One size should not fit all in Eclipse Trainer

The voters of the Eclipse Awards once again demonstrate a stunning lack of imagination. Dazzled by dollar signs, they equate excellence with earnings, looking no further than the rough numbers at the top of the table before marking their ballot 1-2-3.

On Thursday night in Florida, at The Breakers resort hotel in Palm Beach, the names of three men will be named finalists to honor the 2022 Coach of the Year. They are the three standing coaches. At the top of the earning list, the stable family accumulated a total of more than $90 million. You would think this would be its own reward.

Todd Pletcher, who has amassed the highest personal total of $30.4 million, seems like a virtual candidate to win his eighth Eclipse Award, although it will be the first one. his first award since 2014. He trained three division leaders in 2022—Nest , Forte and Malathaat —that was enough to put him past finalists Chad Brown and Steve Asmussen. Coaching three champions in one season isn’t uncommon—Bob Baffert did it most recently in 2020—but if you think it’s easy, go ahead and give it a try.

In 1975, Steve DiMauro was eighth in the national rankings, a million dollars behind Charlie Whittingham. And yet, there was DiMauro at the Eclipse Awards, receiving the trophy as Coach of the Year, because coaching champions like Wajima and Dearly Precious that season glittered more than gold to those who voted. Good for them.

If Bud Delp hadn’t won the Eclipse Award in 1980, we’d have heard about it – mostly from Delp. Half of his steady $2.2 million total was won by the spectacular Horse of the Year Bid, whose cross-country campaign was one of the times and thoroughly justified for the recognition of a trainer because he has handled a horse.

In 1983, D. Wayne Lukas began his journey to win 14 currency titles in 15 years. Realizing that Wayne had made it seem too easy and worried that he wouldn’t have anything new to say year after year, Eclipse Award voters responded by seeking out the coach. their respectability elsewhere and around that time, Shug McGaughey, Woody Stephens, found. Jack Van Berg, and Carl Nafzger, among others. Each of those Hall of Famers has only won a single Eclipse Award, which at least gives a much needed polish to the roster.

So what happened to change the trend around? Why don’t voters browse the top tier of the monetization list? Could the Thoroughbred training profession turn into a simple job of acquiring and managing replaceable properties? Why can’t voters today consider foreign candidates who have had a stellar season in the middle of a great career, as they’ve only done twice since DiMauro, Bill Mott in 2011 and Dale Romans in 2012? And that sucks, because last year alone there were a number of compelling shortlisted candidates for consideration.

One of these years, perhaps soon, Britain’s Charlie Appleby will send Godolphin horses to win the major North American races so often that he will win the Eclipse Prize due to exhaustion. of voters. In 2022, Appleby won 8 of 17 starts in the United States and Canada. Six of those eight participated in 1st grade events. His horse finished second four times and third twice. The rules don’t require an Eclipse Award candidate to be specifically based anywhere, though rival riders may prefer Charlie to be at home.

Mark Casse should have his fifth Eclipse Award champion at this year’s ceremony when the name of magic wheel was pulled out of a fat 2-year-old envelope. Plus two US classic winners and five Sovereign Horse of the Year Award titles, since Sealy Hill in 2007, along with a comfortable spot among the top 10 earners since 2011. Don’t worry, though. Voters will have another chance to recognize Mr. Consistent again next year.

Mark Ratzky, a friend of “On Racing,” is a very funny guy. His Eclipse comments on this year’s coach finalists include the comment, “Judging by this group, Flight route was the first horse in history to train itself.”

Santa Anita . ParkSadler is still battling airsickness following a trip to London, where he and a representative for ownership Flightline attended ceremonies on January 17 in honor of their foal the Good Racehorse. Longines in the world in 2022, with a ranking of 140 only equal to the revered horse Frankel .

The Longines luncheon was held at Banqueting House, located in the same neighborhood as Scotland Yard, Whitehall and 10 Downing Street. Home to Rubens ceiling art and history is where King Charles I lost his head. Sadler made the most of his first brief experience of the city.

“We got to do some behind-the-scenes tours, like the War Museum, where I sat in Winston Churchill’s chair,” says Sadler. “And shopping. Lots of great shopping.”

At the Longines ceremony itself, attended by a host of international dignitaries, Sadler said his usual thank-you to his horse, later adding that he was proud that Flightline had risen to the top. such heights without medication on race day.

“I think it’s going to be fine in that room,” Sadler said. “It all revolved around that idea, and I’ve definitely gone through a transformation to see the bigger picture now. I’m not preaching about it, but I’m just saying it makes sense. , and Flightline is a horse that can thrive without it.”

Now it’s back to reality for Sadler and his crew. He had two guys starting that afternoon, even though he was late for a plane, and a few girls had to run for the weekend. But nothing remotely sets off a Flightline vibe. After delaying the inevitable, the crew finally put a horse in Flightline’s stable.

“It was a 4-year-old Irish girl named Seisai we got it from Joseph O’Brien,” Sadler said.

Daughter of Gleneagles raced 14 times, won twice and finished second in group 2 at The Curragh last summer.

“She has some promise,” Sadler said. “And the good thing is, given her record, I even think she still has some conditions.”