Let’s talk about the coronation.
No, not at Westminster Abbey in London later this spring, though we’ll get back to that.
This is about a horse’s coronation, which was talked about before it stepped off the track for the last time the next day. Secretaryanointed by the masters who have set such numbers as the best in the world in 2022, having a status equivalent to Frankel .
In short, it’s about the supposed coronation of Flight route as the 2022 North American Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on January 26 at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. Of course, the actual outcome of the vote is a closely guarded secret. But if there’s a safe bet in horse racing, this is it.
The event follows week-long ceremonies at the Historic Banquet Hall in London, where Flightline was named Longines’ World’s Best Racehorse with a rating of 140—equivalent to the best performance from of Frankel under the current system.
(LR) Terry Finley, Bill Farish, Jane Lyon, Matthieu Baumgartner, Stephanie Hronis, John Sadler and host Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges present the 2022 LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse.
But the ceremony in Florida was by no means a repulsive one. The Eclipse Awards, with all due respect to the international racing community, are a symbol of North American racing honor and this year’s gala was designed to reflect that in its entirety.
The Breakers Resort dates back to 1896. This resort was founded by Henry M. Flagler, a major real-life businessman, and descriptions of the resort’s current expression, opened in 1926. , uses words like “luxury” and this resort’s clientele is “glitter”. Ceremonies for a crowd of about 500 sold out for the Eclipse Awards, presented by John Deere, Keenelandand The Jockey Club, which includes a raw bar, caviar, filet mignon and a topping bar.
Flightline coach John Sadler said: “This is really special. We had a great time in Europe. We sat down with the head of the Japan Racing Association and Fishing. Hong Kong Equestrian Club and it’s very tasteful. But this is a big one for us. We are Californians and that’s it.”
The Eclipse Awards have been around and the 2022 event, which comes after a pandemic pause, was held in a luxuriously furnished temporary facility outside Santa Anita clubs.
The Breakers joined the picture thanks to the new CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Tom Rooney, who grew up in Palm Beach. While the nature of the event makes the annual Eclipse Awards important to recipients, Rooney said he wants the award to be extremely appealing.
“I was trying to find something that people were looking forward to and wanted to come,” said Rooney. “The staff and their event coordination are very professional. I selfishly wanted it to be special.
“I don’t want to hear people say, ‘Oh, the Eclipse Award. I have to review that award.’ It shouldn’t be like that.”
And there’s a royal connection for Rooney too.
“When I was in high school,” he said, “Princess Diana and Prince Charles used to go there. So it seemed appropriate.”
(In 1980, according to the Palm Beach Post, then-Prince Charles was briefly admitted to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach from heat exhaustion after an intense afternoon of polo in 90 degrees.)
Flightline is sure to win both Horse of the Year and the older Men’s Eclipse Award champion after winning all three starts in 2022, all tier 1 events. It’s not just the ones. victory but also the dominance of his opponents and faucet colt, off the mare Charlie India hairy , never tested. His 19 1/4 outing in Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) cemented his place in history alongside the likes of the Secretariat.
“On that day, on that track,” Sadler said, “I don’t think any horse could beat him. I guess the ceremony was really a coronation,” he added, chuckling. .
However, Sadler himself is not a candidate for a crown or an eclipse statue.
The pony breeder, Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Equine, and the jockey Flavien Prat were all among the three finalists for the Eclipse title in their categories but Sadler didn’t even rank. of three finalists for the coach award, losing to Steve Asmussen, Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher.
That is not without historical precedent. The Secretariat team also failed to win the 1973 award. The owner and breeder award was combined at the time and Penny Chenery’s Meadow Stable/Meadow Stud, the Secretariat’s owner and breeder. signed, won. But coach Lucien Laurin lost to H. Allen Jerkens and Laffit Pincay Jr. won the jockey against Secretariat rider, Ron Turcotte.
Sadler said he wasn’t particularly surprised not to make it to the third round of the final, though, “I always wanted to put together a perfect match and we did that last year.”
“I may not have the numbers,” he said. “That award now goes to super trainers with giant stables running all over the place. We train a relatively small chain in California so we don’t get to the top of the leaderboard.”
The awards are determined by the 258 eligible members of NTRA (including track racing member officials and Equibase field staff), National Lawn Field Writers and Broadcasters, and Forms. Racing Daily. The finalists are determined by the top three choices of voters, using a 10-5-1 score basis. The winners of the Eclipse Prize are determined only by votes in first place.
Most of the remaining categories of the 2022 Eclipse Awards have different favorites with question marks mostly revolving around voting for 3-year-old male, male and female sprinters.
Epicenter wins 2022 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse
The 3-year-old men’s category is a contest with three different winners from Triple Crown races and career-ending injury in Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) of epicenter who is considered the division leader through most of the ups and downs of the year.
Winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1) rich attack , who has not won another race in 2022 after the Derby, is not among the top three. Winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1) Taiba and Modern game , Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) and Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) winners join Epicenter on the roster. A turf racer’s victory in this division would be an upset.
The finalists among the male sprinters are Cody’s Wish , elite power and Jackie’s Warrior . They’re hard to separate, but the touching story of Cody’s Wish and the disabled person with his name, Cody Dorman, may have influenced some of the votes.
In the women’s field category, In Italy , regal glory and War like a goddess all have excellent credentials and advocates. All based in the US, War Like Goddess with trainer Bill Mott and others with Chad Brown.
Regal Glory wins Just a Game Stakes 2022 at Belmont Park
Whoever wins in those categories, The Breakers may be a more historically suitable venue for coronation than the venue for the Longines ceremony a week earlier.
The banquet hall, completed in 1622 and featuring Rubens’ only remaining spot fresco, has never been crowned. But it was the site of King Charles I’s beheading in 1649.
This gives us the full circle of royalty and an impending coronation.
King Charles III chose Saturday, May 6, the first Saturday in May, to hold his ceremony.
First Saturday in May – Kentucky Horse Racing Day.
