The results of the voting on our first Veterans of the Season awards are in! I'm sure you are all anxiously awaiting the results (unless you read the comments on my previous post -- then you know who the winners are!) so let's get right to them!
Drumroll please. . .
VETERAN OF THE SEASON
1st - RAHY'S ATTORNEY (2 votes)
2nd - Chamberlain Bridge (1 vote)
The King of Woodbine has been around for what seems like forever. Rahy's Attorney, a seven-year-old bay gelding by Crown Attorney, made his debut at the Canadian track in November 2006. He broke his maiden there in early 2007. He won the Woodbine Mile (gr. I) in 2008. Twenty-eight of his thirty-seven races have come at Woodbine, including his first seventeen.
Rahy's Attorney has always been a miler -- that is, until this year. Just when it appeared as though the old guy might be losing a step or two, he suddenly turned in to a turf marathoner. On February 19th, in the grade II Mac Diarmida Stakes (gr. II), he finished a very strong second to grade I winner Prince Will I Am. He then turned the tables in the grade III Pan American Stakes at a mile and a half, courageously holding off Musketier and Prince Will I Am to win the race by three-quarters of a length while stopping the clock in 2:25.85.
It appears as though Rahy's Attorney has more stamina than anyone thought. Perhaps he isn't quite as quick as he used to be; no longer able to succeed in top class races at a mile. But it's beginning to look like he may be a better marathoner than he ever was as a miler.
These two performances earned him the honors as Veteran of the Season, an award which he fully deserves. Congratulations to Rahy's Attorney, winner of the inaugural Veteran of the Season award!
You can relive his Pan American Stakes victory by watching the replay at Bloodhorse.com. Here's the link:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/GP/2011/3/26/10/pan-american-s-gr-3
Champion Sprinter
1st - CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE (2 votes)
2nd - Garden Dancer (1 vote)
Congratulations to CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE, a seven-year-old gelding whose thrilling victory in the Rail Splitter Stakes in February earned him the Champion Sprinter award over the remarkable Garden Dancer.
Here's a link to the replay of the Rail Splitter Stakes:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/HOU/2011/2/12/9/rail-splitter-s
Champion Miler
1st - Dubious Miss (3 votes, unanimous choice)
Dubious Miss easily took home honors as Champion Miler, receiving all three votes to win the award unanimously. Although he has yet to win a race this year, his strong second to Gran Estreno in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap (gr. III) was enough to secure him the award.
Here's the replay of the Colonel Bradley:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/FG/2011/1/22/9/colonel-e-r-bradley-h-gr-3
Champion Marathoner
1st - Rahy's Attorney (3 votes, unanimous choice)
The Veteran of the Season award was not the only honor bestowed upon Rahy's Attorney by the Veterans of the Season voters. He was also elected Champion Marathoner over Dubious Miss, Interpatation, and Presious Passion in a unanimous vote.
Most Courageous Performance
1st - Cost of Freedom (1 vote)
1st - Rahy's Attorney (1 vote)
1st - Chamberlain Bridge (1 vote)
The Most Courageous Performance catagory yielded a three-way tie between Cost of Freedom, Rahy's Attorney, and Chamberlain Bridge -- all of whom received one vote.
Cost of Freedom was nominated for his game third, beaten a head, in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes -- in which he ran the opening half mile in :42 3/5 and still held on well to the finish. Rahy's Attorney earned his vote by merit of his courageous victory over Musketier and Prince Will I Am in the Pan American, while Chamberlain Bridge's Rail Splitter victory impressed another voter. Therefore, they all receive the award.
Relive Cost of Freedom's performance in the Sunshine Millions by watching the replay. Here's the link:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/race/USA/GP/2011/3/26/10/pan-american-s-gr-3
In conclusion, congratulations to Rahy's Attorney, Chamberlain Bridge, Cost of Freedom, and Dubious Miss! Hopefully, they will successfully defend their titles in July when we vote on the Veterans of the Season awards once again!
