The Haiku Handicapper: Eclipse Award selections

DRF Breeding staff writer Joe Nevills makes his selections for the 2013 Eclipse Awards in the form of haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven and five.

2-year-old male
A final feather
For the late Hollywood’s cap
Shared Belief gets it

2-year-old female
They can take her race
But they can’t take her title
She’s a Tiger wins

3-year-old male
Late-season flurry
Seals the deal for Will Take Charge
No one else stepped up

3-year-old female
The price of gambling
Is the chance that you could lose
Beholder repeats

Older male
Consistency is
A controversy killer
Wise Dan’s rock solid

Older female
Not a standout crowd
Royal Delta did enough
To win it again

Turf male
Three things that are green
Grass, money, Wise Dan’s rivals
The third with envy

Turf female
It took just two starts
For Dank to land the hardware
In this division

Male sprinter
Your coach didn’t lie
Points Offthebench wins titles
Gone too soon, sadly

Female sprinter
Division’s pillars:
Groupie Doll, Mizdirection
Defending champ wins

Steeplechase
Didn’t keep close tabs
Wouldn’t be responsible
To cast a vote here

Trainer
The year for Pletcher:
Led by earnings, graded wins
Belmont win, to boot

Owner
Ramseys won big meets,
Big races where they didn’t
No one else is close

Breeder
A home-grown hero
Sired more home-grown heroes
Kitten’s Joy, Ramseys

Jockey
For the first six months,
No rider’s hand was hotter
Than Rosario’s

Apprentice jockey
Nabbing a Grade 1
Puts Zayas over the top
Amongst worthy foes

Horse of the Year
Plenty of good ones
But Wise Dan displayed greatness
And joins elite clique