Jackie’s Warrior is seeking to become just the third horse to win the Eclipse Award as champion male sprinter for two years in a row. Housebuster won the award in 1990 and 1991, and Roy H pulled the feat in 2017 and 2018.
Jackie’s Warrior is a finalist for 2022 honors after a season in which he won 4 of 6 starts and earned $1.4 million. His victories included the Grade 1 Churchill Downs and the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt.
It was a fairy tale season of racing for Elite Power.
He rose from maiden winner in June to Qatar Racing Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero in November and for the run of success is a finalist for the Eclipse Award as champion male sprinter of 2022.
Elite Power went 5 for 6 in 2022 for earnings of $1.3 million. The bulk of his bankroll was earned Nov. 5 at Keeneland, when he barrelled down the center of the track for a 1 1/4-length victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
“He came with a good run,” winning trainer Bill Mott said.
Cody’s Wish was running for so much more than accolades in November when he fought for a head victory in the $1 million Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile.
He seemed to know there was a greater purpose at hand, and it became evident when he was greeted in the winner’s circle by Cody Dorman. Cody’s Wish is named for the special-needs teenager born with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. The pair have been pals since meeting several years earlier through the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Malathaat had a tough act to follow when she began her 4-year-old campaign in spring 2022. After all, the previous season she won three Grade 1s and an Eclipse Award as outstanding 3-year-old filly. Turns out the sequel was even better than the original.
Racing six times in 2022, Malathaat ran faster than the year before, faced better company, won more often, and capped her exceptional career with a thrilling photo-finish victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Keeneland. All of which makes Malathaat, by Curlin, an Eclipse Award finalist as outstanding older dirt female of 2022.
A breakout year in Louisiana has led to Vicente Del-Cid being named a finalist for the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2022.
The 21-year-old native of Guatemala led all apprentice riders in wins last year with 246 from 1,122 starts. Del-Cid also ranked third in mount earnings, with $4,209,468.
But the success was hardly limited to his peer group of fellow rookies.
Maryland’s rich tradition of cultivating top apprentice riders lived on last year through Jeiron Barbosa.
The 19-year-old native of Puerto Rico won three meet titles in Maryland and also ranked second in wins and earnings among all apprentice riders in North America in 2022.
The accomplishments have made Barbosa an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding apprentice jockey of 2022. He hopes to add his name to a long list of Eclipse Award-winning apprentices from the Maryland circuit, including Hall of Famers Chris McCarron and Kent Desormeaux, and 2018 winner Wes Hamilton.
Joel Rosario was the Eclipse Award winner as outstanding jockey of 2021, and he’s made a significant case to defend his title for 2022.
Rosario was the regular rider on Jackie’s Warrior, Epicenter, Clairiere, and In Italian last year, and all are finalists for Eclipse Awards.
They helped lift Rosario to $29,250,139 in mount earnings for 2022, which ranked third among all riders in North America. The 37-year-old native of the Domincan Republic won 185 races from 915 starts last year, with 39 of his wins coming in graded races.
Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. is in the midst of an outstanding riding career as a three-time winner of the Eclipse Award.
And this past year might have been his best ever in the saddle.
Ortiz set new standards for North American earnings and stakes victories by a jockey in a single season, racked up three Breeders’ Cup wins, captured the Belmont Stakes, and won the Pegasus World Cup Invitational.
For his accomplishments, Ortiz is an Eclipse Award finalist for outstanding jockey of 2022.
Jockey Flavien Prat was one of the most accomplished riders of 2022, but his year could be summed up by one horse: Flightline.
Prat was the regular rider of the front-runner for Horse of the Year. He guided Flightline to victories in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland, the Hill ‘n Dale Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, and the TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar.
Summer Wind Farm, located in Georgetown, Ky., is the nom de course of Jane Lyon, who bred the dazzling Flightline and was along for the ride as part of his ownership group.
Lyon, a native of Little Rock, Ark., and her late husband Frank Lyon purchased the Summer Wind property in 1995. At the time, they had two geldings, neither a Thoroughbred. Lyon has grown the farm to more than 1,000 acres and has assembled a stellar broodmare band.
