Let\'s assume Afleet Alex will not contest this year\'s BC Classic. IMO, we will not see AA again as a 3YO.
If Flower Alley wins BC Classic, is he Horse of the Year? If he is, he must also be awarded 3YO championship. If he is not, is FA or AA top 3YO?.
If the BC Classic is NOT won by a 3YO, and LITF wins the BC Sprint, LITF is obviously Eclipse Award winning sprinter, but is he also 3YO champion? Is he Horse of the Year? I envision the same sort of controversy we had when Favorite Trick was named Horse of the Year based on his undefeated 2YO season.
Is it possible LITF\'s people won\'t put up 90K and will skip BC Sprint-- maybe go to Fall Highweight or Cigar Mile? If he skips BC and wins one of these other races can he be champion sprinter or 3YO? Can he be Horse of the Year without winning the BC Sprint if he defeats older animals in a graded race later in the year?
Since I\'m one of those handicappers who doesn\'t give a rat\'s ass who wins an eclipse award; am interested more in great prices than great horses, I\'m willing to take a shot at an answer here.
First of all, let me say richiebee that I find you a very bright, very creative voice on this board, and think you have set up a wonderful conundrum with this question.\'
My partial answer is this. I think its possible for a three year old to win horse of the year and not the three year old title. And that\'s what Lost in the Fog is in position to do. If he were to win the BC Sprint and neither Fleet Alex nor Flower Alley were to win the Classic, then I think he\'s obviously the Sprint Champion and legitimate Horse of the Year candidate by virtue of doing everything they asked of him in an undefeated manner.
However, he didn\'t do what three year olds are supposed to do. Namely, win a triple crown race. Afleet Alex has won two, impressively. Therefore, he\'s had the best three year old campaign in my mind.
But then I must admit I also think Kirk Gibson should have won the World Series MVP for his one at bat that year, and I think the David Horry should eventually make it into the NBA Hall of Fame just from his playoff performances. In other words I realize I might hold some unorthodox opinions when it comes to sports.
In any case, I\'ll leave the scenario with Flower Alley going on to win the Breeder\'s Cup Classic to others who care about these awards more than I do. But I certainly think such a victory does complicate matters a bit.
Which brings me back to another dilemna created by the Breeder\'s Cup. It strikes me as strange that the Breeder\'s Cup heralds itself as the World Series of Racing, and yet the winner of the Classic is not Horse of the Year. I understand why, yet it\'s just slightly incongruous to me.
Anyway, great question.
I find LITF to be the most interesting horse around right now. All the wise guys are looking forward to betting against him when he finally faces Grade 1 older horses because he\'s had some easy trips in his races against overmatched 3YOs. Plus, he\'s had a long campaign and he came back from his last race a little worn out. I tend to agree about his vulnerabilities. However, there\'s one thing I don\'t think most people realize yet. I think this horse is quite a bit better at 6F than 7F. It isn\'t obvious because he\'s winning at 7F also. IMO though, he looks and finishes a lot better at 6F and I don\'t think we\'ve seen his best at that distance yet. He may go off at a decent price in his first race against top oder sprinters because everyone is going to be gunning to beat him thinking he\'s overrated. If his trainer can hold him together for another race or two (which may be the bigger problem), I think he\'s going show everyone another gear at 6F when he finally has to.
Big question is whether owner will go for $90,000 entry fee. (Acording to DRF, Leroidsanimaux also would have to ante up $90,000 to go in BC Mile).
If LITF passes BC Sprint, and Wake Up Dreaming wins, is WUD Eclipse Award winning sprinter?
When are Eclipse votes due? If LITF wins the Vosburgh and/or the Fall Highweight (6f, Thanksgiving weekend) he should win Eclipse Award, no? Would be interesting to see what he would carry in Fall Highweight.
My opinion-- if he defeats older in any of those 3 races and finishes season undefeated, he is Eclipse Award Sprinter AND Horse of the Year.
Richiebee,
I don\'t think money is an issue, he already said he won\'t sell him for the millions that have been offered. He\'s 84 years old and is having the time of his life. 90,000 gawd dam dollars is a small price to pay for him to see his favorite horse run on BC day.
The only thing that will keep him out of the BC is that he has a setback of some sort. I\'m hoping he makes it and sticks it to all the doubters. The Sprint is shaping up to be one of the highlights of the BC card.
PDub
Agreed P-Dub. i think if the horse is \"right\", we will see him in the race.
On a side note, did anybody else enjoy the owner ripping the ESPN interviewer a \"new one\" on national TV? What an idiot, asking him to compare watching a horse run to fighting in the battle of the bulge, in which 180,000 died. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?
It was funny, but it points out how second rate TV coverage of horse racing is. Hank Goldberg seems drunk alot of the time. They actually use Brent Musberger occasaionally. He spent 5 minutes on Big Cap day talking about how Mandella\'s horse ridden by Tyler Baze, was Pat Valenzuela and Doug O\'Neill\'s chance to win a race they have never won. Randy Moss occasionally sounds like he knows what he is talking about, but never goes out on a limb. Anyway, I am going off on a tangent.....