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With just a few days/steps in time, this year is off to a fantastic start! I had a great response to my post I wrote on New Year’s Eve and there are so many good things going on in the Thoroughbred racing industry. I am so thrilled that today brings the return to racing for California Chrome at Santa Anita. At this same track and this same day, Mrs. Penny Chenery will present the Secretariat Vox Populi Award to the connections of American Pharoah. We have had several new Thoroughbred babies born in the last week. The January Keeneland sale starts Monday and I made it out to the barns to see some of those horses today. Also, the finalist for the Eclipse Awards were announced on January 6th and on the 16th the winners will be announced. Shew, there is just so much to enjoy. Speaking of enjoyment, I’m pretty happy to see that Tepin is up for an Eclipse Award and I hope she wins!
The 45th annual Eclipse Awards will be presented to the winners of 17 horse and human categories including 6 media categories, Horseplayer of the Year and a lifetime achievement/award of merit winner. The awards dinner will be held at Gulfsteam Park. The 6 media winners have been chosen. They are; Jennie Rees, Mary Simon, Tim Sullivan, NBC Sports, Scott Serio and Brad and John Hennegan. The Horseplayer of the Year Award goes to John O’Neill. Leonard Lavin takes the Eclipse Award of Merit. The other 17 categories are up for grabs! Here are the nominees:
- Horse of the Year: American Pharoah, Runhappy, Beholder
- 2 Year Old Filly: Rachel’s Valentina, Songbird, Catch a Glimpse
- 2 Year Old Male: Airoforce, Nyquist, Mohaymen
- 3 Year Old Filly: Found, Stellar Wind, I’m a Chatterbox
- 3 Year Old Male: Dortmund, Runhappy, American Pharoah
- Female Sprinter: Lady Shipman, LeVerdad, Wavell Avenue
- Male Sprinter: Rockfall, Private Zone, Runhappy
- Female Turf Horse: Found, Stephanie’s Kitten, Tepin
- Male Turf Horse: The Pizza Man, Big Blue Kitten, Cold Horn
- Older Dirt Female: Sheer Drama, Beholder, Stopchargingmaria
- Older Dirt Male: Honor Code, Liam’s Map, Tonalist
- Steeplechase Horse: Dawalan, Demonstrative, Bob Le Beau
- Jockey: Victor Espinoza, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Javier Castellano
- Apprentice Jockey: Angel Cruz, Eric Cancel, Tyler Gaffalione
- Trainer: Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, Chris Brown
- Owner: Zayat Stables, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc.
- Breeder: Zayat Stables, Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey, Darley
I can’ t blog on forever so I picked the Female Turf Horse category. I am crazy about all 3 entries, heck I love all these Thoroughbreds. I had the pleasure of watching Tepin, Stephanie’s Kitten and Found on the last day of the Breeders’ Cup this past year. Read on to see the pictures I took and a small bio on each horse.
Found is a lovely Irish filly. She was born in March of 2012. Her sire is Galileo and her dam is Red Evie, both are Irish as well. She won 1st place in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf. This is the first time a 3 year old filly has won this race. She has not raced since but she has had 11 career starts in which she won 4 times, placed 5 times and showed 1 time. Found has over $2 million dollars in earnings and is ranked 9th in earnings for 2015. Her jockey is Ryan L. Moore. Found is trained by Aidan O’ Brien and owned by Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith. Her breeders were Roncon, Wynatt and Chelston. She is up for 3 Year Old Filly too! Last I read, she should race again in 2016.
Stephanie’s Kitten was foaled in March of 2009. She is the progeny of Kitten’s Joy and Unfold the Rose. Stephanie’s Kitten is now at Northern Farm in Japan. She was formerly Kentucky bred and owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey. She won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2015. This horse had Irad Ortiz, Jr, for her jockey and was trained by Chad C. Brown. She was 2nd in the same BC race in 2014 and won the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2011. She ranked 8th in earnings in 2015. She has earned over $4 million dollars. Stephanie’s Kitten has had 25 career starts. She won 11 times, was second 4 times and came in third 4 times. I hope she has a happy life as a broodmare in Japan and perhaps she can someday retire back home in Kentucky.
Tepin was also born in March but in 2011. She is the Kentucky bred daughter of Bernstein and Life Happened. Tepin was owned by Robert E. Masterson when she won the BC Mile in 2015. She is second in earnings for 2015. She has gross earnings of over $2 million dollars. During her career she has 7 wins, placed 3 times and showed once in 15 starts. I saw her win on October 3rd this past year at Keeneland in the Grade 1, First Lady Stakes. She has not raced since the BC win but she had a nice workout at Palm Meadows Training Center yesterday. Julien R. Leparoux is her jockey. Machmer Hall is Tepin’s breeder and she is trained by Mark E. Casse. I’m hoping she has a nice 2016 career and I’d like to see this Eclipse Award granted to her. I thinks it is Tepin’s time! Click the link for Disney’s Mary Poppins song, “Step In Time”.
Step In Time
I like all the choices for Female Turf Horse as well as the other award candidates. I am looking forward to the reveal on the 16th. I hope some of you have a great time live at Santa Anita today and I wish others will join me at the Keeneland Sales starting on 1/11/16 but already bustling in the barns, see below. I will share with you all about the auction. Have a great weekend!
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