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Eclipse with Mr.Wildman & His Sons by George Stubbs Buy this print at Art.com |
Date: 01/23/2006
The 2005 Eclipse Awards were handed out on Monday January 23th and Saint Liam came out the big winner with both Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year. There was much debate between him and Afleet Alex for Horse of the Year based on their almost identical records, but the voters overwhelmingly selected Saint Liam off his impressive win in the Breeders' Cup. Saint Liam got 194 votes for Horse of the Year while Afleet Alex only got 56. Others receiving single votes for the big prize were defending champion Ghostzapper, sprinter Lost in the Fog, Rock Hard Ten, and Roses in May. Eight voters abstained. Afleet Alex did win the 3-year-old male award by a landslide, getting 256 votes to Flower Alley´s 6. Voter participation this year was just 80%, compared to 83% last year
Last year´s champion 3-year-old filly Ashado came back as the Champion Older Female this year with 203 votes over second choice Pleasant Home´s 49 votes. Despite her impressive record, Folklore was not a unanimous winner in the 2-year-old filly category as three votes out of the 260 went to Wild Fit, and a single vote went to French Park. This extends D. Wayne Lukas´ record to 24 trainees capturing Eclipse Awards. In contrast, the tightest vote was in the Turf Male division, with Leroidesanimaux edging out Artie Schiller 119 to 116. In the human categories, Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez easily repeated as champion trainer and jockey. Woodbine-based Emma-Jayne Wilson won Champion Apprentice Jockey, becoming only the second female to take the title.
All the winners for 2005 are listed below with the actual vote totals. A link to a full profile with 2005 past performances is given for each horse. To see all this years finalists with profiles for each, check here. You can look up past year's winners here. You can see how the awards are decided here.
A large selection of photos and comments for the award ceremony are now available thanks to photographer Tina Hines who was there for us.
Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male: Saint Liam
Horse of the Year: Saint Liam, 194; Afleet Alex, 56; Ghostzapper, 1; Lost in the Fog, 1; Rock Hard Ten, 1; Roses in May, 1. Voter Abstentions, 8.
Older Male: Saint Liam, 250; Ghostzapper 5; Rock Hard Ten, 3; Roses in May, 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Two-Year-Old Male: Stevie Wonderboy
Vote totals: Stevie Wonderboy, 230; First Samurai, 25; Bluegrass Cat, 1; Henny Hughes 1; Private Vow, 1; What a Song, 1. Voter abstentions, 3.
Two-Year-Old Filly: Folklore
Vote totals: Folklore, 257; Wild Fit, 2; French Park 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Three-Year-Old Male: Afleet Alex
Vote totals: Afleet Alex, 253; Flower Alley, 6; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Three-Year-Old Female: Smuggler
Vote totals: Smuggler, 177; Indian Vale, 24; Summerly, 20; Round Pond, 16; In the Gold, 9; Sweet Catomine, 9; Cesario (JPN), 2; Leave Me Alone, 1; Splendid Blended, 1; Sweet Symphony 1; Voter Abstentions 2.
Older Female: Ashado
Vote totals: Ashado, 203; Pleasant Home, 49; Intercontinental (GB), 2; Stellar Jayne, 2; Dream of Summer, 1; Pampered Princess, 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Sprinter: Lost in the Fog
Vote totals: Lost in the Fog, 209; Silver Train, 30; Saratoga County, 11; Ghostzapper, 7; Purge, 1; Taste of Paradise 1; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Male Turf Horse: Leroidesanimaux
Vote totals: Leroidesanimaux, 119; Artie Schiller, 116; Shirocco, 17; Powerscourt, 3;; Kitten's Joy, 2; Relaxed Gesture, 2; Voter Abstentions, 3.
Female Turf Horse: Intercontinental
Vote totals: Intercontinental, 245; Cesario, 8; Megahertz, 2; Gorella, 1; Ouija Board, 1; Sweet Talker, 1; Voter Abstentions, 4.
Steeplechase: McDynamo
Vote totals: McDynamo, 226; Hirapour, 2; Preemptive Strike, 2; Sur La Tete, 2; Paradise's Boss 1; Voter Abstentions, 29.
Owner: Michael Gill
Vote totals: Michael Gill, 75; Melnyk Racing Stables, Inc., 64; Live Oak Plantation, 42; Phipps Stable, 19; Cash is King LLC, 14; Robert Bone, 11; Eugene and Laura Melnyk, 2; Sam-Son Farm, 2; Harry Aleo, 9; Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren, Jr., 8; Mr. and Mrs. Jerome S. Moss, 4; Stronach Stables, 4; Juddmonte Farms, Inc., 1. Abstentions, 11.
Breeder: Adena Springs
Vote totals: Adena Springs, 129; Edward P. Evans, 53; Live Oak Stud, 27; Phipps Stable, 11; John Franks, 9; Juddmonte Farms, Inc., 7; Farnsworth Farms, 5; Wimborne Farm, Inc., 3; John Martin Silvertand, 2; William S. Farish, 1; John Gunther, 1; Liberation Farm, 1; Old English Rancho, 1. Abstentions, 11.
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Vote totals: Todd Pletcher, 226; Steve Asmussen, 15; Robert Frankel, 5; Richard Dutrow, Jr., 4; Tim Ritchey, 4; Greg Gilchrist, 1; Claude R. McGaughey, III, 1; William I. Mott, 1; Cole Norman, 1; Nick Zito, 1. Abstentions, 3.
Jockey: John Velazquez
Vote totals: John Velazquez, 195; Edgar Prado, 20; Jerry Bailey, 19; Garrett Gomez, 12; Russell Baze, 6; Ramon Dominguez, 3; Rafael Bejarano, 2; Eddie Castro, 1; Gary Stevens, 1; Patrick Valenzuela, 1; Voter Abstentions, 2.
Apprentice Jockey: Emma-Jayne Wilson
Vote totals: Emma-Jayne Wilson, 185; Channing Hill, 42; Justin Stein, 11; Kyle Kaenel, 3; Gerald Almodovar, 1; David Cohen, 1; Corey Fraser, 1; Voter Abstentions, 18.
How the Awards are Decided
The old three-bloc voting system was replaced in 2003 with a one vote per person system, where every voter's selection is weighted equally. Ranked their top three selections in each of the 16 voting categories and points are awarded on a 10-5-1 basis. The voting point system determines the three finalists in each category, but the winner is determined by first-place votes only. To see all the details of the new voting format from DRF, check here.
More about the Eclipse Awards:
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