Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Mineshaft is named the 2003 Horse of the Year at the 33rd annual Eclipse Awards ceremony.

Mineshaft was also named champion older horse at the black-tie dinner held at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa. He was rewarded for a year in which he won seven of nine starts and scored victories in four Grade 1 stakes - the Pimlico Special, Suburban Handicap, Woodward Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup.

William S. Farish, the U.S. ambassador to Britain, bred and raced Mineshaft in partnership with James Elkins and Temple Webber Jr. Mineshaft began his career in Britain but won just once there. Last year, at age 4, the son of A.P. Indy developed into a terror for trainer Neil Howard. He was ridden in all his starts by Robby Albarado.

The Eclipse Awards are voted on by racing secretaries and Equibase personnel from National Thoroughbred Racing Association member tracks, Daily Racing Form writers and editors, and members of the National Turf Writers Association. Of the 313 eligible voters, 248 cast ballots. Voters were asked to select their top three choices in each category, so as to have three finalists in each division, but the winners were determined solely by first-place votes.

Mineshaft was a runaway winner for both titles. He received 209 votes for Horse of the Year. Congaree, who won the Carter Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Cigar Mile, was a distant second with 11 votes. Others receiving votes for Horse of the Year were Halfbridled (9 votes), Funny Cide (4), Candy Ride (3), High Chaparral (2), Medaglia d'Oro (2), Azeri (1), Empire Maker (1), Perfect Drift (1), Pleasantly Perfect (1), and Six Perfections (1). Three voters abstained.

Mineshaft received 221 votes for champion older male, again easily distancing Congaree, who got the same 11 votes he received for Horse of the Year.

Several of the categories were considered close calls, but in most instances, the results were one-sided.

The closest result was for champion 3-year-old filly, in which Bird Town, the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes winner, edged Six Perfections, the European turf runner who beat males in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Bird Town received 96 votes to 94 for Six Perfections.

In other hotly contested races, Azeri was named champion older filly or mare over Sightseek, Funny Cide beat Empire Maker for champion 3-year-old male, Aldebaran was named champion sprinter over Cajun Beat, Islington defeated Heat Haze and Six Perfections for champion female turf runner, and High Chaparral proved a surprisingly easy winner over Storming Home and Johar for champion turf runner, winning that title for a second straight year.

Azeri, the Horse of the Year and champion older filly or mare in 2002, narrowly beat Sightseek, 123-107. Funny Cide, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, received 150 first-place votes to 92 for Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker. Aldebaran, who won the Metropolitan Mile and two other Grade 1 races, outpolled Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Cajun Beat by 137-74, with Congaree a distant third with 27 votes. Islington, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, received 90 votes to 74 for Matriarch Stakes winner Heat Haze and 66 for Six Perfections. High Chaparral finished in a dead heat with Johar in the Breeders' Cup Turf - but in the voting box, he was an easy winner, garnering 138 votes to just 17 for Johar. Storming Home finished second with 73 votes.

Action This Day and Halfbridled, both of whom won Breeders' Cup races, were easy winners in the 2-year-old categories. Action This Day, who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, received 114 first-place votes for 2-year-old male, more than twice as many as second-place Cuvee, who had 42.

Halfbridled, the champion 2-year-old filly who won all four of her starts last year, just missed being a unanimous selection; one voter instead chose Ashado, the runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

McDynamo was an easy winner as champion steeplechase runner. He received 225 first-place votes.

Jerry Bailey and Bobby Frankel continued their reign as champion jockey and trainer. For Bailey, who set records for purse earnings and stakes wins last year, it was a record seventh Eclipse Award, and his fourth in a row. He received 211 votes. Patrick Valenzuela was second with 17.

Frankel, whose lone champion last year was Aldebaran, won a record 25 Grade 1 races last year. He has won the Eclipse Award four straight years, and a record five times overall. Frankel received 193 votes. Richard Mandella, the trainer of both Action This Day and Halfbridled and two other winners on Breeders' Cup Day, finished second with 44.

Frankel's primary client, the Juddmonte Farms of Saudi Arabian Prince Khalid Abdullah, was the winner as both champion owner and breeder. Juddmonte's homebred winners last year included Empire Maker, Heat Haze, Sightseek, and Tates Creek.

Juddmonte received 102 first-place votes for champion owner, exactly twice as many as runner-up Michael Gill. Another Frankel client, Ed Gann, was third with 32 votes. Juddmonte also was champion owner in 1992.

The margin of victory was more pronounced for champion breeder. Juddmonte received 171 votes, easily outdistancing second-place Frank Stronach, who received 36 votes. Juddmonte has won the Eclipse Award as champion breeder four times, including the last three years.

Eddie Castro was named champion apprentice jockey. He tallied 147 votes. Ryan Fogelsonger, last year's winner, finished second with 52.

Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Eclipse Awards finalist Congaree (older male and sprinter). Winners will be announced Jan. 26.

There were few surprises when the three finalists for each division were announced Monday by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Empire Maker and Funny Cide were among the finalists for champion 3-year-old male, Azeri and Sightseek for older filly or mare, Aldebaran and Cajun Beat for champion sprinter. But the question of who will win those categories will be debated right up until the envelopes are opened at the 33rd annual Eclipse Awards dinner on Jan. 26 at the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla.

The biggest prize is Horse of the Year, which is expected to go to Mineshaft, one of the finalists for champion older horse. In a change from past years, the finalists for Horse of the Year were not announced, thus preventing sharp observers from divining who had won some of the divisional titles.

There were several other changes to the voting this year. For the first time, all three voting organizations - the racing secretaries of NTRA member tracks, the National Turf Writers Association, and Daily Racing Form - had their votes tallied collectively, instead of using the bloc voting that had led to confusion in the past. Also, voters chose their top three selections in each division, so as to have three finalists in every category. That is why Ashado and Victory U. S. A. were announced as finalists with Halfbridled for champion 2-year-old filly, even though Halfbridled might well have received every first-place vote. The horse with the most first-place votes in each category will be named champion.

In addition to Halfbridled (2-year-old filly) and Mineshaft (older horse), the other virtual certainty is champion steeplechase horse. McDynamo, who was a romping winner of three Grade 1 races, including the Breeders' Cup Steeplechase, is a heavy favorite against Pelagos and Praise the Prince.

The biggest surprise might have been the exclusion of Composure from the three finalists for champion 3-year-old filly. Composure won two Grade 1 races in two starts, but never raced past March. Elloluv, whom Composure beat in both those races, is a finalist, along with Bird Town, who won the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes, and Six Perfections, who beat the boys in the Breeders' Cup Mile in her lone start in this country. Island Fashion, who won the Alabama and La Brea, also missed the top three.

Many of the divisions are complete toss-ups. Triple Crown rivals Empire Maker and Funny Cide are vying for the 3-year-old male championship. Ten Most Wanted is the other finalist in that division. Azeri and Sightseek - who never faced each other - are the top finalists for champion older filly or mare, along with Adoration, the Breeders' Cup Distaff winner. The versatile Congaree joins multiple sprint stakes winner Aldebaran and Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Cajun Beat as finalists for champion sprinter.

Congaree is also a finalist for champion older horse, along with Mineshaft and Medaglia d'Oro. This was the deepest division in the country last year. Among those who did not finish in the top three with Eclipse voters were Perfect Drift, who defeated Mineshaft in the Stephen Foster Handicap; Candy Ride, the unbeaten winner of the Pacific Classic; and Pleasantly Perfect, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Several other categories are wide open. Breeders' Cup winners Islington (Filly and Mare Turf) and Six Perfections (Mile) join two-time Grade 1 winner Heat Haze as finalists for champion female turf runner. High Chaparral and Johar - who finished in a dead heat in the Breeders' Cup Turf - are finalists for champion male turf horse along with Storming Home, who won two Grade 1 races but is best known for the right-hand turn he made at the end of the Arlington Million, which cost him that race. Sulamani, who was placed first in the Million, did not finish in the top three.

Action This Day, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, is a finalist for champion 2-year-old colt along with Birdstone and Cuvee. Not making the cut were stakes winners Ruler's Court, Eurosilver, Cactus Ridge, and Lion Heart.

Richard Mandella, the trainer of Action This Day and Halfbridled, is a finalist for champion trainer along with Bobby Frankel and Todd Pletcher. Frankel is considered the slight favorite over Mandella, with Pletcher a longshot. Frankel has won the Eclipse Award as champion trainer the last three years, and four times overall.

Frankel's frequent collaborator, Jerry Bailey, is favored to win a record seventh Eclipse Award as champion jockey. The other finalists are Edgar Prado and Patrick Valenzuela, who swept the titles at all five major meetings in Southern California last year.

Frankel's primary client, the Juddmonte Farms of Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, is a finalist for both champion owner and champion breeder. Juddmonte has been champion breeder three times previously, and last year was represented by nationally prominent runners Empire Maker, Heat Haze, and Sightseek. The other finalists for champion breeder are Frank Stronach and the Niarchos family. Although Six Perfections was bred by the Niarchos family, she was inadvertently omitted from a supplementary list of information on leading breeders that was sent to Eclipse voters.

Juddmonte's rivals for champion owner are Ed Gann - another Frankel client - and Michael Gill, the controversial owner whose claiming-based stable led the nation in purse earnings.

Ryan Fogelsonger, the champion apprentice jockey of 2002, is a finalist for the same title in 2003; he rode for the first part of 2003 as an apprentice. Eddie Castro, who led the nation's rookie riders in victories and purse earnings, and Pablo Fragoso are the other finalists.

