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The recent retirement of Big Brown has largely shifted the race for Horse of the Year from a showdown to a solo act for Curlin in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Saturday at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita Park.

A victory would make Curlin a strong candidate to be voted Horse of the Year for the second year in a row. That accomplishment would place the Smart Strike colt in the same company as Secretariat (1972-’73), Forego (’74-’76), Affirmed (‘78-’79), and Cigar (1995-’96) as recipients of consecutive Horse of the Year honors since the Eclipse Awards were first presented in 1971.

John Henry is the only horse with a gap between title reigns—he was Horse of the Year in 1981 and ’84.

While Curlin has the obstacle of transferring his dirt form to Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride synthetic surface in the Classic, his owner, Jess Jackson, believes the colt has already done enough to be considered Horse of the Year, no matter how he fares on Saturday.

“We think he’s already accomplished Horse of the Year, but it’s up to you guys to tell us whether a proud owner is right or not,” Jackson said last week in a media teleconference.

Michael Iavarone of Big Brown’s majority owner, IEAH Stables, thinks the dual classic winner would have a shot at Horse of the Year if Curlin falters in the Classic.

“Obviously, if Curlin wins, it’s over,” Iavarone said. “If Curlin doesn’t run his race, I think Big Brown would have a shot. Their achievements are very similar. You can’t discount Big Brown for running in the races he was supposed to run in. If he got to this race, we would have given him a shot, but at the end of the day, he won four Grade 1s and a $500,000 grass race. I think he’s very much deserving of being right up there with Curlin. But I guess sometimes it comes down to a popularity contest, and we’re not going to win too many of those.”
 
Zenyatta could also thrust herself into the mix if she remains undefeated with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (G1) on Friday and Curlin fails to fire in the Classic.

Bill Casner, co-owner of Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (G1) winner Colonel John, is not expecting the championship picture for three-year-old male to be impacted by the Classic.

“Say if a three-year-old wins the Classic, I think Big Brown still gets it,” Casner said. “I think if Big Brown would have been in the race and got beat heads up, that would have been different. I think he’s safe.”

Many of the other Eclipse Awards will be up for grabs on Friday and Saturday. Among the more wide-open divisions, titles will likely be decided in the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1), and the sprint and two-year-old races on the synthetic main track.

Courtesy: www.thoroughbredtimes.com

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