Erik Asmussen always seemed likely to have a career in racing as the son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and the nephew of 1979 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice Cash Asmussen.
But the road the 22-year-old native of Arlington, Texas, took to the top of North America’s apprentice ranks was a tad unconventional. He is now an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2024.
Down, up, way down, up again, way up, up again but not quite high enough. Picture Fierceness’s 3-year-old campaign as a bar graph and your eyeballs take a ride on a roller-coaster.
At the end of the line, Fierceness stands as one of the top North American 3-year-olds of 2024, among the best dirt-route horses in the world, and a finalist for a second Eclipse Award, the chance to follow his 2-year-old championship season with another as a 3-year-old.
A colt named Baeza, ninth debuting in a Santa Anita turf maiden on Dec. 29, recently turned 3. Rapid improvement is required to continue a family tradition.
Baeza was produced by the Big Brown mare Puca. Her foal of 2020, the Good Magic colt Mage, upset the 2023 Kentucky Derby and became a finalist for an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old.
As he approached the starting gate, ready for loading as the 8-5 favorite for the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on April 6 at Keeneland, the 3-year-old colt Sierra Leone decided the proceedings would have to wait.
Who were these raucous humans, clustered so near the racing oval, impinging upon Sierra Leone’s imperial space?
Cinderella’s Dream arrived in the United States in early summer less than two months after the first loss of her career, a seventh-place finish in the Group 1 English 1000 Guineas at Newmarket Racecourse in early May.
The loss was her only disappointing race of 2024, a season in which Cinderella’s Dream was outstanding in three starts in the United States.
An exceptional 2024 campaign makes Thorpedo Anna favored to earn an Eclipse Award as outstanding 3-year-old filly, and a candidate for Horse of the Year.
She fits both categories. Thorpedo Anna won five Grade 1s and six graded stakes overall in 2024, more than any horse in North America. Thorpedo Anna was almost unbeatable for trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr.
Owned by Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, breeder Judy Hicks, and the Magdalena Racing syndicate of McPeek and his wife, Sherri, Thorpedo Anna was the country’s most accomplished stakes winner.
Someday the Eclipse Award for outstanding 3-year-old filly may be won by a filly who runs only on grass. When it does finally happen, the Eclipse winner’s campaign may be similar to the 2024 campaign of She Feels Pretty, who also is a finalist as outstanding turf female.
A sharp debut victory, a Grade 1 success in his second start, and two subsequent graded stakes placings helped Gaming land a spot as a finalist for the Eclipse Award in the 2-year-old male division.
A son of Game Winner out of the Johannesburg mare So Stylish, Gaming was purchased for $250,000 out of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March 2-year-old sale. He was trained by Bob Baffert for longtime clients Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.
When going over his contingent for the Breeders’ Cup a week before the races and the subject turned to Citizen Bull, trainer Bob Baffert was pretty succinct in what the 2-year-old colt was all about.
“He is definitely a front-runner,” Baffert said. “There are no ifs or buts about it. He’s all speed.”
Very little came easy for Chancer McPatrick in 2024.
Yet he was able to overcome some difficult trips to win his first three starts, including two longstanding Grade 1 stakes, a résumé good enough to earn him a spot as a finalist for the Eclipse Award in the 2-year-old male division.
Bred by Rigney Racing LLC, Chancer McPatrick was a $725,000 purchase by agents Nick Sallusto and John Kimmel on behalf of Sean Flanagan at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s April 2-year-olds in training sale. The son of McKinzie was sent to trainer Chad Brown.