Of course, this citizen must confess to a checkered record when exercising the sacred right of the ballot box. At one time or another, votes have been cast for Gore Vidal (for U.S. senator), John Anderson (for president), and Milli Vanilli (for best new artists of 1989 on the MTV fans poll). To prevent such fiascoes in my Eclipse picks, I try to follow a few basic guidelines:

Rule No. 1: Returning champions get the benefit of the doubt, which means Azeri is the proper choice over Sightseek in the category of older female, and High Chaparral gets the nod in the male turf division.

The only thing Azeri did wrong was hurt her ankle while trying to win her 12th straight race in the Lady's Secret Handicap at Santa Anita. Everything else was up to her high standards. High Chaparral won his second straight Breeders' Cup Turf (okay, dead-heated) under conditions dramatically different from his first victory in 2002, displaying the ability not to be fazed by either the deep going at chilly Arlington or the sun-baked ground at blistering Santa Anita. Now that's a champion.

Rule No. 2: In case of a tie, go with the most important race, which means Funny Cide is the 3-year-old male champ and Action This Day takes the trophy for the 2-year-old boys.

Empire Maker, Ten Most Wanted, Peace Rules, and Funny Cide were all multiple winners of major 3-year-old events. They also ran against each other enough to invoke the old gunfighter's line about which guy was faster: "I'd hate to live on the difference."

The case is tipped to Funny Cide, though, because of those entertaining and thoroughly professional triumphs in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. Unless we have been badly misinformed, those are still two of the three most telling races for the division.

Among the 2-year-olds, no fewer than eight young bucks boasted a single victory in a major race at a mile or more, with a ninth to be added after Saturday's Hollywood Futurity. However, the one thing Birdstone, Cactus Ridge, Cuvee, Eurosilver, Read the Footnotes, Ruler's Court, and Tapit did not do was win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Action This Day did, and with absolute clarity. Whether or not he fades from memory - along with such Juvenile-winning champions as Anees and Answer Lively - remains to be seen. The vote is based on what they have done, not how they might embarrass voters down the road.

Rule No. 3: Wait for the end of the year to select year-end champions.

If Elloluv were to add the La Brea Stakes (a Grade 1 event) at Santa Anita on Dec. 27 to her previous wins in the Santa Ynez and the Ashland, along with solid seconds against older mares in the Lady's Secret and the Breeders' Cup Distaff, her cumulative record would look very good when compared to Bird Town's Kentucky Oaks-Acorn double.

So what's the rush? Set the ballot aside for a week. They're not due until Monday, Dec. 29, and they can be faxed right up until the 5 p.m. Eastern deadline.

In other categories, it would be a shame if the Juddmonte Farms operation goes home without at least one champion. Luckily, it has two candidates in the female turf division - Tates Creek and Heat Haze.

Tates Creek was best in three tough California races, but never traveled. Heat Haze, on the other hand, won stakes in Kentucky, California, and Chicago, at distances from 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 3/16 miles. She gets the nod, and she just might win if Islington and Six Perfections split the Breeders' Cup vote.

Finally, we arrive at the impossible - the older male division. Everyone should have trouble with this one, since the five best horses in competition during 2003 all fall under the same category, and only one of them can win.

To settle upon Candy Ride, Congaree, Medaglia d'Oro, Mineshaft, or Pleasantly Perfect is a thankless task. Sophie had an easier choice. While it may be blasphemous to make a comparison, the older stars of '03 exhumed memories of 1964, when Kelso, Gun Bow, Mongo, and Colorado King took the game to giddy heights.

Mineshaft's victories in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Woodward, Suburban, and Pimlico Special were grand, but they were no more impressive than Congaree's exemplary work in the San Antonio, Carter, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Cigar Mile. Candy Ride's Pacific Classic was priceless, Pleasantly Perfect lived up to his promise in the Breeders' Cup, and Medaglia d'Oro ranged back and forth across the country, always the horse to beat.

Homage must be paid, though, to horses who sustain their quality over a variety of courses and distances, while defying the ravages of time. Congaree's campaign ran from early January to late December, while Mineshaft's lasted nearly as long. Either would make a great champion, so here's hoping for a flat-footed tie when all the votes are counted. This one, anyway, will be going to the most versatile, flamboyant runner of the memorable 2003 season.

Here's to Congaree.

Only five of the 16 categories appear to be airtight cases: Halfbridled for champion 2-year-old filly, McDynamo for steeplechaser, Jerry Bailey for jockey, and Mineshaft as older horse and Horse of the Year. After inking those in, voters have uncomfortable choices galore.

