Heading into autumn 2012, it appeared that the final chapters on Green Tune’s legacy as a sire were close to completion, as far as the accomplishments of his leading runners are concerned. The late son of Green Dancer, a classic winner in France and one of that country’s leading sires, still had numerous horses racing across Europe, but no standouts. His best performer in training was a competitive 5-year-old mare who had annexed two Group 3 races in France before shipping to the U.S. and winning the Grade 1 Diana Stakes in 2011.

courtesy Three Chimneys FarmWar Chant
The top side of multiple Grade 1 winner Pierrot Lunaire's pedigree is littered with Grade 1 performers on both turf and dirt, while the 9-year-old gelding hails from a female family that has produced stakes horses on both sides of the Atlantic. This versatile family now welcomes a steeplechase champion.

courtesy WinStar FarmHarlan's Holiday

courtesy Walmac Farm; Joy Gilbert photoHenny Hughes

Winners of the 2012 Eclipse Awards, selected by voters from Daily Racing Form, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

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HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Groupie Doll, the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner and the odds-on favorite to walk away with an Eclipse Award as champion female sprinter here Saturday night, went to the track Wednesday for the first time since arriving more than two weeks ago.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Wise Dan is a finalist for champion male turf horse and champion older male, and is the favorite to be named Horse of the Year, when the 42nd Eclipse Awards are presented Saturday night at Gulfstream Park.

Voters have selected Paynter’s recovery from health problems earlier this year as the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Moment of the Year, the NTRA announced Thursday.

Visitors to the NTRA’s website were offered 12 different racing events this year to choose for the Moment of the Year. Paynter’s recovery won with 27 percent of the vote, distancing I’ll Have Another’s win in the Preakness two weeks after he scored in the Kentucky Derby, which got 13 percent of the vote, according to the NTRA.

Being honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit is a great thing and all that, and Nick Nicholson will be humbled and proud to receive it on Saturday evening at the Eclipse Awards Dinner at Gulfstream Park, adding his name to a heady list of Thoroughbred racing’s most respected leaders.

Still, no matter how many nice things people say or how long the round of applause, the Award of Merit will be the only the second-best thing to happen in the Nicholson household this week.

J. Paul Reddam experienced the sort of year in 2012 that keeps most Thoroughbred owners committed to the business, despite its many uncertainties. The Ontario-born Reddam, 57, burst onto the national scene last spring when I’ll Have Another scored wins in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and entered Belmont Stakes week as one of the more popular, and, according to many, best candidates in recent years to end the Triple Crown drought.