Omaha Beach passing Ack Ack for SA Sprint
 

OMAHA BEACH TO BYPASS ACK ACK FOR SA SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019) – Fox Hill Farm’s Grade I winner Omaha Beach will bypass next Saturday’s $150,000 Ack Ack Presented by GE Appliances (Grade III) at Churchill Downs in favor of staying in Southern California for the $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (GI) on Oct. 5, according to Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella.

“His workout yesterday got very messed up and I needed that to be good in order to run him next week in Kentucky,” Mandella said via text Saturday morning. “I decided to stay here and just run him in the (Sprint Championship) Oct. 5.”

Omaha Beach recorded a seven-furlong move in 1:27.20 Friday morning at Santa Anita – his seventh work since returning to the track following a procedure to correct an entrapped epiglottis. The injury forced Omaha Beach to scratch from the Kentucky Derby (GI) as the morning lin

Just tell me when he’s actually reached the starting gate for a race. This is getting old with him.

I’ll tell you what. If I had a vote, Omaha Beach just earned it for champion 3yo. He probably won’t win it and definitely won’t of Code of Honor wins the Classic but I haven’t seen a better 3yo this year than him. That was quite an effort by him today to come off the bench and beat a horse the quality of Shancelot.

He might be the best 3 year old, which is certainly debatable, but there is no way he’s had the best season, which is what an eclipse is for, no?

When did a 6 furlong sprint in 1:08.79 in October become the mark of a champion in the 3yo division?

Seriously, forget about the Triple Crown races. How about the Travers, Haskell, Breeder's Cup, and a host of G2 and G3 events at 8f-10f later in the season? Omaha Beach's 2019 campaign sports a MSW loss in January, MSW win in February, the Rebel (G2, March), the Arkansas Derby (April), and the Sprint Championship (G1, October). That's it. Five races, three stakes.

For comparison, Code of Honor played in the Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby, Kentucky Derby, the Dwyer, Travers, and the JCGC. He already has this award over Omaha Beach.

You cannot win an Eclipse Award in the barn.

Its a shame that these colts couldn't have run against each other more often. There is some talent here and we missed out on some really good races. Code of Honor, Maximum Security, Omaha Beach, Game Winner to name a few are all solid horses.

Two questions for you:
1. Do you think Code of Honor is a better horse than Omaha Beach?
2. Where would you place Omaha Beach on your ballot?

There is no actual answer for what the Eclipse is for? If your position is it’s for who’s had the best season, how do you justify all of the winners that won the Eclipse off of a single race in this country? How would you justify Singspiel winning an Eclipse and he never even won a race in this country? That year, he came from Europe and won the Canadian International and lost the BC Turf and still won the title.

My vote has always gone to who I thought was the best horse....unless there was a horse I thought wasn’t as good but had an overwhelmingly better resume. In this case, I think Omaha Beach is the better horse and I don’t think Code of Honor has a good enough resume to overtake that. If he wins the BC Classic, I could go with Code of Honor.

That's why I would vote for Network Effect. Who cares that he never raced this year. I know he is the best 3YO out there and I'll be damned if I am going to let that interfere with him getting his rightful Eclipse award.

:D That made me laugh

Code of Honor has it wrapped up. Fountain of Youth winner, Dwyer winner, Travers winner and Gold Cup winner plus second in derby. Omaha Beach is a nice horse but doesnt have anything on his resume like the travers/gold cup double

I didn’t think I’d have to justify a horse winning the turf male eclipse 23 years ago when I asked you the question. You can’t really compare the seasons Singspiel and Omaha Beach have had and you know that.

I get it, your position is the eclipse winner is who you feel is the best. That’s cool. I just disagree. I suppose if Omaha Beach runs in the Classic and wins I could see your perspective. But as of now,no way.

It was you that said it should go to the best season, not me. All I did was point out that there have been many times that the award went to who the voters felt was the best horse and not who had the best season. I am not sure why it’s such a ridiculous thing to point that out. Arazi was a HOY finalist off one race, a restricted 2yo race at that, but it’s somehow crazy to think Omaha Beach should be considered for top 3yo.

The funny thing to me is that some people will act as if it’s such a ridiculous thought that he should win.....then vote for him second.

On ATR, Mandella indicates BC Sprint is his early lean.

There are unqualified voters making poor decisions every year.

Thanks for the exchange.

As for point [1], Code of Honor is a better horse than Omaha Beach going 8f or more. The latter has now not gone further than 6f in six months. Injury is not his fault, but I doubt that Omaha Beach will be able to stretch out to 8f and beyond any time soon. I am not surprised that the plan as a result is to see Omaha Beach go in the BC Sprint.

Regarding point [2], I do not want to muddy the waters in this conversation, but I would put Tacitus over Omaha Beach for second. Now, before anyone slams me for that view, I believe that Tacitus's early season leading up to the Derby was as good if not better than Omaha Beach's. I also believe that Tacitus's three seconds and two thirds since May are a superior body of work to Omaha Beach's win in the SA Sprint. So, at this point, I would Omaha Beach no better than third and would listen to arguments from others as to who else might be superior.

So, at this time, the three year old picture for me looks like Code of Honor (already decided), Tacitus, and a tepid third vote for Omaha Beach.

What race did Code of Honor skip during the Summer months that would have put him on top for you? What could he had added to his resume? The only two options would have been the Preakness or Belmont which would have taken out the Dwyer. He has danced every dance.

It is hard to believe that the BC Classic is the measure as to whether one would support Code of Honor for the three year old crown. Meanwhile, Omaha Beach sitting in the barn and lining up for the BC Sprint is a winning approach? In short, Omaha Beach skipped all the dances and when it is his time to finally step up and play with the big-boys, the connections go to the Sprint. There is nothing wrong with that ... but it is not what a three year old division champion who missed the entire summer does to win an Eclipse Award.

Now we’re going back 37 years.

Don’t ever change.

If Omaha Beach wins the BC Sprint, he is in the discussion for the 3YO champion, and probably finishes second to Code of Honor ( discounting, for now, Maximum Security winning the Cigar ). Keep in mind, this year's BC Sprint, as of now, is shaping up to be the strongest in years, and includes ( at least IMO ) the only legitimate challenger for Horse of the Year to Bricks and Mortar in Mitole.

To be clear, I don’t have any problem with anyone that would vote for Code of Honor over Omaha Beach. He’s got a better resume and if you feel like he’s the better horse too, it’s a no brainer vote. I understand that you favor more complete season. Nothing wrong with that. I prefer to look for who I think is the better horse. It’s best if the best horse and best resume are one and the same but it’s not always the case. If there is a clear best resume, I can go with that.

If 3 year old wins!
 

If a three-year-old wins the BC Classic then he will get 3-year-old- Eclipse
I one doesn't then all bets are OFF !:confused: