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Weekend performances could impact Eclipse Awards
- Updated: July 29, 2016
1:13 PM ET
In the early evening of June 6, 2015, with more than half of the thoroughbred racing season still to go, the contest for 2015 Horse of the Year was over. It didn’t matter what American Pharoah would do, or not do, from that point forward. After becoming the first horse to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown in 37 years, there wasn’t any doubt whatsoever, even with so many important races yet to be decided, that American Pharoah, on that day, clinched Horse of the Year honors.
In truth, 2015 was an aberration, because you’re just not supposed to know the Horse of the Year that early. This, not surprisingly, is a very different year.
(As an aside, American Pharoah, of course, accomplished very important things after his Triple Crown, romping in the Haskell and Breeders’ Cup Classic.)
This 2016 racing season, while different, is actually unfolding in a totally conventional manner. At this point, some divisions seem crystal clear, while others are there for the taking. And Horse of the Year is far from settled, which adds an extra layer of intrigue to each weekend’s major stakes events.
Last week, Songbird shipped all the way East for the first time to compete in Saratoga’s Coaching Club American Oaks and crushed Carina Mia, arguably the second best 3-year-old filly in the country, to extend her unbeaten streak to nine. And in the process, Songbird’s lead for the championship of her division, already very large, likely became insurmountable.
Also last week, California Chrome made a successful return to U.S. racing at Del Mar with a thrilling victory in the San Diego Handicap. California Chrome is arguably the current leader for Horse of the Year horses and top older dirt male on the strength of his powerful victory in the Dubai World Cup.
However, the Dubai Cup was run a half a world away, and California Chrome’s two victories so far this year on these shores came in Grade 2 races. So while merely winning last week means he lost nothing in terms of Eclipse Award position, the above combined with the fact that Dortmund gave him everything he wanted in the San Diego says California Chrome hasn’t clinched anything yet.
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