...Let's give those girls a hand!

Eclipse Awards, continued:

Having thoroughly exhausted my personal reviews of the boys, it is time to move onto the girls.

Rags to Riches. Need I say more? Like Curlin, she started the year having never won a race. And once she got a taste of the winner's circle, she rattled off four grade one stakes wins in a row, including the Kentucky Oaks (the ultimate classic for three year old fillies!) and the Belmont Stakes (a classic race for three year olds, female or male!). While fillies like Octave and Panty Raid had great years, Rags to Riches deserved the title based on her stakes wins. Honestly, I would have expected her to win off of her Oaks and Belmont performances alone. As I watched her slip and slide over the muddy Churchill Downs track, my heart sank. She obviously did not care for the track, and I had so wanted her to win! But then, with a gutsy move reminiscent of the great Personal Ensign in the 1988 Distaff, she dug in and skipped home the clear winner. This performance made her a strong contender for the Belmont Stakes just five weeks later, a race that no filly had won in over 100 years. Many doubted her; I was not one of them. My loyalty was rewarded when I bore witness to one of the greatest races I have ever seen. After stumbling at the start and being carried wide the whole way, Rags to Riches had every right to back off the bit and give up. Instead, just as Curlin made his move, Rags to Riches gunned forward with sweeping strides. Those two swept into the stretch together, ears back, nostrils flared. Eyeball to eyeball, matching stride for determined stride. Everyone else was far back; they had already conceded victory to these brave warriors. It was impossible to know who would cross the line first, until in a last, desperate push, Rags to Riches stuck her head in front of Curlin, eventual Horse of the Year. Now that is a three year old filly champion. I wholeheartedly believe that had she not been injured and had completed her year with a victory in the Breeder's Cup Distaff, the Horse of the Year Voting would have been much closer.

Moving onto the other divisions- I feel that Nashoba’s Key was ROBBED in the female turf division, but I have already ranted about that. GRR, I MEAN SHE ONLY LOST ONE FRIGGIN RACE ALL YEAR, FOR THE LOVE OF... no, never mind. Not going to go there. Not going to talk about foreign horses who come to America for Breeder's Cup and maybe one other race TAKING THE CHAMPIONSHIP FROM AMERICAN HORSES. I'm above that. Ahem.


Ginger Punch was also a deserving older female champion, mostly based on her strong second half of the year. I can not wait for her and Rags to Riches to face each other this year!


And finally, Indian Blessing. I really think that she is going to blossom into something special. She runs with such reckless abandon, always playing the 'I dare you to catch me' game. Future Oaks champion? Maybe. And if it turns out that distance is not her thing... I do love the sprinters! Test Stakes, anyone?