Horse of the Year dilemma: Caleb Posse Vs Animal Kingdom
There is a massive battle going on among the top three-year-olds to be named as the Horse of the Year and win the Eclipse Awards after an exciting year of racing. However, since there isn’t a clear cut winner this year the judges and the fans have to pick
up the scabs and go with it.
Almost like a single big performance in a really big race might do it for a 3-year-old this year, and that is where all the dilemma lies, the sure shot 3-year-old winner because Royal Delta after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic is a sure bet on the female
side.
However, from the male side the situation and the candidates are pretty scattered and with the likes of The Factor, Shackleford, Wilburn, Ruler on Ice the decision will leave a bitter sweet feeling among the fans, since again, there is no clear cut winner.
There is one runner, who in the later part of the season has done consistently well and managed to bag three out of far in that short span from August till now, and in those three wins, there is also a Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile victory, and the horse is Caleb’s
Posse.
The son of Posse’s hitting the board every now and then as a 3-year-old could be related to when he started off as a 2-year-old when he managed to finish on the money in five of his six starts.
Sure he likes short distances, but in the opinion of many he has done enough to take the cake.
On the other hand there is Animal Kingdom, who has been out of the races due to a slab fracture in his cannon bone, but for people who like to think from their head and not their hearts, they would second that choice for the Horse of the Year honours.
In stark contrast to Caleb Posse’s heroics in the later part of the year, Animal Kingdom was the best male in the first six months of the year 2011, and in that period he managed to land the Grade 3 Spiral and the all important Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, and
a second place finish in the Grade 1 Preakness where after he wilted in the Belmont Stake to still finish 6th all because of a stumble out of the gate.
If the decision comes down to who has done well in the sprints then Caleb Posse’s your winner, but if anyone wants to look at the most consistent horse throughout the season and winning the most important races of the year, then Animal Kingdom is the 2011
Horse of the Year.
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