Top Three Year Olds from Eclipse Award Nominations

It comes as a sad surprise how Uncle Mo, one of the most talked about three hear old never made it to the top three nominations for Eclipse Award. But somewhere deep inside we all realize how the competition continued to grow and threaten everybody else’s chances to make it till here. It’s overwhelming how Belmont Stakes winner and Breeder’s Classic second runner up, Ruler On Ice along with the Wood Memorial runner up Uncle Mo vanished into oblivion as the racing season bloomed into full glory.
The top three finalists for Eclipse’s Champion Three Year Old comprise of Caleb’s Posse, Animal Kingdom and Shackleford. While Caleb’s Posse’s trump card in this entire competition is his Breeder’s Cup win, Animal Kingdom is banking on the Triple Crown accomplishments and Shackleford, on his Preakness win coupled with in-the-money finish at Breeder’s. The competition is pretty much neck to neck not overlooking the fact that none have showcased an unbelievable consistency at excellence. All the finalists had their share of bad race days, injuries and disappointments.
The Wood Memorial Stakes, a highly predictive stage for the Kentucky Derby prospects witnessed the same upset that almost four decades back Secretariat suffered in the same race. Animal Kingdom would finish third to Toby’s Corner and Arthur’s Tale, a result reminiscent of Secretariat’s third place finish to Angle Light and Sham. Animal Kingdom, despite considerable apprehensions regarding his skills on dirt, went on to win the Derby by a 2 ¾ lengths lead. He finished second to Shackleford in the Preakness, staying in the money and as out of gas as sixth in the Belmont’s. A nagging fracture kept him out of racing the entire remaining year but the Derby finish most definitely gets him his ticket to the final nominations. Is he the favourite, we don’t know it yet.
Shackleford stayed in the picture almost every time a major three year old race lined up; Shackleford may not have finished exceptionally well in every attempt but he sure is the one out of the only three horses to have started in each of the three Triple Crown legs. He finished second despite leading the field for the most of the distance in the Derby, he won the Preakness holding off Animal Kingdom consistently but again losing a place in the Belmont. He made a comeback with the Haskell Invitational where he managed to pull off a runner up but again faded to eighth in the Travers. While speed remained his prime weakness, plenty of grounds in the Breeder’s brought him back to the racing front finishing second in the Dirt Mile, a victory that eventually booked him for a nomination to the Eclipse.
Caleb’s Posse, who started six times as a two year old, finished in the money in five of them. As a three year old, he started as many as ten times, winning half of them in and staying in the money in seven. His most important wins include the Grade 1 King’s Bishop’s Stakes, Grade 3 Ohio Derby and the Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile. A strong contender with more impressive wins compared to his fellow contestants, Caleb’s Posse is in good shape and hopes to make a good opening this season as a strong defensive four year old.
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