Mineshaft Goes to the Head of List of Eclipse Winners

For the third time in the last five years, thoroughbred racing’s horse-of-the-year winner didn’t run in the Breeders’ Cup. Mineshaft is considered the most deserving of winners nonetheless, amassing a solid record of major wins that led to a landslide victory in the voting.

Mineshaft, forced into retirement by an ankle injury in early October, which prevented him from running in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita, collected 209 of the 245 votes cast by turf writers, the Daily Racing Form and track racing secretaries. Congaree, who finished fourth in the Classic, was second with 11 votes. Others receiving votes were Halfbridled with nine; Funny Cide, four; Candy Ride, three; High Chaparral and Medaglia d’Oro, two apiece; and Azeri, Empire Maker, Perfect Drift, Pleasantly Perfect and Six Perfections, one each.

The horse-of-the-year announcement was made Monday night at the Eclipse Awards dinner in Hollywood, Fla., where racing’s other champions for 2003 also were honored.

Other recent horse-of-the-year winners who were knocked out of the Breeders’ Cup by injuries include Point Given in 2001 and Charismatic in 1999.

Besides Mineshaft, who also was voted best older male on dirt, the divisional winners included several horses who either didn’t run in the Breeders’ Cup or were unable to win one of the races at Santa Anita. On that list were Funny Cide, whose only two wins of the year, in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, carried him to the 3-year-old male title; Azeri, horse of the year in 2002 and winner of best older female for the second consecutive year; Bird Town, who beat out Six Perfections, the Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, by two votes to win best 3-year-old filly; and Aldebaran, who was voted best sprinter.

Other winners earned their support by winning Breeders’ Cup races: The 2-year-old champions were Action This Day on the male side and Halfbridled among the females, both trained by Richard Mandella; the grass titlists were the colt High Chaparral and the filly Islington, both European entries who clicked at Santa Anita. High Chaparral was the first repeat winner of the male turf Eclipse since John Henry in 1983-84.

Although Empire Maker, winner of the Belmont Stakes, was outvoted by Funny Cide, 150-92, in the 3-year-old male division, his owner, Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farms, won Eclipses for best owner and breeder. Bobby Frankel, Juddmonte’s U.S. trainer, won an Eclipse for the fourth consecutive year and for a record fifth time overall. Frankel had been tied with Wayne Lukas and the late Laz Barrera, who have four training Eclipses apiece.

Jerry Bailey won the Eclipse for best jockey for the fourth consecutive year and the seventh time overall. Only two jockeys besides Bailey have been honored since 1995. Laffit Pincay is second on the Eclipse list with five awards.

Other winners were Eddie Castro for apprentice jockey and McDynamo for steeplechase horse.

Mineshaft, trained by Neil Howard, raced for a partnership headed by Will Farish, the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Farish sent a young Mineshaft to England to race, but he didn’t turn any heads on grass there, and his English trainer, John Gosden, suggested that Farish return him to U.S. and put him on dirt.

In 2003, ridden exclusively by Robby Albarado, Mineshaft had seven wins and two losses in nine starts, with purses of $2.2 million. A son of A.P. Indy, the 1992 horse of the year, and the Mr. Prospector mare Prospectors Delite, Mineshaft didn’t just win, he dominated opponents.

His last win of the year -- and his fourth in a Grade I stake -- was by 4 1/4 lengths in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Mineshaft’s stud career, at $100,000 a mare, will begin next month at Farish’s Lane’s End Farm near Midway, Ky.

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Eclipse Awards

Results of the 2003 Eclipse Awards in horse and human categories:

*--* Category Horse Horse of the year Mineshaft 2-year-old male Action This Day 2-year-old female Halfbridled 3-year-old male Funny Cide 3-year-old female Bird Town Older male Mineshaft Older female Azeri Sprinter Aldebaran Male turf horse High Chaparral (IRE) Female turf horse Islington (IRE) Steeplechase McDynamo Owner Juddmonte Farms Breeder Juddmonte Farms Jockey Jerry Bailey Apprentice jockey Eddie Castro Trainer Bobby Frankel

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