a sprint distance and its wide open. Stick take on Milers.
Blackdoun did everything right at Del Mar, becoming the first horse to sweep 3 turf stakes in one meeting. While he did not overwhelm the division, this one is a nice horse to watch for next year. Nothing to Lose put together a nice string of victories, and its a shame they never tried him for 1 dirt handicap, it might have given him a peak at Horse of the year. Another solid turf veteran. Artie Shiller was a powerhouse in NY on the turf. Migliore and Jimmy Jerkens kept winning and winning. Its a shame the Breeders Cup was not held at Belmont this year, Artie might have really surprised at long odds. NY'S top miler this year bar none. Stick take on Distaff.
Azeri has to be the main story of the Distaff division. After a change of trainer from top lady conditioner, Laura DeSeroux, to veteran D.Wayne Lukas, all eyes were on this lady of racing. How many races can one horse win ? Looking at the Lifetime perfomance record of Azeri, and you see win after win, repeat after repeat in stakes races, and wonderful times at different distances. Azeri came up short against Storm Flag Flying at Belmont, but that was a tactical dream for Storm Flag Flying. Azeri a serious contender for Horse of the year, but she would have been a lock with a win against the boys, and not her convincing loss in the Classic. Hats off to her connections for trying her against the boys, but the field was just too deep. Maybe a minor stake at Monouth against the boys would have been better then going head on against the big boys of the handicap division. Stick take on Turf.
Kitten's Joy was dominating. Multiple wins, solid times, and a strong enough performance in the B.Cup Turf to lock in Turf honors. However, this one could not touch Horse of the year against the competition for 2004. This is one to watch next year as he matures and grows into his own. A possible Horse of the year for next year if he can stay consistant. Request for Parole and Magistretti, and Kicken Kris deserve honorable mention, but along with the rest of the division, they all traded wins against each other without standing out. The Turf was probably the most open division this year. Without Kitten's Joy the division would have been a toss up. However, the individual wins by all mentioned were impressive on their own. Next year they need to put 2 and 3 races together for consistency. Stick take on Handicap Division.
Nine out of ten times, the Horse of the year comes from this division. Powerful, seasoned, well conditioned older males dominate this group. Sometimes a 3 year old comes along and dominates this division also. *Of Special Note - Smarty Jones, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner who was undefeated until his Belmont Stakes loss should have been given much more consideration for Horse of the year then he was given. While fellow 3 year old Bridstone impressed with victories in the Belmont and Travers Stakes, it was Smarty Jones who captured the heart of the country. We would like to say Smarty Jones deserves it, but we cannot give a Horse of the year nod to a 3 year old who has never run against older horses. The financial and ideological reasons behind Smarty Jones retirement were sound business and moral considerations. He ran hard all year long, and while it would have been nice to see him take on Ghostzapper and the others, Smarty had run a strenuous campaign through the Triple Crown, and would probably have not shown his best in the Breeders Cup. Ghostzapper was the horse who did the most. He won at different tracks and different distances. His sprint races were very impressive, and while no one will ever call his Iselin victory anything other then a mud 'freak' race, he was a consistant and impressive runner all year long. His final victory in the Breeders Cup Classic has to stamp Ghostzapper as the choice for Horse of the year. He ran like I play poker, everything looks good until the last card(or race), and luckily the final river card(or final race) brings home all the money and is a big winner. Ghostzappers Breeders Cup win was a huge race, and it singles him out for the honors. Enough said...MC TO READ OUR OTHER HEADLINES Press Here |
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