2014 Horse Of The Year: In Depth and Unbiased

Lets Talk Horse Of The Year

By: Claudia Lorena

It’s that time of year again; the biggest races have been run, the best of the best have battled it out on the track, and now, those in charge must cast their vote to elect the one whose worthiest of them all. It’s time to vote for Horse Of The Year.

Before I begin my analysis, it is important that I point out a few things:

Any Eclipse Award nominee with four legs must have run at least one race in North America in order to be considered.
The members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters make up the voting pool.
Other than #1, there are NO rules.

Therefore, it’s fair to say that those with voting privileges will abide by their own set of rules. Unfortunately, I am not one of those voters, but I do hope my analysis brings important issues to light and perhaps will encourage you to see things from angles you may not have considered. Below, in no specific order, are the contenders I believe to be the most notable.

My rules: Overall performance plays a key role in my analysis of each, as does the impact the horse has had on the sport throughout 2014.

I have studied long and hard and this write up was not at all easy for me, as I wanted to make sure I was able to see things from ALL angles. The following takes the entire year into consideration and is completely unbiased.

The Contenders for Horse Of The Year:

Bayern

He’s had a fantastic second half of the year, won at distances ranging from seven furlongs to a mile and a quarter, and run in top company. He has a combined winning margin of 36 lengths, which include romps in the Woody Stephens, Haskell Invitational and Penn. Derby, and his run in the latter broke a forty-year old track record at Parx when he stopped the clock at 1:46.96 going 1 1/8. Longines currently ranks Bayern as the leading horse in North America and he sits at the top of the standings in earnings for the year. His flop in the Travers against a field of top notch competitors was disastrous, but he did come back to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic by a nose.

Now, it’s hard to ignore the elephant in the room. The elephant being the way the colt won the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Bayern coincidentally made a sharp left turn right out of the gate that sacked the favorite and affected two other horses. No, he was not disqualified and, yes, he is in the records as the official winner. But that’s not the point. The point is, we won’t know if he was truly better than the other thirteen horses because the race was not run fairly. And, because of this, there is really no true value in that “win”. With that said, throw the Classic out the window and everything in the first paragraph still stands. Except now he is down to one single G1 victory, and having won the Haskell alone does not merit three-year-old honors and most certainly not Horse Of The Year.

Allow me to get a little more in depth. From his disqualification in the Derby Trial through to his romp in the Woody Stephens, Bayern ran 25½ furlongs, of which he won 1 in 3 starts in the span of 6 weeks. Following the Woody Stephens, the son of Offlee Wild didn’t race for 7 weeks before leading a wire to wire victory in the Haskell Invitational. 28 days later, the front-runner took on a forwardly paced Tonalist in the Travers, which was comprised of a field that included top tier three-year-olds. On the turn for home he went from first to dead last, and lost by a whopping 20 lengths. So, from January to November, there is a trend; win two, lose one, repeat—all year long. From this angle, the numbers are not in his favor and consistency is not his strength.

Respect is earned, and just as it is earned it can also be lost. I’m a straight shooter and I do not tolerate poor sportsmanship. An interference as severe as Bayern’s in the Classic is, in my eyes, enough to put a damper on his entire year. He is a talented colt, but unfortunately he raised more questions than answers. And, while everyone can continue to say that the horse is being punished for the actions of his connections, let’s not forget who this award is really for; the connections are the only real beneficiaries. Do we really want to reward such disrespect? Stop making excuses.

Earnings: $4,389,680

Shared Belief

From injury to foul play, this son of Candy Ride faced a great deal of adversity this year. His 2014 resume includes one grade II and two grade I victories, with his most notable wins in the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again. He is a proven winner on synthetic and dirt, and has faced older competition on three separate occasions.

Of his five starts this year, his only loss came in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and I think many will agree he was not given a fair shot. No, I’m not attempting to make excuses as to why he did not win, I’m simply trying to state the facts. The argument on Twitter has been that Shared Belief did not win because he wasn’t good enough; he had a mile and a quarter to recover and he just couldn’t do it. We cannot judge what we do not know. And, the only thing that we do know is that the Classic was not run in fair manner.

On the downside, the gelding has not run outside of California and—with the exception of the Classic—the quality of horses he faced in his first four starts are outstandingly impressive. Sure, the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again are great accolades, but they are no Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, or Travers.

Earnings: $1,401,000

Tonalist

With eight career starts, all in 2014, the Triple Crown spoiler has one grade II and two grade I victories on his resume. He achieved his first graded stakes win over a sloppy track in the Peter Pan, before galloping to win the Belmont Stakes—his most notable feat. He faced older competition in the JCGC, where he trailed the field for three-quarters of the race only to make up ground on the stretch and win by 1¾ lengths. And, though he was fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he still finished ahead of his elders as the four horses ahead of him were all his age.

However, other than his MSW win earlier this year at Gulfstream Park, Tonalist has failed to perform on a track besides Belmont. He fell short during his summer at Saratoga, placing second in the Jim Dandy and Third in the Travers, and while he did make a bold move on the stretch during the Breeders’ Cup Classic, it wasn’t enough. He has run at four tracks, across three states—with both notable victories over “Big Sandy” at Belmont—and his combined winning margin is under 10 lengths. All in all, he has been very inconsistent. So, as far as Horse Of The Year is concerned, I feel he lacks quite a bit when compared to the other contenders.

