The Haiku Handicapper: 2010 Eclipse Award Predictions

Two-Year-Old Male
Eclipse voters will
Say “Mo money, Mo problems”
For the ’08 crop

Two-Year-Old Female
A well-rounded group
Cup win makes eclipse Awesome
Calder celebrates

Three-Year-Old Male
Uninspired crop
Lucky was the best last year
The title stays his

Three-Year-Old Female
Division runs deep
Blind Luck wins races by heads
Wins award by lengths

Older Male
Top two going in
Are the top two at the end
Blame swept the series

Older Female
One choice – Zenyatta
Nary a filly or mare
Could dent her armor

Turf Male
Two hit the wire
Cup effort gives Gio nose
Over Winchester

Turf Female
Her lone U.S. start
Is the tip of the iceberg
Goldi is solid

Male Sprinter
All worthy options
Majestic’s campaign cut short
Big Drama gets it

Female Sprinter
Champagne tailed off late
Rightly So checked out early
Dubai Majesty

Steeplechase
Each has a Grade One
Hard to top 25 lengths
Slip Away’s the champ

Jockey
Go-Go’s gutsy Cup
Earns honorable mention
But it’s Ramon’s year

Apprentice Jockey
The leader by wins
Also leader by earnings
Omar Moreno

Owner
Two classic winners
Three others on Derby trail
Winstar was loaded

Trainer
Derby demons quashed
Along with everyone else
The world is Pletcher’s

Breeder
If Stronach ran tracks
Like he runs Adena Springs
We’d be better off

Horse of the Year
Zenyatta or Blame?
Winning head-to-head won’t trump
Winning hearts and minds

The Haiku Handicapper: 2009 Eclipse Award Predictions

Two-Year-Old Male
Derby cred in doubt
Not a dirt start among them
Lookin at Lucky

Two-Year-Old Female
What East-Coast bias?
Cup loss doesn’t dim campaign
Luck be the lady

Three-Year-Old Male
Big year for the Birds
Mine That Bird got the roses
Summer Bird gets this

Three-Year-Old Female
Rachel – No contest
Got bored clobbering the girls
Boys weren’t much harder

Older Male
Not a standout year
Gio was most consistent
In the biggest spots

Older Female
This one’s a slam dunk
Classic score removed all doubt
Zenyatta is queen

Turf Male
Conduit gets love
Not a fan of one-and-dones
Give it to Gio

Turf Female
A cause for debate
Tempting sentimental choice
But “Goldi” locks up

Sprint Male
A blanket finish
Kowboy’s road stands give the edge
Over Cal homer

Sprint Female
It’s a two-horse race
Get Informed – She gets the duke
In the head-to-head

Steeplechase
A stab in the dark
Eenie meenie miney moe…
Let’s go with Mixed Up

Owner
Godolphin grabs it
Sheikh Mo had strongest stable
Score one for Dubai

Trainer
Al Davis proclaims
“Just win baby.” Who won most?
Asmussen by lots

Breeder
Adena made bank
Juddmonte did more in less starts
That’s more impressive

Jockey
Who is the top jock?
Leparoux in small upset
Breeders’ Cup tipped scales

Apprentice Jockey
Not much knowledge here
Going by wins, earnings, class
Reyes should take this

Horse of the Year
The debate rages
Star filly or monster mare?
Rachel by a nose

Richard the Handicapper

A few quick thoughts from last night’s Eclipse Awards broadcast…

– My Haiku Handicapper picks went 13 for 17. 

– The Horse of the Year voting wasn’t nearly as close as a lot of people speculated it to be. I figured the winner could be decided by how many votes get siphoned away by Big Brown. It turns out Big Brown’s 13 votes would have still made it a blowout. Either way, I’m glad to see Curlin get it.

– How burned must Michael Iavarone be after losing the owner award by one vote? 

– Speaking of IEAH, it will be interesting to see if Benny The Bull will be the same horse when he comes back from injury.

– Whose idea was it to have such a high podium at an awards ceremony where many of the people involved stand under five feet tall?

– I’m not sure how I feel about Zenyatta’s owner, Jerry Moss, getting additional stage time for a do-over speech. Was it the class thing to do to get back up there to thank Zenyatta’s jockeys after forgetting to do it the first time around? Without a doubt. I just worry about what kind of precedent this sets for future award shows. Now that it is out there, where do we draw the line for who gets a mulligan and to thank whom?

– The MVP of the night was easily Handicapper of the Year Richard Goodall. Yes, his speech went longer than it needed to, but he used his platform to its fullest extent and got the messages that many have been championing directly to the people that can do something about it. As much as we, as bloggers, like to think our messages are reaching the difference-makers in the industry, the only way we can know that we are even on their radar is for them to acknowledge us through comments or emails. There is no question that Goodall’s message got to his intended audience.

Could this guy be racing’s answer to Joe the Plumber?

Edit: Whoops, I read the wrong press release and got the names mixed up. My apologies to Mr. Goodall.

The Haiku Handicapper: The 2008 Eclipse Awards

With the finalists for this year’s Eclipse Awards having been recently announced, it is time to start picking the winners. To see who made the cut click here, and to see the nominees’ big wins, click here.  

Now let’s get on with the show…

Two-Year-Old Male
Cup win or promise?
Old Fashioned will be better
Midshipman wins now 

Two-Year-Old Female
So many Grade Ones
Stardom Bound is Eclipse Bound
No one else is close 

Three-Year-Old Male
Big Brown and the rest
Triple Crown run clinched his spot
It’s a one horse race 

Three-Year-Old Female
All deserving picks
Tempting sympathetic choice
Stablemate gets it 

Older Male
Curlin raked in dough
Yet another mortal lock
Classic changed nothing 

Older Female
Not a hard choice here
Zenyatta stays unbeaten
Best of a strong field 

Male Sprinter
Constant dilemma
One huge race or steady run?
Benny bucks his foes 

Female Sprinter
Juv champ snubbed elsewhere?
Not a bad consolation
She has my blessing 

Male Turf Horse
Multi-surface threat
Einstein deserves an award
This will do nicely 

Female Turf Horse
Forever ran big
Goldikova beat the boys
Tie favors home team 

Steeplechaser
Stabbing blindly here
The incumbent never lost
Good Night Shirt repeats 

Owner
Love or hate them
IEAH won a bunch
Doesn’t feel good though 

Breeder
McNair’s big swan song
He left this for the Texans?
Seller’s remorse much? 

Trainer
Record setting year
Plus Curlin, minus drug fuss
Still equals Eclipse 

Jockey
State sweep’s impressive
Go-Go wins in all 50
Two straight for Gomez

Apprentice Jockey
The Sweede Gets the nod
When in doubt, pick who you know
She made me money 

Horse of the Year
Time to flip a coin
Heads, Curlin. Tails, Zenyatta.
It’s up…Heads it is