Stevie named topweight

Stevie Wonderboy, the winner of the 2005 Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old colt, was named the 126-pound highweight on the annual , The Jockey Club announced on Thursday. Folklore, the 2005 Eclipse Award winner for champion 2-year-old filly, was named the highweight among fillies, at 123 pounds.

The two top imposts were the standard high weights for the Experimental, a listing of the top juvenile colts and fillies in the United States based on the assigned weight in a theoretical 1 1/16-mile race on dirt. The weights are assigned in part by evaluating a list compiled by the North American Rating Committee, and in part by the consensus opinions of the three racing secretaries responsible for the Experimental.

Rated two pounds lower than Stevie Wonderboy, at 124 pounds, was First Samurai, who was undefeated in four starts before finishing third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Henny Hughes, who finished second in the Juvenile but was beaten by First Samurai in their two other meetings, in the Champagne and Hopeful stakes, was weighted at 123.

On the filly list, Folklore was followed by Adieu, who was rated at 122. Adieu won 4 of 6 starts in 2005, including the Frizette and Spinaway stakes. Wild Fit, a winner of two of her four starts last year, including the Del Mar Debutante, was weighted third at 120.

This year, the Experimental was compiled by Tom Robbins, the racing secretary at Del Mar; P.J. Campo, the racing secretary for the New York Racing Association; and Ben Huffman, the racing secretary for the Keeneland Association. Campo and Huffman were participating in the Experimental for the first time this year.

The committee evaluated 85 colts and 84 fillies. The list is open to any horse that finished fourth or better in 2005 in an open stakes with a purse of $75,000 or more in the U.S.

Campo said Thursday that the committee had quickly settled on the top eight or 10 highweights in both categories, but that the selections became much more difficult further down the list.

"Personally, and I'm saying this after my first time, I thought the fillies were a little bit easier than the colts," Campo said. "The colts were a little erratic, a little up and down all year. The fillies were a little more consistent."