Two-year-old male: In a year when no one won more than a single Grade 1 race, Action This Day will probably win because his Grade 1 was the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, albeit in slow time against a depleted field that collapsed in front of him. So there will be scattered support for the one-race candidacies of Birdstone, Eurosilver, and Ruler's Court, and for multiple graded winners Cuvee and Read the Footnotes.

Three-year-old male: Funny Cide is a likely winner but for his popularity rather than his racing record, since Empire Maker had more victories, more Grade 1 victories, fewer losses, and a 2-1 edge in head-to-head meetings. It will be interesting to see if those who have rationalized voting for Funny Cide because he sold tickets and merchandise will also vote for Seabiscuit as Horse of the Year.

Three-year-old filly: The division deteriorated in the second half of the year and was no match for its elders in the fall. Bird Town's Kentucky Oaks and Acorn may be enough, but reasonable cases can be made that no one was ever better than Composure early in the year, or that Six Perfections's single American victory against older males in the Breeders' Cup Mile was the division's best and most meaningful performance.

Older filly or mare: Like the 3-year-old male showdown, this is another two-horse race between a beloved public icon (Azeri) and a Bobby Frankel trainee who accomplished more (Sightseek). Sentiment will likely triumph again.

Sprinter: Good luck predicting a winner among Aldebaran, Cajun Beat, and Congaree. Aldebaran has the best overall credentials but lost the Carter to Congaree and the Breeders' Cup Sprint to Cajun Beat; Cajun Beat won the Sprint and a lot of voters simply fill in the name of whoever wins that race; and Congaree didn't participate in most of the year's important sprints.

Turf Male: Storming Home did the most here during the year, but defending champion High Chapparal did come back to defend his title, dead-heating in the Turf. Falbrav had the best truly international campaign of them all. Another skullbuster.

Turf Female: Islington won the division's definitive race on Breeders' Cup Day and probably will get the nod over Six Perfections for having beaten tougher fields both here and abroad. Maybe this one's not so hard.

Apprentice jockey: In a questionable awards category, where few voters have even seen all the leading contenders, it's the usual choice between numbers and prestige. Eddie Castro won the most races, Pablo Fragoso succeeded on the tougher and richer New York circuit, and Ryan Fogelsonger and John McKee also did well in strong markets.

Breeder: This should be an easy one for Juddmonte Farms, which bred the winners of 13 graded stakes and $6.6 million from just 57 starters, but Juddmonte ranks only fifth on the overall earnings list. Some voters will stop at the top with Frank Stronach/Adena Farm's $11.8 million, at least those National Thoroughbred Racing Association voters employed as racing secretaries at Stronach-owned tracks.

Trainer: This was supposed to be a lock for Frankel and his 25 Grade 1's, but some of the same people voting against his stars - Aldebaran, Empire Maker, and Sightseek - are instead promoting Richard Mandella for winning 3 1/2 Breeders' Cup races. Both were spectacular achievements, but a year is supposed to trump an afternoon.

Owner: Talk about apples and oranges: Does your taste run to Juddmonte's 11 Grade 1's as an owner or to Michael Gill's 401 victories through Dec. 1? There's even a case to be made for Edmund Gann, who won 13 graded stakes from just 74 total starts. It may boil down to this: Do you prefer your owners to breed (Juddmonte), claim (Gill), or privately purchase (Gann) their winners?

Ballots are due at 5 p.m. Eastern, the Monday after Christmas. I expect to have it all figured out no later than 4:57.

Who is the Beyer Speed Figure Horse of the Year for 2003?

This year's competition is strictly a three-horse race. And, even though all three had truly outstanding years, the winner actually towers over the two runners-up. In fact, this year's winner averaged a full point higher than any previous winner. As measured by the Beyer Speed Figures, his performance in 2003 establishes him as clearly superior to any other horse this year. Indeed, his consistently powerful speed figures mark him out as one of the most impressive runners in the past decade.

Candy Ride certainly had the potential to be this year's winner, but he only raced three times in this country - and only twice on the dirt. He earned a 111 Beyer in an allowance win on June 7 at Hollywood Park. Then, after a turf race on July 4, he destroyed the field in the Pacific Classic on Aug. 24 at Del Mar. His winning Beyer was a spectacular 123. But his owners decided that they didn't want to exhaust him after this furious schedule (three races in eleven weeks), so they put him on the shelf. Since Candy Ride didn't race the minimum requirement of four times on the dirt in 2003, he does not qualify for consideration as Beyer Speed Figure Horse of the Year.

Pleasantly Perfect, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic, earned a huge Beyer of 119 in capturing the year's biggest race, the Breeders' Cup Classic. But his early-season efforts were not very strong, and he averaged only 111 for the year - not even close to contention for top honors.

