On January 26, the most prestigious awards ceremony in horse racing will be held to crown a new Horse of the Year and acknowledge the best in the American division. The Eclipse Awards will also tribute the “The Moment of the Year,” an honor that has highlighted a major moment from the previous year’s racing history now in the books. And while a list of nominated moments has been assembled for the award, last year was full of memories, both good and bad, and we should carry them all with us into the new year. We should remember the triumphs and hearken the tragedies, so that maybe this new year will bring wiser solutions and an improved foundation for our sport. What follows is a list of moments that made 2008, as well as a few to kick off 2009.
2008 at a Glance
Pyro’s Risen Star win: In his first start as a 3-year-old, Pyro became the early favorite in the Kentucky Derby with this remarkable victory. Going from last to first in a matter of yards to win the race, the announcer’s race call would go on to be one of the year’s best: “Pyro’s coming like a rocket at them! He was last a moment ago. Pyro comes back full-of-fire!” He would spend the rest of the year trying to reclaim the glory and respect this victory gave him.
Curlin wins the Dubai World Cup: After winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2007, Curlin’s next race was the Jaguar Cup in Dubai, which he won with devastating ease. His victory in the Dubai World Cup, winning the world’s richest race by a record seven lengths, cemented him as the best race horse in the world.
Big Brown wins the Kentucky Derby: Entering the biggest race in America with only three wins in as many starts, breaking out of post 20, and circling the field of horses on the outside to win by five lengths made Big Brown a superstar. Probably the most impressive performance by any horse in 2008.
Eight Belles breaks down: It was the shot heard ’round the world; the only filly in the Kentucky Derby finishes second to the dominating Big Brown and then breaks both front ankles while pulling up after the race. Nothing this year had a greater impact on the sport as the fall of the great gray filly on horse racing’s biggest stage. The impact of Eight Belles’s death was huge, making the sport take a look at its own image and begin to implement stricter standards for the welfare of its equine athletes.
Zenyatta: The whole year belonged to Zenyatta in some ways. Her four-year-old campaign proved her to be the best filly, and possibly the best horse, in racing. Her victory over champion Ginger Punch in her first try on dirt, the Apple Blossom Handicap, showed she was a force to be reckoned with; her victory in the BC Ladies’ Classic proved her class was beyond contestation.
The stretch run of the Alabama: Proud Spell and Music Note were two fillies who showed stamina and courage time and time again, illuminating the 3-year-old filly crop as a bigger talent over the colts. After Proud Spell was disqualified in a horrible Mother Goose Stakes trip, the Alabama served as a rematch for the pair. The resulting stretch run, where the two fillies battled neck-and-neck to the wire, proved Proud Spell’s tenacity and made for one of the most thrilling races of the year. The fact that Music Note was the closest thing to Zenyatta in the Ladies’ Classic made Proud Spell look all the better.
Big Brown’s Black Belmont: In what could well prove to be the upset of the decade, Big Brown became the first dual-classic winner to finish last in the third leg of the Triple Crown. Was it a scatterbrained jockey, the sweltering heat, a dry track, a steward standing in the track, or the infamous loose shoe that undid our Kentucky Derby hero? While we will never know exactly what happened to Brownie’s magic button that day, the loose shoe and Desormeaux’s riding probably served as the main ingredients to this disaster.
Curlin becomes America’s richest racehorse of all time: While money isn’t everything, it is certainly a measuring stick. Curlin’s second victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup earned him a bigger bankroll than the great Cigar. Having run in nothing but Grade I races all year long, Curlin’s record expounds on his class. He showed up for each big dance and always turned in his best performance.
Peppers Pride breaks all American record streaks: A 6-year-old New Mexico-bred mare, Peppers Pride surpassed the previously held winning streak record of 15 in a row by horse legends like Citation, eventually capping her career with 19 wins in a row. She now holds the record for longest winning streak in North American history.
Curlin vs. Big Brown: The great match race wasn’t meant to be. Just as Curlin was confirmed to run in his second Breeders’ Cup Classic, Big Brown sustained a foot injury in his final workout for the championships and was retired.
Midnight Lute makes a Lazarus comeback: The winner of the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Midnight Lute only made one start in 2008 before entering the gates of the championships; in his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup, he finished 10th in a Grade II race. When Midnight Lute came barreling around the turn in the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Sprint, it was like seeing the second coming of Lazarus. He won with an awe-inspiring ease, a culminating effort for the year.
The Breeders’ Cup Euro Invasion: The success of the Euros in the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, including a win in the Classic, proved two things: 1. The Euros will be back in droves for 2009’s installment 2. Pro-Ride is not dirt.
A Glimpse of 2009
Vineyard Haven and Midshipman bought by Darley: What have been hailed as our best two 3-year-olds of 2009 will not be within our sights as the road to the Kentucky Derby begins. Sheik Mohammed desperately wants to win the Derby and these two colts will give him a big chance, should they prove as good in their 3-year-old seasons as they were last year.
Stardom Bound shines: Zenyatta Junior, as jockey Mike Smith calls her, is one of the brightest stars in the sky of 3-year-olds this year. Her absolute romp in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies did look like a mirror image of Zenyatta’s running style and command. Look for her to be making her 3-year-old debut soon.
Zenyatta stays in training: There could be no happier news for race-goers. As the league of older horses looks awfully slim with the absence of Curlin, someone must step up and claim the status of elder superstar. If there ever was a horse to fit the bill, Zenyatta is it. Let’s hope we see her whoop up on the boys this year.
Old Fashion’s Remsen Stakes: With Darley’s nabbing of our two best 3-year-old colts, Old Fashioned filled the void to the clambering fans who longed for a young ‘un to root for. His effortless win in the Remsen made me say “Vineyard Haven who?”
Paul Pompa Jr.’s second chance: Remember the first owner of Big Brown, who was bought out for the majority of his share by IEAH? Can you catch lightning in a bottle twice? He always seemed to regret selling off the lion’s share of Big Brown to IEAH, and now has a second chance to perhaps have something special. His colt Well Positioned broke his maiden by 14 ½ lengths, making Pompa begin to envision his own silks in the Derby winner’s circle.
Nicanor turns three: Undoubtedly the most popular horse in racing who has yet to run a race, Nicanor is a full-brother to the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, the ill-fated, unbeaten champion who broke down in the Preakness Stakes. Will Nicky be good enough to see the stakes at all? Trainer Michael Matz has him under tack and training in all of Barbaro’s old haunts. It will take a special kind of karma to get this 3-year-old to mirror his older brother’s class.