B. Wayne Hughes's decision to keep Lord Nelson in training in 2016 paid big dividends. Lord Nelson was perfect on the racetrack in four 2016 starts, and he closed his career with three consecutive Grade 1 wins and is now an Eclipse Awards finalist in the male sprinter category.
At age 6, A. P. Indian was finally able to realize the potential he had hinted at during his previous four seasons of competition. He went 6 for 7 on the year, swept the two Grade 1 sprint stakes at Saratoga, and won the top races in his division at both the Belmont Park spring meet and the Keeneland fall stand.
Trainer Mark Casse has long been a fixture at the Sovereign Awards ceremony for Canada's leading trainer, winning eight times. Now, he joins the Eclipse Award ceremony as a finalist for North American's outstanding trainer of 2016.
Horses trained by Chad Brown don't seem to bounce, nor do the trainer's statistics. In 2016, he continued his string of ascending yearly earnings since beginning his career in 2007, leading all trainers with more than $23.1 million in North American purse money.
Trainer Bob Baffert refers to jockey Mike Smith as “Big Money Mike,” a reference to his achievements in lucrative races such as the Breeders' Cup races. Of course, Baffert, a member of racing's Hall of Fame, is himself worthy of the “Big Money” moniker.
Haveyougoneaway began her 2016 campaign by winning a pair of ungraded sprint stakes at Oaklawn Park. They were solid efforts, but little did anyone suspect that the 5-year-old mare would go on to become a divisional finalist for an Eclipse Award.
Although a Grade 1 victory may have eluded Paulassilverlining in 2016, she sure racked up a lot of style points with the combination of class, speed, and consistency she displayed throughout a terrific campaign.
By winning the BC Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 5 at her home track of Santa Anita, Finest City became an Eclipse finalist in the filly-mare sprint division.
It's difficult to find more superlatives to describe Songbird, the heavy favorite to earn her second career Eclipse Award. She belted high note after high note in 2016.
The fillies and mares that Eclipse Award finalist Queen's Trust faced on both sides of the Atlantic in 2016 read like a who's who of international racing. After coming close against the best in Europe, she locked up a spot as an Eclipse Award finalist in the 3-year-old filly division by winning the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
