His Vote Is In and Winners Are. . .

By popular demand--OK, one person asked--here is one man’s opinion on the 1996 Eclipse Awards:

2-YEAR-OLD--Boston Harbor. He won six of seven starts for Wayne Lukas and convinced some of his skeptics--including this one--with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But don’t look for Boston Harbor in the winner’s circle after the 1997 Kentucky Derby.

2-YEAR-OLD FILLY--Storm Song. Trainer Nick Zito’s filly proved her victory in the Frizette was no fluke when she came back and won as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She looks like the type that will get better with age.

3-YEAR-OLD--Skip Away. He looked somewhat one-dimensional early in the year, but continued to blossom as the months passed and he capped his year with an upset of Cigar in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. With Cigar retired, all eyes will be on Skip Away when he returns in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream on Feb. 8.

3-YEAR-OLD FILLY--Yanks Music. A problem that surfaced just before she was to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic saved her the embarrassment of ending the year with a probable defeat, but two victories over Serena’s Song proved she was worthy of her title.

OLDER MALE, HORSE OF THE YEAR--Cigar. He hardly ended his career in grand style with three defeats in his last four starts, but the son of Palace Music still did more than any other horse. The highlight of his year was the gutty victory over Soul Of The Matter in the Dubai World Cup and nobody can say he didn’t travel.

OLDER FEMALE--Jewel Princess. A bargain purchase by trainer Wally Dollase for owners Martha and Richard Stephen, who are now in partnership with the Thoroughbred Corporation with this filly. She has proven herself adept on both turf and dirt and certainly doesn’t need to carry her track around with her. She beat Serena’s Song all three times they met in 1996 on three tracks. Her victory over Serena’s Song, Different and the overrated My Flag in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff made this a slam-dunk.

MALE TURF HORSE--Fastness. His career was ended in September by injury, but in a division where no one dominated, he was impressive in all three of his races this year and there is little doubt he would have won the Breeders’ Cup Mile, had he participated.

FEMALE TURF HORSE--To be determined. We’ll reserve judgment on this one until after the Matriarch, which will be the centerpiece of Hollywood Park’s three-day Autumn Turf Festival Nov. 29-Dec. 1.

SPRINTER--Lit De Justice. Many in California knew he was the best sprinter in the country when he ran his race and he saved his best for last. In his final start before being retired by owners C.N. and Carol Ray, the son of El Gran Senor rallied from last and won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, enabling Jenine Sahadi to become the first female trainer to win a Breeders’ Cup race.

JOCKEY--Jerry Bailey. Plenty of people thought Gary Stevens was just as deserving--if not more so--of the Eclipse last year, but there is no doubt this time around. Cigar’s regular rider is well in front in the money standings and he picked up another Kentucky Derby win in a thriller aboard Grindstone.

TRAINER--Wayne Lukas. He leads the money standings, earned two more Triple Crown wins with Grindstone and Editor’s Note, has a shot at $15 million in stable earnings, helped Serena’s Song become the richest female thoroughbred in history, and had solid years with 3-year-olds Honour And Glory and Victory Speech.

Horse Racing Notes

Because of a problem with the starting gate used for turf races--the back wheels were frozen--last Friday night’s eighth race at Hollywood Park had a walk-up start.

“It might have happened [before],” said longtime steward Pete Pedersen. “But to my knowledge and in speaking to others, it hasn’t happened in modern racing [locally]. “We wanted to use the main track’s starting gate, but the turf gate would have been stuck in its path.”