The Haiku Handicapper: 2015 Eclipse Awards

DRF Breeding sales editor Joe Nevills makes his selections for the 2015 Eclipse Awards in the form of haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

Ballots for the Eclipse Awards are due Saturday, Jan. 2, with the finalists being announced shortly thereafter. The awards will be presented on Saturday, Jan. 16 at Gulfstream Park.

2-Year-Old Male
No assists needed
Nyquist takes his division
On a breakaway

2-Year-Old Female
Never a bad step
And just kept getting better
Can’t deny Songbird

3-Year-Old Male
Pharoah locked it down
Coming down the Belmont stretch
And widened his lead

3-Year-Old Female
Logjam division
Stellar Wind by a whisker
Tops Curalina

Older Dirt Male
A cherry on top
For his sire’s farewell tour
Honor Code’s the pick

Older Dirt Female
The only question
Is who to write in behind
First-place Beholder

Male Sprinter
Focus on the horse
Ignore the soap opera
Just pick Runhappy

Female Sprinter
La Verdad’s the best
But popped for clenbuterol
Cavorting, I guess

Male Turf Horse
Tough year for locals
Big Blue Kitten ran honest
In the highest ranks

Female Turf Horse
A nose and a head
From a perfect résumé
Well-earned by Tepin

Steeplechase Horse
Leaving this segment
To the folks who watched them run
I’ll be abstaining

Owner
Zayat won the Crown
Everyone else on the list
Is fighting uphill

Trainer
Baffert won the Crown
Everyone else on the list
Is fighting uphill

Breeder
Zayat won the Crown
Better body of work, though
From the Ramsey clan

Jockey
Tops in wins, earnings
Clinches a third straight Eclipse
For Castellano

Apprentice Jockey
No one matched her feat
Broussard had a boy in March
Now Delta’s top jock

Horse of the Year
Something’s very wrong
If American Pharoah
Doesn’t sweep the vote