Medaglia d’Oro was represented by more Grade 1 winners than any other North American stallion in 2017, and that translated into five individual finalists when the 2017 Eclipse Awards candidates were announced last week, leading all stallions.
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DRF Past Performances
In order to be eligible for an Academy Award, a movie must comply with a long list of requirements laid out by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. A feature film must be at least 40 minutes in length.
At the very least, it must be shown in a theater in Los Angeles County between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 for no fewer than seven consecutive days, three times a day, for a paid admission.
It took one morning of Breeders’ Cup-week training for Talismanic to become a favorite of North American racing photographers. It took two minutes, 26 seconds of Breeders’ Cup racing for Talismanic to become an Eclipse Award finalist with a chance to be named champion turf male of 2017.
“Oh yeah, Beach Patrol. Nice horse. Really nice horse! Can’t win the big one, though.”
So a racing conversation might have gone as recently as this past Aug. 11, at which point Beach Patrol was, perhaps, testing his connections’ patience. Like, c’mon already, horse – go ahead and win a race.
It’s an admirable approach, trainer Mark Casse’s orientation toward “what-if” questions.
What if, for instance, World Approval had during the summer of 2016 honed in on turf races at one mile or, at most, 1 1/8 miles?
Not really worth thinking about, according to Casse.
“I don’t look in the rearview mirror,” Casse said. “I’ve said a million times that training horses is like putting puzzles together: You try the pieces until you find one that fits.”
For Caledonia Road, an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly of 2017 is not guaranteed, but it’s pretty darn close to it.
Of the first 33 winners of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, an overwhelming 29 went on to be voted champion 2-year-old filly. (She’s a Tiger, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2013, finished first in the Juvenile Fillies, but was disqualified and placed second for interference.)
The Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old filly has been the exclusive property of dirt performers. This is understandable. Dirt racing is still the big game in U.S. Thoroughbred racing. But there has been a shift in recent years in the philosophy of the Eclipse Award electorate to one that is bound less by tradition, is more inclusive, and, as a result, is more accepting of turf performers.
From the auction ring in Saratoga to the farm in Montana to the racetracks in Southern California, Bolt d’Oro rarely failed to impress in 2017.
He won 3 of 4 starts, including Grade 1 victories in the Del Mar Futurity and FrontRunner Stakes, with his one hiccup a third-place finish as the favorite in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar. For his achievements, Bolt d’Oro was voted a finalist for the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male.