Earnings: $1,948,250

Untapable

This year’s super-filly seems to have had the best year of them all when graded stakes and accomplishments are taken into consideration. Untapable’s 2014 feats include the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose, Cotillion and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. That’s 1 grade III, 1 grade II, and 4 grade I victories. A proud daughter of Tapit, she is the first filly in twenty years to receive a 113 Beyer speed figure for her performance in the Fair Grounds Oaks, she won her first and only start against the older gals in the Distaff, and her winning margins rack up to a combined 33¼ lengths. In addition, Untapable has run at six tracks, and has won in five of the six states where she has raced.

Her one and only defeat came in the Haskell, against the boys. And, she didn’t lose by a nose or a head or a neck, she lots by 9-lengths. I’ve gone through all of her charts in attempts to rectify a solid argument in her defense, but I’ve come up empty handed every single time. Let’s just call it what it is; Horse Of The Year is extremely sexist; for a filly to win she must either beat the boys or be Zenyatta. Untapable has got Three-Year-old Filly in the bag, but her loss in the Haskell is enough to take her out of contention for Horse Of The Year.

Earnings: $2,808,600

Main Sequence

After having a not so great career across the pond, this five-year-old was shipped to the United States in the hopes that the change would spark his greatness. Well, it did. The gelding’s 2014 resume is comprised of four victories—all of which are G1 stakes—on four different tracks, in three different states. He’s faced top company, and bested Arlington Million winner Hardest Core by 4 ¾ lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Not too shabby, right? There’s more.

Main Sequence has proven he has the stamina to handle distance. In the span of four months he ran in three stakes, each a distance of 1 ½ miles, and what is even more impressive is the style in which he won; trailing the field. In fact, he went from seventh to first so quickly in the Breeders’ Cup, that he earned an outstanding Beyer Speed figure of 124. There are few horses capable of winning over such long distances and even fewer that can do it consistently, especially not by trailing the field. Main Sequence has achieved his successes with ease, style, and—perhaps most importantly this year—class.

Earnings: $2,610,000

California Chrome

Give me one reason why this son of Lucky Pulpit should not be named Horse Of The Year and I’ll give you five reasons why he should. Think I’m biased? Think again. California Chrome went from west coast to east coast and back to run on five different tracks, across five separate states. With a combined winning margin of 21¼ lengths in the six months from January through May, the Cal-bred galloped to five wins that include one G2 and three, back-to-back, G1 victories in the Santa Anita Derby, the run for the roses, and the Preakness. That’s a little over 3½ miles—or 28 ½ furlongs—in just six weeks, on three different tracks, across three different states (California→Kentucky→Maryland), before falling just 1¾ lengths short of immortality three weeks later at the Belmont in New York. So, if you want to get really technical, California Chrome ran over five miles in just nine weeks. Name a three-year-old in contention for Horse Of The Year honors that can top that. You can’t. Because none of them even come close.

No, he didn’t win the Triple Crown, but considering all of the above and the challenges presented in the Belmont—Yes, I am referring to the gash on his hoof, and no, it is not an excuse, it is a fact—Chrome fought hard and ran his heart out. Which brings me to my next point. Besides the great Zenyatta, when was the last time a horse truly captivated the nation? California Chrome has been defeated three times this year, yet unbelievably his adoring fans continue to grow in number. Why? Because whether you want to admit it or not, there is something undeniably special about this little chestnut colt; something that makes people connect with him; something that gives people hope; something that is just inspirational. “I don’t get it,” someone tweeted to me, “he’s really not that great.” Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but facts are facts. Go ahead, if you don’t believe me, add up the numbers yourself. If you’re argument is that we’re voting for Horse Of The Year and not “The Peoples Horse,” please refer back to the prior paragraph.

Be it his humble beginnings, his big heart, or his outstanding Breeders’ Cup Classic run (cough collision free), denying California Chrome three-year-old honors would be as ridiculous as watching the Academy Awards deny Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar, one great film after another. Without considering the outcome of his Hollywood Derby turf debut, Horse Of The Year is still in reach. I call it, undeniable determination to accomplish the impossible, but the Mad Capper said it best. “All that is gold may not glitter, but the brightest star in racing remains the horse that is made of Chrome.”

Earnings: $3,827,800

It’s been an amazing year for horse racing, but the events of the Classic brought disappointment to thousands of racing fans. With that said, if you happen to be one of the 254 people who will vote this year, whatever your rules may be, for the sake of our sport, please take everything into consideration.

Furthermore, let’s take a moment to thank our equine athletes for all that they do.

“In the steady gaze of the horse shines a silent eloquence that speaks of love and loyalty, strength and courage. It is the window that reveals to us how willing is his spirit, how generous his heart.”

“His is a power enhanced by pride, a courage heightened by challenge. His is a swiftness intensified by strength, a majesty magnified by grace. His is a timeless beauty touched with gentleness, a spirit that calls our hearts to dream.”

May the most deserving horse, prevail.

Follow Claudia on Twitter → @Claudia_WMS