Niggling notions and faint fears had impeded the translation of Expert Eye’s talent to production out on the racetrack. The starting gate, for instance, set his brain buzzing, sapping energy, severing the focus required to win the very best races.

Finally, during the second part of 2018, Expert Eye got his act together. He flirted with long-awaited top-level success and, after traveling from England, finally found it, winning the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs. His Breeders’ Cup Mile triumph has made him a finalist for an Eclipse Award as champion turf male.

Peter M. Brant has used his eye for bloodstock to build a powerhouse stable via strategic private purchases of diverse foreign runners and via high-end auction moves. His investments paid off in 2018. Brant’s runners earned nine graded stakes victories on the season, second only to Hronis Racing, whose Accelerate accounted for six of its 10 wins. And that’s not even counting the graded runners Brant campaigned in partnership.

Kenny and Lisa Troutt’s WinStar Farm, which won Eclipse Awards for outstanding owner in 2010 and standout breeder in 2016, led all North American breeders by earnings in 2018. WinStar is a finalist for the Eclipse Award as outstanding breeder for 2018.

Glennwood Farm, operated by John D. Gunther and his daughter Tanya Gunther, reached the pinnacle of Thoroughbred racing when its fields produced unbeaten Triple Crown winner Justify. The Scat Daddy colt, whom Gunther sold for $500,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, also is out of a Glennwood homebred, the Grade 3-placed Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic.

Mike Abraham’s diverse equine interests as a breeder in 2018 were led by Accelerate, who won five Grade 1 races, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic, to make himself a finalist for Horse of the Year and outstanding older dirt male.

Abraham has owned a farm in his native New Mexico since the early 1980s, and splits his Thoroughbred broodmare band between there and Jacob Nance’s I.R. Bloodstock at Dearborn Farm in Kentucky. He also maintains a large Quarter Horse operation in New Mexico.

Rushing Fall has been near perfect while competing almost exclusively in graded stakes company. Six for seven on her career and just a neck away from being unbeaten, the elegant filly is now an Eclipse Award finalist for the second time.

Monomoy Girl was fairly unstoppable in 2018, with the only one who was able to defeat her being . . . herself.

The filly won 6 of 7 starts in 2018, with the only blip on her record a disqualification that cost her a perfect season. Monomoy Girl holds signature triumphs in the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff and is now an Eclipse Award finalist as leading 3-year-old filly.

“She is a special filly, one of a kind, an unbelievable filly,” trainer Brad Cox said.

Midnight Bisou was a $19,000 buyback by breeder Woodford Thoroughbreds when she appeared at the 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale. Jeff Bloom then purchased her for a bargain $80,000 after she breezed a furlong in a relatively ordinary 10 1/5 seconds at the 2018 OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training.

As 2018 dawned, McKinzie was the best 3-year-old in trainer Bob Baffert’s barn, and as the year ended, he had reclaimed that spot. The middle of the year . . .

Well, McKinzie went to the sidelines with a minor injury, and a horse named Justify came along as a more-than-worthy replacement. But McKinzie came roaring back, winning a pair of Grade 1 races in the final 3 1/2 months of the year to end up a finalist in this division.

Accelerate made his first start of 2018 exactly 15 days before Justify ever raced, and his campaign continued for nearly five months after Justify made his last start. They could not have had more contrasting schedules, and though they never faced one another on the track, their accomplishments have set the stage for a battle at the ballot box for Horse of the Year.