Perfect Drift emerged as a competitive handicap horse, and even defeated Mineshaft - one of the year's Big Three. But the 117 Perfect Drift earned in that effort at Churchill Downs was his only championship-caliber Beyer. Mostly he ran figures in the 110-112 range. He averaged only 112.5.

Two sprinters had impressive seasons and had to be considered. Shake You Down began the year as a solid regional sprinter, but immediately after being claimed in March by trainer Scott Lake he rocketed into the Beyer stratosphere. He put together an impressive eight-race run, which included a pair of 118's and a 121. But even during this streak he averaged a Beyer of only 114.6 (dropping his lowest Beyer Figure out of the calculations, which we do for every candidate who raced more than four times). And if you include his entire 2003 record, Shake You Down's average falls way down to a noncompetitive 108.7. Aldebaran also ran some powerful races, but he also threw in too many ordinary ones. His average for the year: 110.1.

That leads us to the Big Three, who stood far above the rest in this outstanding season for older handicap horses.

Second runner-up: This horse showed toughness, durability, and remarkable consistency at a very high level. After two efforts below 110 early in the year, he put together a powerful string of Beyers in seven consecutive races - losing only once, by a head. His average Beyer for 2003: 115. Undeniably impressive, but only good enough for third place in this year's stiff competition. Even his 116.1 average during that memorable seven-race run would be good enough only for second place in 2003. The second runner-up: Mineshaft.

First runner-up: This horse also raced at a consistently high level - from early January at Santa Anita right through late November at Aqueduct. After you drop his one poor effort on a sloppy track, he averaged a 115.75 Beyer for 2003 - topped off by a figure of 120 in the Cigar Mile. But even before that final race, his average still was higher than Mineshaft's - although by only one-tenth of a point. The clear first runner-up: Congaree.

The winner: This horse raced only five times during 2003, so perhaps he did not accomplish as much in terms of stakes victories as Mineshaft and Congaree. But his Beyer Figures overwhelm his competition. His average for his four qualifying races: 117. Even if you calculate his average based on all five of his races (including his low Beyer of 111), he still takes top prize with an average of 115.8. The clear, record-setting winner for Beyer Speed Figure Horse of the Year: Medaglia d'Oro.

Mineshaft will almost certainly win the voting for traditional Horse of the Year honors. But a careful look at his nine races should at least give the voters some pause. Although obviously he won more races than Medaglia d'Oro, it could be argued that Mineshaft never faced top-quality competition in any one of those races. So he not only fails to measure up to Medaglia d'Oro in terms of Beyer Figures, but he also falls short on strength of schedule. For example, in his famed seven-race run from March at the Fair Grounds through September at Belmont, he had extremely weak opponents in at least four of those races, and relatively weak opposition in the rest. When he finally ran against a distinctly second-tier opponent, Perfect Drift, he actually lost by a head with no visible excuse. And beyond Perfect Drift and Volponi (another second-tier runner), he never faced a serious challenger in any other race.

Medaglia d'Oro also faced relatively easy opposition in his two galloping wins early in the year. And he also recorded a win against Volponi (by one length in the Whitney). But after that his competition got much tougher. He finished three lengths behind in Candy Ride's monstrous effort in the Pacific Classic - perhaps the most powerful race of 2003. And he dug in with great courage in one of the fastest Breeders' Cup Classics in history. He dueled for the entire 1 1/4 miles with the speedy Congaree, and yielded to only the opportunistic Pleasantly Perfect, in the last 50 yards. And he earned a Beyer Figure of 117 under even those most testing of circumstances. Mineshaft never ran as impressive a race.

Mineshaft will be voted Horse of the Year. That seems inevitable. But he was not the fastest horse of 2003. Medaglia d'Oro earned that title - by a wide margin.

There's good reason. There really isn't a champion 2-year-old colt or gelding this year, at least in the conventional sense. No member of this class proved he was better than the rest, let alone achieved dominance, and that is because none - incredibly, none - of the leading candidates ran against each other.

Because of this, it is impossible to be genuinely opinionated and argue a case passionately for anyone. That, however, does not mean the leading candidates cannot be analyzed. They actually can be analyzed in an unusually objective fashion, and that may lead to a rational selection for the title.

Maybe.

Any list of leading candidates for the 2-year-old male Eclipse Award has to begin with the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner - even this year's Juvenile winner, Action This Day. In the first 19 years of the Breeders' Cup, from 1984 through 2002, 15 Juvenile winners went on to become divisional champions, and one, Favorite Trick in 1997, was also voted Horse of the Year. And, of the four Juveniles where the winner was not named champion, the eventual divisional champion ran in two of them.