-Keelerman
Showing posts with label Veterans of the Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Veterans of the Season. Show all posts
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Veterans of the Season Awards; Part I
If you will recall, in my very first post on this blog I stated that every three months we would hold an official vote to determine the winners of the "Veterans of the Season" awards. For those of you who do not remember the details, please refer to the bottom section of my original post. Here is the link:
http://veteransoftheturf.blogspot.com/p/veteran-geldings-fan-club.html
A few notes on the categories -- the sprinters' divisions include any races at seven furlongs or less, the miler division any race at 7.5 - 8.5 furlongs, and the marathoner divisions any race nine furlongs or longer.
To be eligible for an award, the gelding in question must be a member of our Veterans of the Turf Club and have raced between January 1st, 2011 and March 31st, 2011.
Now, due to the fact that the number of members in our VOTTC is still rather small, and that they haven't competed too many times this year, we will be combining some of the categories together for our inaugural awards.
So the list of awards which we shall vote on are thus:
Champion Sprinter
Champion Miler
Champion Marathoner
Veteran of the Season
Most Courageous Performance
Now for the moment you've all been waiting for -- the voting procedure. The eligible geldings in each category are:
Champion Sprinter
Champion Miler
Champion Marathoner
(Note that the number of starts, wins, earnings, etc. reflect only their performances during the months on January through March. Also note that the other two categories -- "Veteran of the Season" and "Most Courageous Performance" -- are open to any member of our Veterans of the Turf club.)
Here's a quick rundown of what they've accomplished this year:
SPRINTERS
Chamberlain Bridge - won the Rail Splitter Stakes at Sam Houston with a quick late run.
Cost of Freedom - Finished third, beaten a head, in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes after setting an unbelievably fast pace.
Garden Dancer - Won two $2,500 claiming races at Beulah Park, along with a second and two off-the-board finishes.
Quick Enough - Won the Spectacular Star Handicap, finished second in the Daytona Stakes, sixth in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes, and eighth in the Al Quoz Sprint (UAE-II).
Silver Timber - Finished a close fourth in the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
MILERS
Dubious Miss - Finished second in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap (gr. III) and fifth in an allowance optional claiming race.
Furthest Land - Won an allowance optional claiming race and was third in another allowance race.
MARATHONERS
Dubious Miss - Finished third, beaten a head, in the Fair Grounds Handicap (gr. III).
Interpatation - Finished second in an allowance optional claiming race and off-the-board in two similar events and the grade II San Luis Obispo Stakes (gr. II).
Presious Passion - Finished fifth in the Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes.
Rahy's Attorney - Won the Pan American Stakes (gr. III) and finished second in the Mac Diarmida Stakes (gr. II).
Who you vote for depends on what you value most. Do you prefer to vote for horses that have won races, or horses that performed admirable in stakes races? That is what will make these awards so interesting.
So without further ado, here are my votes for each category:
Champion Sprinter - Garden Dancer
Champion Miler - Dubious Miss
Champion Marathoner - Rahy's Attorney
Veteran of the Season - Rahy's Attorney
Most Courageous Performance - Cost of Freedom
I feel that Garden Dancer's two victories and a second, even though they were in cheap claiming races, top the performances of Cost of Freedom and Chamberlain Bridge, my other two selections.
On the other hand, I feel that Dubious Miss' second in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap was more impressive than Furthest Land's two allowance races, and shall therefore vote for him.
In the Marathoner category, Rahy's Attorney was the obvious selection, as not only was he the only eligible gelding to have won a race, it was a grade III stakes and he was also second in a grade II. These two strong performances also earned him my vote as the Veteran of the Season.
Finally, Most Courageous Performance goes to Cost of Freedom, who ran an unbelievable race in the Sunshine Millions Sprint to finish third, beaten a head. I mean, he ran a :42.72 half-mile! And he tried so hard to hang on in the stretch, leading with just a few yards left to run before missing in a three-way photo finish. He earned the award, in my opinion.
But your votes are just as important as my votes. To cast your selections, please leave a comment stating your picks below. The polls close at 12:00 AM EST on April 23rd. I shall announce the results on the 24th.
-Keelerman
http://veteransoftheturf.blogspot.com/p/veteran-geldings-fan-club.html
A few notes on the categories -- the sprinters' divisions include any races at seven furlongs or less, the miler division any race at 7.5 - 8.5 furlongs, and the marathoner divisions any race nine furlongs or longer.
