Who wins Horse of the Year?

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by dalakhani

I agree on Drosselmeyer.

I think it comes down to Havre De Grace or Drosselmeyer. Drosselmeyer won the big one and came in second in the JCGC. In horse racing circa 2011, that is a decent resume.

I would understand if they gave it to the mare. Anyone else, I have a hard time seeing. I realize Game On Dude won a couple of awful stakes in So Cal but he lost to Drosselmeyer head to head. At least HDG beat a couple of compelling opponents in her prior stakes races.

If Game On Dude lost to Drosselmeyer head to head, what do you call how HDG finished in comparison? That's the problem. She wasn't disgraced, but giving the 4th place finisher of the Classic HOY? If she finished where Game On Dude finished (it's hard to abbreviate his name without it looking like you're shouting 'God'), it'd be close enough that folks might go for it a la Curlin and his BCC 3rd place. In his case though, he was trying synthetic and you could see the rest of his record as more than sufficient what with winning the Dubai World Cup. For all the 'ooh'ing over HDG's Woodward, a nice performance indeed, Rachel was a second faster and pushed from start to finish on the lead by every single horse in the field.

If HDG won it, I wouldn't cry myself to sleep because I have a lot of respect for her. It'd bug me less than last year's situation, honestly, but HOY shouldn't be like this. It's frustrating.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

If Game On Dude lost to Drosselmeyer head to head, what do you call how HDG finished in comparison? That's the problem. She wasn't disgraced, but giving the 4th place finisher of the Classic HOY? If she finished where Game On Dude finished (it's hard to abbreviate his name without it looking like you're shouting 'God'), it'd be close enough that folks might go for it a la Curlin and his BCC 3rd place. In his case though, he was trying synthetic and you could see the rest of his record as more than sufficient what with winning the Dubai World Cup. For all the 'ooh'ing over HDG's Woodward, a nice performance indeed, Rachel was a second faster and pushed from start to finish on the lead by every single horse in the field.

Curlin ran 4th in the BC Classic also.

I guess her case for HOY would be strengthened or weakened based on who is the frontrunner for champion older horse. Flat Out or Game On Dude?

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Curlin ran 4th in the BC Classic also.

I guess her case for HOY would be strengthened or weakened based on who is the frontrunner for champion older horse. Flat Out or Game On Dude?

Oops. I've made that mistake before, I just did it in my head where it's much less embarrassing. I forgot ol' Tiago got 3rd. Oh well. He still had more excuses and wins in the DWC, Stephen Foster, Woodward and JCGC. As much as I adore Havre de Grace, her record isn't quite the same.

If Game On Dude and Flat Out both show up for the Clark, that'd probablly be the older male championship right? How do you see that affecting her chances depending on the winner? (I love how I'm campaigning Baffert's horse for him. He technically hasn't said Game On Dude is done for the year, and he's a tad frustrated about the Classic loss so he might go for a shot at HOY if he thinks another race'll do it).

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

If Game On Dude and Flat Out both show up for the Clark, that'd probablly be the older male championship right? How do you see that affecting her chances depending on the winner? (I love how I'm campaigning Baffert's horse for him. He technically hasn't said Game On Dude is done for the year, and he's a tad frustrated about the Classic loss so he might go for a shot at HOY if he thinks another race'll do it).

I guess the Clark is a Grade 2 once again, so in strictly technical terms, I'm not sure that it's particularly important when discussing Horse of the Year. I don't think Game On Dude or Flat Out would suddenly become HOY contenders by winning the Clark. However, like you said, it would almost certainly decide the older horse Eclipse if both horses show up, therefore if Flat Out were to win it, Havre de Grace's position would be strengthened.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I guess the Clark is a Grade 2 once again, so in strictly technical terms, I'm not sure that it's particularly important when discussing Horse of the Year. I don't think Game On Dude or Flat Out would suddenly become HOY contenders by winning the Clark. However, like you said, it would almost certainly decide the older horse Eclipse if both horses show up, therefore if Flat Out were to win it, Havre de Grace's position would be strengthened.

Churchill Downs' website calls it a Grade 1 worth $500,000. http://www.churchilldowns.com/calendar/grid/

ETA: http://www.toba.org/graded-stakes/races.aspx Yeah looks like it's G1 per the graded stakes committee.

[RolloTomasi]

Originally Posted by Merlinsky

Churchill Downs' website calls it a Grade 1 worth $500,000. http://www.churchilldowns.com/calendar/grid/

I could have sworn I read in the post-BC comments that it was Grade 2, because Ruler On Ice and Flat Out were considering a start in there. Must have been a typo.

I guess, theoretically it could make a HOY contender out of the two older horses. And if Ruler On Ice wins, he might earn champion 3yo.

[Danzig]

they restored it to gr 1 status last year from gr 2, first time since 2006.