DEL MAR, Calif. – Knicks Go emphatically stamped himself the 2021 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male with his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, and over the course of the two-day, 14-race event a number of other year-end honors were solidified, most notably 2-year-old filly, where Echo Zulu is a slam dunk. But many divisions have become as tough to see through as the morning fog that often descends upon Del Mar. Both turf divisions – for males and females – have several candidates owing to the weekend’s results, none completely satisfying. The race for champion trainer tightened. And the debate over champion 3-year-old male will leave social media as charred as a forest fire. The Eclipse Awards are voted on by members of the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, whose bloc includes field staff at Equibase. Ballots do not go out until late December, and are not due until just after the first of the year, so there is still time for a horse or human to make a late-season push. But with less than two months to go in the year, here’s how the divisions besides Horse of the Year and older dirt male stack up following the Breeders’ Cup: ◗ 2-year-old male: Corniche now ranks as the solid favorite following his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, making him a perfect 3 for 3, with two Grade 1 wins, both around two turns. It was unfortunate that his primary rival Jack Christopher was scratched and could not compete, but he will end the year with two wins, one Grade 1, and zero wins around two turns. It’s not impossible that Modern Games, at the center of the wagering debacle on Friday, receives support following his victory in the Juvenile Turf. :: BREEDERS’ CUP 2021: See DRF’s special section with recaps, results, charts, news, and more for each division ◗ 2-year-old filly: They should all be this EZ. Echo Zulu was a dominant winner of the Juvenile Fillies against every other top contender for the title, completing a perfect season with four wins. She should be a unanimous choice. ◗ 3-year-old male: Hoo boy. The top two candidates are Essential Quality, winner of the Belmont and Travers but a loser of his lone start against elders, and Medina Spirit, winner of the Kentucky Derby (with an asterisk), and a winner against elders in the Awesome Again. These two ran against each other twice, and Medina Spirit finished in front of Essential Quality both times, in the Derby and then the Classic. This likely will depend on how voters view Medina Spirit, as either the Derby winner, or a horse who could wind up being disqualified for a medication violation. Life Is Good, the Dirt Mile winner, also figures to garner support, but his overall résumé is not as accomplished as the other two. ◗ 3-year-old filly: Malathaat owns Grade 1 victories in the Kentucky Oaks, Ashland, and Alabama, and finished best of her brethren when third in the Distaff on Saturday. Clairiere, fourth in the Distaff, ran against Malathaat four times this year – in the Distaff, Kentucky Oaks, Alabama, and Coaching Club American Oaks – and finished behind her each time. ◗ Older dirt female: Letruska’s barnstorming campaign finally hit the wall in the Distaff, but her overall body of work – 6 for 8, four Grade 1 wins – should easily bring her a deserving championship. Marche Lorraine, the Distaff winner, likely will get a few votes simply because she won the championship race of the division, but those one-offs don’t usually lead to a title unless there are no compelling reasons to go elsewhere. That’s not the case this year. Shedaresthedevil finished in front of Letruska in two of three meetings, but owns just two Grade 1 wins this year. ◗ Turf male: Victories by European invaders Yibir in the Turf and Space Blues in the Mile were the cherries on top of a cake that failed to bake. They are now two of several candidates for this title, none wholly satisfying. Domestic Spending won a pair of Grade 1 races, but raced only three times, just once after June 5, and, like stablemate Jack Christopher, unfortunately had to miss his intended Breeders’ Cup start. Mo Forza won a pair of stakes on the comeback trail, then lost all chance at the start of the Mile. The most consistently brilliant horse in this division was Smooth Like Strait, the Mile runner-up, whose lone win came in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile. He ran from March through November, finished second in five stakes, and never was defeated by more than a half-length in any of his six losses. ◗ Turf female: As with the male division, there isn’t a dominant candidate here, and several will receive votes, chief among them the Japanese mare Loves Only You, who won the Filly and Mare Turf and has world-class form. War Like Goddess, a close third in that race, won 4 of 6 and has by far the best overall body of work of American-based runners. There is likely to be significant support, too, for two-time Grade 1 winners Althiqa and the late Santa Barbara, who made impressions earlier in the year in their forays from Europe. ◗ Male sprinter: This wouldn’t even be a debate had the Sprint photo gone the other way. Now? Let the dust fly. Aloha West nosed out Dr. Schivel in the Sprint, but that was his only graded stakes win. Dr. Schivel was 3 for 3 entering the Sprint, including a Grade 1 against elders, and lost a heartbreaker. Jackie’s Warrior, the Sprint favorite, flopped, but won four earlier stakes races, most notably the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens. The Sprint was his only try against elders. Both Dr. Schivel and Jackie’s Warrior are 3-year-olds, meaning both are eligible for the Grade 1 Malibu on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Voters might want to hold off until after that race before casting their ballots, as the connections of Dr. Schivel might try to enhance his credentials by running there. There also could be a smattering of support for Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal. :: Join DRF Bets and play the races with a $250 First Deposit Bonus. Click to learn more. ◗ Female sprinter: Ce Ce and Gamine split their two races against one another, with Gamine capturing the Ballerina, and Ce Ce proving best in the Filly and Mare Sprint on Saturday. Both won multiple graded stakes, both traveled. One had the better year prior to Saturday. The other made the better final impression in the division’s championship race. ◗ Jockey: It’s hard to believe Joel Rosario has yet to win an Eclipse Award, but that seems likely to finally change. Rosario, who won Breeders’ Cup races on slam-dunk champions Knicks Go and Echo Zulu, leads all riders in purse earnings (more than $30 million) and graded stakes wins (48) through the weekend. Irad Ortiz Jr. won three Breeders’ Cup races and is second in purse earnings, but his 31 graded stakes wins significantly trails Rosario. ◗ Trainer: The Classic victory by Knicks Go and third-place finish in that race by Essential Quality helped propel Brad Cox past Steve Asmussen atop the earnings list, $29.2 million to $27.9 million. Both could surpass Chad Brown’s single-season record of $31.1 million. Both will have Eclipse champions among their runners. Brown and Todd Pletcher are tied with 30 graded stakes wins, Cox has 29, Bob Baffert 28, and Asmussen 21. ◗ Owner: The boys in blue have been dominant everywhere. Godolphin won three Breeders’ Cup races – with Modern Games, Space Blues, and Yibir – and Essential Quality is a top candidate for a divisional title. They are among 22 graded stakes winners for Godophin in North America this year. And with $16.2 million, Godolphin already has smashed the single-season record for earnings.