But, it is widely acknowledged that this year's Juvenile was the weakest in history. Action This Day won in a time nearly a full second slower than Halfbridled took to win the Juvenile Fillies after she broke from post 14. He beat only two graded stakes winners and seven opponents who, like him, were eligible to the "nonwinners of a race other than" allowance condition. This year's Juvenile lacked the winners of such races as the Champagne, Norfolk, and Breeders' Futurity. So, given the fact that Action This Day won a Juvenile that was far from definitive, he doesn't deserve, and may not get, the automatic vote so many other Breeders' Cup Juvenile winners receive.

Of course, it can be argued that since none of the other leading candidates for 2-year-old male champion raced against each other, the races they won weren't definitive, either. That may be true, but at least a couple of these candidates have been flattered by the results of subsequent 2-year-old stakes.

For example, Birdstone looked very good winning the Champagne Stakes to make amends for his subpar effort in the Hopeful and improve his record to two wins from three starts. Birdstone's Champagne has looked even better lately, thanks to Read the Footnotes. Read the Footnotes galloped in his first two starts but was sixth in the Champagne, beaten 15 lengths, without a visible excuse. Then, Read the Footnotes came back to score decisively in both the Nashua and Remsen.

Another example is Eurosilver, who improved his record to 2 for 3 with a runaway score in the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity after making the kind of off-the-pace move from an outside post that is rarely successful at Keeneland. Eurosilver's strong performance took on an added glow when The Cliff's Edge, who finished sixth in the Breeders' Futurity, came back to win both the Iroquois and Kentucky Jockey Club stakes.

The same cannot be said of Ruler's Court, who rates as a leading title contender off the dramatic improvement he displayed with blinkers on in winning the Norfolk by a double-digit margin. He skipped the Breeders' Cup, just as Birdstone and Eurosilver did. However, the runner-up in the Norfolk, Capitano, was a dismal sixth in the Juvenile, and Perfect Moon, who finished third in the Norfolk, came back to lose against a modest group in Friday's Delta Jackpot at Delta Downs.

One wild card in the 2-year-old male championship is Lion Heart. He began his career the day before the Breeders' Cup, won his first start, and then ran away with the Hollywood Prevue Stakes. Lion Heart is to conclude his 2-year-old campaign in the Grade 1 Hollywood Futurity a week from Saturday. Although he won't face a strong field, should he win by a pole and in strong time, he would merit serious consideration.

So, what is my conclusion? I believe Eurosilver may be the best horse in this group - he and Tapit, who was so impressive staying undefeated in the Laurel Futurity but who hasn't accomplished enough to be considered a title contender. But, even if I believe Eurosilver is the best of the bunch, he did not win a

Grade 1 event, and frankly, I have trouble voting for a horse to become a champion without a Grade 1 victory.

In my opinion, Birdstone won what was arguably the strongest 2-year-old race this year in the Champagne. So on that basis, he'll get my vote.

At least that's how I feel today.

If there were an award for (a) most consistent horse over the longest period of time or (b) most versatile horse, Congaree would be a cinch on both counts. Alas, there are no such awards.

Thus, Congaree will have to be content with this: From Nov. 30, 2002 until Nov. 29, 2003, he was as good as it gets in modern American racing. He was fast and consistent. He raced on both coasts with terrific results. He won at seven furlongs once, a mile twice, 1 1/16 miles, 1 1/8 miles, and 1 1/4 miles. He won four Grade 1 stakes and two Grade 2 stakes.

When a horse reels off Beyer Figures of 120 in consecutive runnings of the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, that is something. When the same horse wins at Santa Anita twice, Aqueduct again, and Hollywood Park between the two Cigars, that is really something.

Congaree really is a throwback. For starters, he is a 5-year-old, and the connections are making plans for a 2004 campaign. There should be a special Eclipse Award given to owner Bob McNair for that alone.

Three Decembers ago, Congaree was a maiden with one career start, a sixth-place finish at Del Mar on Sept. 10, 2000. The horse did not make his first start as a 3-year-old until Feb. 28. He quickly won his maiden, an allowance race, and the Wood Memorial in the space of 45 days.

Congaree soundly beat Monarchos in the Wood. And one could make a case that Congaree, despite his third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, actually ran the best race. Remember that was the year when the pace was 22.25 seconds, 44.86, 1:09.25. The horses who were first, second, third and fourth early finished 13th, 14th, 16th and 11th.

Congaree was fifth early and actually took a daylight lead in the stretch before Monarchos roared by. Invisible Ink beat Congaree by a neck for second. For a horse making just his fifth career start, Congaree ran an amazing race.

Congaree ran great in the Preakness, finishing third behind stablemate Point Given. Congaree won the Swaps Stakes easily.

That 3-year-old campaign was the tip to what was to come later. This clearly was a horse who could stand a lot of tough racing.

Congaree was in and out last year until the Cigar Mile. There was even a try on the grass that did not work.

Since the 2002 Cigar, just about everything has worked. Even the horse's losses have been valiant. His sixth-place finish in the Met Mile was obviously a result of dueling on a wild pace and clearly an aberration.

