WHO'S WINNING WHAT?

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Hello everybody. This is an anonymous reporter for the Gallop about to tell you the top contenders for this year's year end awards. I know that it's getting to be that time of year and we're all wondering who will win what. Here is my educated analysis.

(And before I hear anything, I've probably forgotten to include a couple of horses in my analysis. Just because yours isn't here doesn't mean he/she is not a contender for that award. I just forgot them xD )

Best Two Year Old Colt
This is a toss up between many skilled colts; Instant Success, Infinite Warcry, Euphoria's Warrior and Forbidden To Fly all stand a chance of winning this. In my opinion, the most likely winner, as it stands right now, will be Instant Success. However, this award may hinge on whoever wins the Juvenile. Warrior, Isa and Fly are all declared for this race. Infini is declared for the Juvenile Turf, but he doesn't have the backing that those three main dirt colts too and likely will not take this award even if he wins the Juvenile Turf.

Best Two Year Old Filly
I think that no matter how badly she may do in the Breeders Cup, Paradise Island is a shoo-in for this award. She has the fan base behind her. Of course, serious contenders for this award are also After Dusk and Eternal Phantom. I find Dusk to be a bit less likely than Sonja or Phantie because she doesn't have that rivalry going on that those two fillies and Isa do. I believe the winner of this award will depend on who wins the Juvenile. However, Sonja has also been declared for the Juvenile Turf as a potential candidate, so time will tell if Phantie or Dusk will be able to sway favor in their direction for this award. Sugar Jayde will also be in contention here.

Best Three Year Old Colt
There is a three way tie here between Sunset Crusade, Executioner's Apprentice and Flashy Wings. All have been incredibly successful this year and all have reached grade one. In terms of wins, though Flash won both the Preakness and Belmont his season wins are less than both App and Cruz. App has been competing fiercely lately and is no doubt the top three year old turf colt. However, Cruz is also backing a loyal following on the dirt. Flash and Cruz may face off in the Classic, while App has been confirmed as a sure entrant and likely favorite for the Mile. I believe that if neither Flash nor Cruz win or place in the Classic, App will win this award. Dark Charmer could also be considered for this award but would be somewhat of a surprise if he won.

Best Three Year Old Filly
Afterglow or Silverianna will take this award. Seraphim or Beltane will also challenge. However, I believe the former two fillies stand the better chance. Ianna did win two legs of the Triple Tiara, but Afterglow has beat her on many occasions, and the same can be said for Ianna. Thus far, both fillies may go to the Ladies Classic, or they may go to separate races. I believe both should go to the Ladies Classic - the sport needs the excitement such a meeting would generate, and I think I wouldn't be the only one on the edge of my seat during that race if they were entered!

Best Older Horse
Pegasus Wings, Bank On Greatness or Here's The King could all challenge for this award. Right now, I think it's between Greatness and Asus. Both have some fantastic records, though Greatness is kind of overshadowed in that respect for this award by stablemate Vindictive Fury in terms of record. I think Asus is the most likely winner right now, given that he has the more wins this season as compared to King, though this of course may change. This award is more up in the air than the others and will be an interesting one to vote on.

Best Older Mare
Kill me now, because this one has so many eligible and deserving contenders that it is ridiculous. Eligible for this award are Moondance, Vindictive Fury, Born To Soar, White Chocolate, Terror Smile, Wildly Natural...those are the first few names which come to mind, and the Breeders Cup will be integral when deciding this award. As it stands, either Vinny or Chocolate will win this, though if Mona pulls a repeat win in the Classic her odds go up considerably. Tura also stands an excellent chance here, as her record this season is equally impressive.

Best Dirt Horse
This is too tough. Just look at what's above. Those horses I named that race purely on the dirt are all contenders. I can think of not one horse in particular who should be getting this award. There are just too many excellent horses.

Best Turf Horse
This is likely to be either Wildly Natural or Executioner's Apprentice. Those two are the top runners in their division. Other turf horses will of course be nominated, but they are the top contenders for this right now.

That is all for now. Please feel free to post your own comments below! Healthy discussion is always fun.

[Deleted]

@anonymous it's always nice to see the best horses in the press, and the year end awards are definitely in the balance with the Breeder's Cup quickly approaching. It has now been confirmed that Paradise Island is headed for the Juvenile Fillies, where it is hoped that she will be able to defend the crown of her stable-mate Afterglow. As for the others, who knows!

I'd be interested on your views for the best sprinter. My bets are torn, with Pegasus Wings, Beltane and White Chocolate all likely candidates. I'd also to love your views on the prospect awards - there have been many amazing prospects in the shows this year, so who do you think could take the prospect awards?

[Snowflake]

Ohhh, four and five year old mares this year are incredible. You're absolutely right in saying that any one of those mares could win the award! Anyone of them could also win Horse Of The Year.. ;D

And Euphoria's Warrior is currently top 2yo colt xD Second on the leaderboard to Paradise Island and he has the most wins of all 2yos

[Deleted]

He may have the most wins, but only by 1! Instant Success is right behind him, as is Paradise Island win-wise so it is a really tough competition. Really glad Sonja got The Youth Challenge <3. Now to decide whether to rest her, or to enter her in one more race...

