2021 Eclipse Awards: Cox, Godolphin well represented with finalists

Trainer Brad Cox and owner-breeder Godolphin seem poised for a big night at next month’s Eclipse Awards based on the finalists in 16 divisions that were announced Saturday morning on TVG.

Cox, the defending training champion, is a finalist in that category again. He trains Knicks Go, the overwhelming favorite to be named both Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male, as well as Essential Quality, the Godolphin homebred who is favored to take down the 3-year-old male title.

Godolphin, the operation of Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, also is a finalist for both champion owner and breeder, and is favored in both. In addition to Essential Quality, Godolphin has two finalists for champion turf male (Space Blues and Yibir), and two for champion dirt male, though Maxfield and Mystic Guide are of no threat to upset Knicks Go in that category.

The finalists in 11 equine divisions and five for humans were announced Saturday. Finalists is a bit of a misnomer, since the voting has closed. Those listed are in fact the top three receiving votes in each division. The winners – to be announced at a dinner on Feb. 10 at Santa Anita – are based solely on first-place votes.

A total of 235 voters - from Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which includes racing secretaries at member tracks plus field personnel for Equibase - cast ballots. Voters are asked to choose their top three in each division. Balloting closed Monday.

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The top three for Horse of the Year were not announced Saturday, but that is a fait accompli, as Knicks Go, the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, is certain to win.

Essential Quality will be looking to follow up his title as champion 2-year-old male of 2020 with the 3-year-old male title. His fellow finalists are Medina Spirit, the Kentucky Derby winner; and Life Is Good, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner.

Knicks Go and Essential Quality in 2021 helped propel Cox to a single-season record for purse earnings among trainers. The next two behind him, Steve Asmussen and Chad Brown, are the other finalists. They each won 10 Grade 1 races last year, one fewer than the leader, Bob Baffert. British trainer Charlie Appleby, who won eight Grade 1 races – including three Breeders’ Cup races – from limited North American starters, was among those not making the cut.

Space Blues, the Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, and Yibir, the Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, give Appleby two of the finalists for male turf, along with North American-based Domestic Spending. Among those not finishing in the top three were Colonel Liam and Smooth Like Strait.

:: Full list of 2021 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

All of Appleby’s Grade 1 winners race for Godolphin, which led the earnings tables for both owners and breeders. Juddmonte and Klaravich Stables, the next two on the earnings list, are the other finalists for champion owner. A notable absence there was Korea Racing Authority, which campaigns Knicks Go.

Similarly, the finalists for breeder also fell into line with the earnings list, with Calumet Farm and Stonestreet joining Godolphin. Small-time breeders who had outsized success, like Angie Moore, who bred Knicks Go, and Gail Rice, who bred Medina Spirit, did not make the cut.

In addition to Cox, jockey Joel Rosario should benefit mightily from his association with Knicks Go. Rosario is almost certain to finally win his first Eclipse Award after several prior years where he was seemingly deserving yet lost. In 2021, he led all riders in purse earnings, put on an especially dazzling clinic at Kentucky Downs, and won Breeders’ Cup races on Knicks Go and Echo Zulu. His fellow finalists are three-time defending champ Irad Ortiz Jr. and Flavien Prat. Jose Ortiz, Luis Saez, and John Velazquez were among those who had big years but not enough support to be in the top three.

The Breeders’ Cup, as always and as intended, proved pivotal in determining finalists.

Corniche, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner, and Modern Games, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner, are finalists for champion 2-year-old male along with Jack Christopher.

Echo Zulu, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner, is heavily favored in the 2-year-old filly division, where the other finalists are Pizza Bianca, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner, and Juju’s Map, the Juvenile Fillies runner-up.

Ce Ce, who won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, is a finalist for champion female sprinter against Bella Sofia and the defending divisional champ, Gamine.

Loves Only You, the high-class Japanese mare who won the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, is a finalist for female turf champ along with Santa Barbara and War Like Goddess. Among those failing to make it into the top three were Althiqa and Blowout.

Marche Lorraine, the Japanese mare who pulled off a major upset in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, is a finalist for older dirt female against Shedaresthedevil and the heavy favorite, Letruska, who flopped in the Distaff but had a stellar overall record in 2021, leading the nation with four Grade 1 wins.

Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West is a finalist for champion male sprinter along with Jackie’s Warrior and the brilliant, lightly raced Flightline. Among those not finishing in the top three were Dr. Schivel, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up, and Golden Pal, the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner.

Malathaat, the Kentucky Oaks winner, is favored to win the 3-year-old filly title against finalists Clairiere and Santa Barbara. A notable absence from the top three was Search Results, a close second in the Kentucky Oaks and subsequent winner of the Acorn.

The mare The Mean Queen, a three-time Grade 1 winner, is the strong favorite among steeplechasers against fellow finalists Baltimore Bucko and Snap Decision, whom The Mean Queen defeated in all their head-to-head meetings.

The apprentice jockey finalists are John Hiraldo, Charlie Marquez, and Jessica Pyfer, who, if she wins, would be the third female rider so honored, joining Emma-Jayne Wilson (2005) and Rosemary Homeister Jr. (1992).