His fourth in the Breeders' Cup Classic was a winning effort. Left alone, Medaglia d'Oro or Congaree was sure to win the Classic. Together, they showed great courage and set it up nicely for Pleasantly Perfect.

One would be remiss not to point out that Jerry Bailey, after riding Congaree only in the Preakness, got reacquainted with the horse in the 2002 Cigar. Since then Bailey is a head away from being unbeaten on Congaree in six starts. In that time span, all other riders (and they would be great riders in Gary Stevens, Edgar Prado and Patrick Valenzuela) are 1 for 4.

Bob Baffert nearly won the Triple Crown with both Silver Charm and Real Quiet. He really should have won it with Point Given.

Still, Congaree has to be his best training job. Congaree went through horse racing's version of hell in his 3-year-old season. More than two years later, the horse holds form that has seen him earn Beyers of 115, 118, 116, 116, 116, 115, and 120 in 2003. No matter the distance or the track, Congaree fires.

There may be no award for Congaree this year. We here at Beyer Control do not have the power to bestow awards. But there are things we just know. We know that Congaree is in a category all his own.

Two Daily Racing Form columnists, worrying that voters will make the wrong choice for the wrong reasons, have already fired salvos for Empire Maker. Steven Crist fretted that Empire Maker would be penalized because of widespread resentment over his premature retirement. This would be unjust, Crist wrote, because "he was clearly the most talented colt." Mike Watchmaker said, "Funny Cide boosters are fools who simply don't know what they are viewing."

In fact, the relative merits of Funny Cide and Empire Maker aren't as clear-cut as Empire Maker's adherents portray them.

Most sports fans vividly remember the way this year's 3-year-old drama unfolded. Empire Maker, hyped as a potential star before he set foot on a racetrack, was favored to win the Kentucky Derby after capturing both the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial Stakes. Funny Cide hadn't been regarded as a Derby candidate until his half-length loss in the Wood.

But on the first Saturday in May, everything came up roses for Funny Cide. He benefited from a perfect, ground-saving ride by Jose Santos to score an upset victory. Empire Maker, whose training had been compromised by a foot bruise, raced wide all the way and lost by 1 3/4 lengths.

When Empire Maker skipped the Preakness, Funny Cide faced moderate competition and won at Pimlico by nearly 10 lengths. He then went to Belmont Park seeking to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, but Empire Maker spoiled his bid. Funny Cide faded to finish third, five lengths behind.

Although racing fans hoped the Triple Crown series was just the beginning of an exciting rivalry, Funny Cide and Empire Maker never faced each other again, and neither won a race during the rest of 2003. Funny Cide lost the Haskell at Monmouth, and an illness sidelined him until his owners made the ill-advised decision to enter the Breeders' Cup Classic. Empire Maker narrowly lost the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. Bothered by more foot problems, he was retired to stud.

Empire Maker's fans point to the bottom line: Empire Maker faced Funny Cide three times and beat him twice. Empire Maker won 3 of 6 starts as a 3-year-old, with all of the wins coming in Grade 1 stakes. Funny Cide was 2 for 8.

If they had been in top condition and faced each other at 1 1/4 miles, most handicappers would have preferred Empire Maker. But his edge was a narrow one; they earned similar speed figures in their best races. Perhaps Empire Maker's half-length margin in the Wood Memorial was an accurate reflection of their relative ability.

But champions are determined by performances in championship events. The Breeders' Cup almost automatically decides some of the Eclipse Awards. However, the most definitive championship test in all of American horse racing is the one that exists for 3-year-olds: the Triple Crown series. Almost every good 3-year-old tries to win these races, and the ones who excel win year-end titles.

In the last 30 years, three horses have swept the Triple Crown and 16 have captured two-thirds of the series - 18 of those 19 have won the Eclipse Award (the lone exception was Tabasco Cat in 1994). Funny Cide captured the big one - the Kentucky Derby. He can hardly be blamed for beating a weak Preakness field when trainer Bobby Frankel chose to skip the race so Empire Maker would be better rested for the Belmont. Modern horses have difficulty running three hard races in five weeks - that's why the Triple Crown is so elusive - and Funny Cide was at a disadvantage against fresher foes. Nevertheless, he performed honorably throughout the series and stimulated widespread interest in the sport. Is he less worthy of a title than a rival who won one race, had an excuse in one, and skipped one?

Steven Crist argues that voters should be not be influenced by Empire Maker's early retirement, but why not? The sport ought to encourage owners and trainers to run their horses instead of following the path of least resistance to a lucrative career at stud.

After physical problems disrupted Empire Maker's 3-year-old campaign, owner Khalid Abdullah could have raced him next season instead of retiring him. As a 4-year-old Empire Maker might well have proved himself a champion.

