3 year old filly Eclipse?

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Not to sound redundant, but if she's the best filly of '08, what is Zaftig? Because she pissed on Indian Blessing.

Well, how about best/most accomplished 3yo filly? I do think your question is an interesting one though. Why not Zaftig for the Eclipse? I remember back in 2005 I was campaigning for Ghostzapper to win the Eclipse as HOY again even though he only raced once. The thinking is that the criteria says only that a horse has to have started at least once in North America. Think about it. How many times have we seen a European come over here and win one of the BC races and be named NA champion? Off the top, I know Miesque (twice), High Chaparral (twice, and he didn't even win his race outright the second time), Johannesburg, Daylami, Kalanisi, Ouija Board a couple of times. Then think about the cases of Arazi and Singspiel. Arazi not only won the Eclipse as top 2yo but was also one of that year's three finalist for HOY. Singspiel never actually won a race in the United States in his year (won the Canadian International and ran second in the BC Turf) and still won the title. So, since technically Zaftig has met the criteria, why not vote for her if you think she was the best 3yo filly to race in NA in 2008?

[King Glorious]

Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

You make an interesting point. Honestly, I try and stay away from the eclipse stuff, because it's a popularity contest IMO. I just disagree that Indian Blessing is far and away the top 3 year old filly this year. I'm not sure who is, and unfortunately we'll probably never know. But I do know that Zaftig beat Indian Blessing rather soundly, in a race Indian Blessing had a pace advantage in.

I believe IB is the best but I won't disagree with anyone that has a different opinion and definitely won't argue with anyone that doesn't agree that it's clear cut. It certainly isn't. If I had a vote, I think the way that I would vote would be for the horse that I thought was the best combination of most accomplished and best. I think that IB best combines what I'd look for.