[Dreamvalley]

Chocolate have quickly gone from G5 - G2 in her second season! The breeder's cup is going to be a good this year. She is now rested until the breeder's cup.

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Anonymous Reporter says: I wouldn't say Euphoria's Warrior is the top two year old colt. You don't judge the horse based on how many wins they have, and he did just get defeated by the other three top contenders last week. I want to see how he does against them in the Juvenile before placing my bets. Though he definitely has a chance. I'm just a stickler with the crowd favorites playing more of a role in the awards this year, and right now he doesn't have as much favor as Isa, Sonja and others.

I believe the Best Sprinter award is torn between Pegasus Wings, Beltane and Here's The King. White Chocolate didn't strike me as a sprinter-sprinter, though I forget precisely what distance ranges she runs. Personally, I think Pegasus Wings will get it. Right now, he appears to be a bit of a favorite, and I certainly like him!

The prospect awards are very interesting. Best Prospect Filly may go to Ventura or Italian Ice, though at this point Prospect of the Year looks like Sophie's Voice. Best Prospect Colt will most likely go to Special Edition. Didn't he place third in the Next Top Racehorse Series? That accomplishment alone will guarantee him that award.

As for Horse of the Year, Filly of the Year and Colt of the Year....you'll have to stay tuned for my opinions on those awards.

[Dreamvalley]

Chocolate runs at the distance 5 - 8 on turf. She is great horse which deserve any kind of award. Though all the horses which are noimated would deserve it as well

[Snowflake]

Well he is the top colt on the 2yo leaderboard, in 2nd place, and he is the winner of 3 *HOTY races, and he's beaten all those horses before, and older ones. So I would definitely say he is at the top right now. HOTY isn't about crowd favourites, it's about racing success

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Anonymous Reporter says to Leo Bailey: Sounds like she could go for Best Turf Horse, Best Sprinter and Best Grade ___. I forget, is she a grade one yet? I seem to remember her as being a grade two...either way, you should nominate her for Filly of the Year and consider Horse of the Year.

Anonymous Reporter says to Snowflake: But, being the reporter I am, I will refute your argument simply because I am a stubborn and annoying reporter. A bunch of other two year olds have also won three or even more HOTY races, and some have also beaten older horses. They also beat each other all the time, meaning that there truly is no best horse among them. In my opinion, there is no one best two year old. There are a group of them. I will count Euphoria's Warrior as among that group, but no single horse among them is the best. That is a distinction even I, the opinionated reporter, cannot make.

For example, Paradise Island just beat some older horses. And Forbidden To Fly has won four HOTY races. Instant Success just reached the six win mark as well I believe. Or was that Paradise Island? Either way, the competition is incredibly fierce, and I believe the final distinction will come down to who wins the Juvenile/Juvenile Turf. Which I wish you the best of luck in! You are sending Warrior to the Juvenile most likely, yes?

Anonymous Reporter says to World: An interesting week of racing this week, as several horses sought to qualify for the Breeders Cup. Firebird caught some eyes as he made grade four in his race. It is confirmed that he will be heading to the Breeders Cup, but it is unknown where exactly he will be going. We're still waiting to hear from Intrepid Racing on that one.

I have a question to ask of Star Thoroughbreds, actually. Where will Born To Soar, Vindictive Fury and Sunset Crusade be going? They will be key players in the Breeders Cup. My guess is that any one of those horses could end up being slated for the Classic. But not all.

[Cavallo]

_{Nick Landing Says: Firebird will be making a Breeder's Cup appearance in the Breeder's Cup Mile - 8F T. We're excited to see how he will respond to the upper levels. You can be sure that you'll find him working and prepping on the tracks.}

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Anonymous Reporter says to Nick Landing: That will be exciting! He will be going up against Executioner's Apprentice, according to the rumors. Is he up to that?

[Cavallo]

_{Nick Landing Says: We're confident that Firebird will be the underdog in whatever field he runs. After reviewing rumored entries we found this field to be more to his liking and less fierce. Executioner's Apprentice will be the horse to beat and he is a fierce preceder. We're hoping that Firebird's versatility will give him an advantage in this field. You never know what will really happen in a race...never discount the underdog. Regardless of the outcome, this will only be another opportunity for Firebird to sharpen his racing skills and technique..when running against a horse like Executioner's Apprentice.}

[Deleted]

^{Hailey Levine: Hopefully, Terror Smile will get an award of some sort. Even an encouragement award would be nice. She really has turned around quite a bit from being a Maiden at the beginning of the season and then coming all the way to be a grade four. She will hopefully acheive grade three after the Breeder's Cup is over. If she wins the Filly and Mare she will be.}

[Dreamvalley]

Leo Bailey White Chocolate is currently grade 2. From grade 5 - 2 in her second season! That's a good achivement. We cretainly consider the horse of the year award, we see how she does in the breeder's cup.

[Deleted]

If Dark Charmer is able to get another win he too will have gone from G5 to G2 within a year. We are very proud of him.

[S u N f r O s t ~]

Anonymous Reporter says to Nick Landing: I like your attitude a lot! I wish you the best of luck in the Mile.

Anonymous Reporter says to Hailey Levine: Terror Smile has a great chance to win an award this year. I think she's going to do great in the Breeders Cup, based on what I've seen.