But even if he did possess more talent than Funny Cide, Empire Maker didn't conclusively earn a championship as a 3-year-old. For taking on the sport's toughest challenges and nearly winning its greatest prize, Funny Cide deserves the Eclipse Award.

(c) 2003 Washington Post

The balloting for champion female turf horse is this year's $64,000 question. The top candidates are a pair of Europeans who won Breeders' Cup races, and a two-time Grade 1 winner who raced throughout the U.S. from April through November.

Both Six Perfections, who won the Breeders' Cup Mile, and Islington, who won the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, followed outstanding European campaigns with a victory at the World Thoroughbred Championships.

But a compelling case can also be made for Heat Haze, who completed an ambitious U.S. campaign with her victory in last Sunday's Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park.

The Matriarch was the seventh race this year for Heat Haze. She won four times, ranging from the 6 1/2-furlong turf sprint of the Las Cienegas Handicap at Santa Anita, to the 1 3/16 miles of the Grade 1 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington Park. She ran in California, Kentucky, New York, and Illinois, and competed in five Grade 1 races, winning two of them.

Bobby Frankel, the trainer of Heat Haze, is certainly biased toward the championship merits of Heat Haze, but his reasoning is logical.

"I don't want to take anything away from Islington or Six Perfections. They're both outstanding fillies," Frankel said Tuesday morning at Hollywood Park. "But my filly didn't have the same opportunities that they did. Her best race is at a mile. There's no Group 1 races at a mile all year for fillies, except for the Matriarch. So we had to stretch her out in Group 1 races at distances that were probably too far for her. And she ran well in those races. If there were mile races for fillies here all year, like in Europe, she'd go in that. I mean, if Six Perfections had run here all year, she probably would have been beaten a few times because she would have been in the same situation. I don't think she wants to go a mile and a quarter."

Heat Haze emerged from the Matriarch in good order, and will be given a brief vacation, Frankel said. Frankel was unsure if Heat Haze would race next year. "Juddmonte hasn't said anything yet," he said, referring to the farm that bred and owns Heat Haze.

Another Juddmonte runner, Etoile Montante, was transferred to Frankel's care after the Matriarch, in which she was favored. "I'm just going to freshen her up. She'll run next year for sure," Frankel said.

Two pounds not enough, Dollase says

Wally Dollase, the trainer of Bare Necessities, said his filly will take on Adoration in Sunday's Grade 2, $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap, but he thinks Bare Necessities should receive more than two pounds from the winner of the Breeders' Cup Distaff.

Adoration was assigned 121 pounds, Bare Necessities 119 for the 1 1/16-mile race.

Adoration carried scale weight of 123 pounds in the weight-for-age Distaff, but carried just 115 pounds when beaten by Got Koko, Elloluv, and Azeri in the Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap in her previous start. Bare Necessities carried 119 when she won the Gardenia Handicap at Ellis Park in August, which was her last start.

Dollase said that George Middleton, whose Iron County Farms, Inc., bred and owns Bare Necessities, had initially planned on breeding Bare Necessities next year to Giant's Causeway, but reconsidered. The filly was given a brief freshening after the Gardenia, and has worked steadily in recent weeks.

"She's had four six-furlong works in a row. She's ready," Dollase said.

Dollase's wife, Cincy, said Bare Necessities was named for the popular song from the Disney movie "The Jungle Book" made famous initially by Phil Harris, the father of Middleton's wife, Phyllis.

The Bayakoa is also expected to include Angel Gift, Keys to the Heart, Southern Oasis, and Star Parade, and possibly Blind Ambition.

Elloluv stays sharp

Elloluv, who finished second to Adoration in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds on Tuesday morning while tuning up for the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes over seven furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 27. The La Brea is restricted to 3-year-old fillies, is worth $100,000 more than the Bayakoa, and gives Elloluv three more weeks of down time.

"She can run against her own kind, and it's nice to give her a little freshening after two big efforts," said her trainer, Craig Dollase.

Elloluv's time was the fastest of 26 at the distance on Tuesday. The main track was listed as fast, but the surface played much slower than usual.

- Musical Chimes, who lost narrowly to Heat Haze in the Matriarch, "will be given a rest now and come back in the spring," according to her trainer, Neil Drysdale.

- Drysdale said that Sarafan, who finished far back on soft turf in last Sunday's Japan Cup, already has arrived in Hong Kong for a one-mile race there on Dec. 14. "Victor Espinoza basically eased him when he couldn't handle the course, so the race didn't take anything out of him," Drysdale said. "He was bucking and squealing the next day."

- Wally Dollase said that Irish Warrior, who finished second to Redattore in Saturday's Citation Handicap, will be freshened "for two weeks or a month" at a farm before returning to training.