To be eligible for an award, the gelding in question must be a member of our Veterans of the Turf Club and have raced between January 1st, 2011 and March 31st, 2011.
Now, due to the fact that the number of members in our VOTTC is still rather small, and that they haven't competed too many times this year, we will be combining some of the categories together for our inaugural awards.
So the list of awards which we shall vote on are thus:
Champion Sprinter
Champion Miler
Champion Marathoner
Veteran of the Season
Most Courageous Performance
Now for the moment you've all been waiting for -- the voting procedure. The eligible geldings in each category are:
Champion Sprinter
| Horse | Starts | First | Second | Third | Earnings |
| Chamberlain Bridge | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | $45,000 |
| Cost of Freedom | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $22,000 |
| Garden Dancer | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | $5,110 |
| Quick Enough | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $82,000 |
| Silver Timber | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $3,750 |
Champion Miler
| Horse | Starts | First | Second | Third | Earnings |
| Dubious Miss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $33,910 |
| Furthest Land | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $53,840 |
Champion Marathoner
| Horse | Starts | First | Second | Third | Earnings |
| Dubious Miss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | $33,910 |
| Interpatation | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $15,860 |
| Presious Passion | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | $12,000 |
| Rahy's Attorney | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | $120,000 |
(Note that the number of starts, wins, earnings, etc. reflect only their performances during the months on January through March. Also note that the other two categories -- "Veteran of the Season" and "Most Courageous Performance" -- are open to any member of our Veterans of the Turf club.)
Here's a quick rundown of what they've accomplished this year:
SPRINTERS
Chamberlain Bridge - won the Rail Splitter Stakes at Sam Houston with a quick late run.
Cost of Freedom - Finished third, beaten a head, in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes after setting an unbelievably fast pace.
Garden Dancer - Won two $2,500 claiming races at Beulah Park, along with a second and two off-the-board finishes.
Quick Enough - Won the Spectacular Star Handicap, finished second in the Daytona Stakes, sixth in the Sunshine Millions Sprint Stakes, and eighth in the Al Quoz Sprint (UAE-II).
Silver Timber - Finished a close fourth in the Turf Dash Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
MILERS
Dubious Miss - Finished second in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap (gr. III) and fifth in an allowance optional claiming race.
Furthest Land - Won an allowance optional claiming race and was third in another allowance race.
MARATHONERS
Dubious Miss - Finished third, beaten a head, in the Fair Grounds Handicap (gr. III).
Interpatation - Finished second in an allowance optional claiming race and off-the-board in two similar events and the grade II San Luis Obispo Stakes (gr. II).
Presious Passion - Finished fifth in the Sunshine Millions Turf Stakes.
Rahy's Attorney - Won the Pan American Stakes (gr. III) and finished second in the Mac Diarmida Stakes (gr. II).
Who you vote for depends on what you value most. Do you prefer to vote for horses that have won races, or horses that performed admirable in stakes races? That is what will make these awards so interesting.
So without further ado, here are my votes for each category:
Champion Sprinter - Garden Dancer
Champion Miler - Dubious Miss
Champion Marathoner - Rahy's Attorney
Veteran of the Season - Rahy's Attorney
Most Courageous Performance - Cost of Freedom
I feel that Garden Dancer's two victories and a second, even though they were in cheap claiming races, top the performances of Cost of Freedom and Chamberlain Bridge, my other two selections.
On the other hand, I feel that Dubious Miss' second in the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap was more impressive than Furthest Land's two allowance races, and shall therefore vote for him.
In the Marathoner category, Rahy's Attorney was the obvious selection, as not only was he the only eligible gelding to have won a race, it was a grade III stakes and he was also second in a grade II. These two strong performances also earned him my vote as the Veteran of the Season.
Finally, Most Courageous Performance goes to Cost of Freedom, who ran an unbelievable race in the Sunshine Millions Sprint to finish third, beaten a head. I mean, he ran a :42.72 half-mile! And he tried so hard to hang on in the stretch, leading with just a few yards left to run before missing in a three-way photo finish. He earned the award, in my opinion.
But your votes are just as important as my votes. To cast your selections, please leave a comment stating your picks below. The polls close at 12:00 AM EST on April 23rd. I shall announce the results on the 24th.
-Keelerman
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)