French-Bred Kotashaan Is Horse of the Year for ’93

Kotashaan, who led one of the strongest grass divisions in years by winning six stakes in California, was named thoroughbred racing’s horse of the year for 1993 Friday night, becoming the first French-bred to win the award since the filly All Along in 1983.

The announcement, at the Eclipse Awards dinner in New Orleans, was not unexpected. Two weeks ago it was announced that Kotashaan had defeated Lure by 43 votes in balloting for best male turf horse. Kotashaan’s margin for horse of the year was thinner, however. He topped Lure, 116-101, and actually won by a split vote under the Eclipse Awards’ voting system.

Needing a plurality from two of the three voting groups, Kotashaan was a 65-53 winner among the turf writers and his edge over Lure was 13-7 from the track racing secretaries. The Daily Racing Form favored Lure, 41-38.

Thus, Kotashaan won the title with less than 44% of the total of 266 votes. Ten other horses received votes, with Bertrando, the year’s best older horse on dirt, finishing third with 20 votes.

Kotashaan began his career in France, where he won three races in 1990-91 for trainer Criquette Head. Alec Head, the trainer’s father, recommended that the horse be sent to California trainer Richard Mandella in 1992.

Early that year, Kotashaan won one of three starts, then was sidelined for 5 1/2 months because of a minor fracture in a rear leg.

Last year, Kotashaan finished fourth and second in his first two races at Santa Anita, then reeled off four consecutive victories, including the San Luis Rey and San Juan Capistrano at Santa Anita and the Eddie Read at Del Mar. After losing by a nose to Luazur in the Del Mar Invitational, Kotashaan finished 1993 with victories in the Oak Tree Invitational and the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita, and a second-place finish in the Japan Cup in Tokyo, where his jockey, Kent Desormeaux, misjudged the wire.

“That minor injury was the best thing that happened to him,” Mandella said. “While he recovered, he filled out into a mature horse, and he had his mind on running by the time he came back.”

Bred by his owners, brothers Jacques and Gerard Wertheimer of the Chanel perfume family, and ridden by Desormeaux in all of his victories, Kotashaan had six firsts and three seconds in his 10 starts last year, earning $2.6 million. He never faced Lure, who won six of eight starts, including the Breeders’ Cup Mile, and earned $1.2 million. Another grass standout, Star Of Cozzene, earned $1.7 million and won six races, beating Kotashaan and Lure twice each, but he didn’t run in the Breeders’ Cup.

Kotashaan is a 5-year-old son of French Derby winner Darshaan and Haute Autorite, an Elocutionist mare who won only two races and earned $23,964. The Wertheimers have sold Kotashaan for an estimated $4.5 million to a syndicate that will stand him at stud in Japan.

The last grass runner to be voted horse of the year was John Henry in 1984.