Equus Awards

Mini Tycoon wrote:

Zietsman Oosthuizen wrote:

Bob Brogan wrote: Equus finalists announced


Champion Middle Distance – (1800m-2200m; age/gender immaterial): Legal Eagle, Marinaresco, Whisky Baron


My choices

Not sure how you find Legal Eagle here, was beaten 3 out of 3 in this category this season

Would assume the argument is that he only ran in 2 races over the distance this season, were both grade 1's and at level weights would've won both.

MasterOfMyFate wrote: Should weight of the feat also be taken into account? Whilst he only won one Grade 1, Marinaresco became the first horse since Pocket Power to carry 60kgs and win SA's greatest race. Can't be many in the entire history of the race to carry 60kgs? Only certain from about recent history tbh

Not many horses done the grade 1 sprinting double in the KZN season too and one can also argue that the July field was missing Captain America, Whiskey Baron and Legal Eagle so was it really such a feat? Marineresco hasn't beaten Legal Eagle or Whiskey Baron this season and probably has about a 50/50 win rate with Captain America.

In the end it doesn't really matter who else is nominated for the main award. Legal Eagle has two group 1 victories, one group 2 victory and two 2nds in the other group 1's he ran in this season. No other horse comes close to him in this country.

PeterD wrote:

Jurgs wrote: I see no reason to have a champion owner trophy. We all know that it always goes to the people who have invested the most money into owning horses. What the RA fails to appreciate is that people invest into horse ownership according to their means. I think that as long as.an owners horse wins say champion two year old, that should be enough. The owners name is aleady associated with the horse. The same goes for breeders. There is no champion breeder award. The breeders are content to know that their horses won best of something.

Actually, the breeders do have awards!! For stallion, breeder and broodmare.

Any award based on stakes will favour the big battalions. Thats why there is room for excellence rewards based on other criteria, such as average earnings etc.

Average earnings etc. favour the flukes though and/or the lucky and not necessarily the skillful/meritorious.

The missing link wrote:

MasterOfMyFate wrote: Should weight of the feat also be taken into account? Whilst he only won one Grade 1, Marinaresco became the first horse since Pocket Power to carry 60kgs and win SA's greatest race. Can't be many in the entire history of the race to carry 60kgs? Only certain from about recent history tbh

Not many horses done the grade 1 sprinting double in the KZN season too and one can also argue that the July field was missing Captain America, Whiskey Baron and Legal Eagle so was it really such a feat? Marineresco hasn't beaten Legal Eagle or Whiskey Baron this season and probably has about a 50/50 win rate with Captain America.

In the end it doesn't really matter who else is nominated for the main award. Legal Eagle has two group 1 victories, one group 2 victory and two 2nds in the other group 1's he ran in this season. No other horse comes close to him in this country.

Well, one could argue, with the exception of Whisky Baron who's left the country, that CA and LE didn't run because they felt they would give away too much weight - what else reason is there to miss the VDJ? BUT Marinaresco gave it a go and deserves the plaudits regardless of what he beat - 60kgs is 60kgs. You can see how rarely it has been done.

But yes I guess LE deserves HOTY again.

PeterD wrote: While Gold Standard did not win a Gr 1- his run in the Met was the best performance by any 3yo colt during the season. Yes, he lost narrowly to William Longsword in the Guineas, but we now know that a mile is on the short side for him. A travesty that he is not included as a nominee for 3yo colt.

Yes, stunning oversight.

Legal Eagle , even with his defeats in 2 G1 over 2000m is still the best horse in the country over anything but the sprints.

Bull Valley -no question that his back to back G1s deserve champion sprinter status over CoA's fillies G1 and CFC. Rafeef notable win of course but not enough in my book .

Colts 3yo..Edict of Nantes . 2- G1 races , Beat Al Sahem in DN and very close behind, and finishing better in July makes it close between these 2 .
Both also decent other group form but on balance the quality of fields they ran in EoN realistically deserves it but local bias could swing it the other way ...

Fillies ..not definitive but Just Sensual

2yo Colts ,Cant be giving it to the very impressive Mustaqeem simply because that race form not held up at all, and was just a local race this year. Sand and Sea was impressive and beat Subsequent Group winner Al Mariachi (twice) to at least frank the form, while Eyes wide Open also beat group performed horses . Personal opinion is that Mustaqueem could be anything but on form Sand and Sea has done more ...don't have strong feelings about it though

Lady in Black, unbeaten in 3 wins over 3 distances including the G1.Cant get much better than that.

Stayers not a competition, Hermuso done so well.

The owners of Hermuso will certainly enjoy the night, cracking bunch of lads

Mini Tycoon wrote:

PeterD wrote: While Gold Standard did not win a Gr 1- his run in the Met was the best performance by any 3yo colt during the season. Yes, he lost narrowly to William Longsword in the Guineas, but we now know that a mile is on the short side for him. A travesty that he is not included as a nominee for 3yo colt.

Yes, stunning oversight.

especially with 2 handicapers on the panel and he is the highest merit rated middle distance 3yo 8 pounds clear of the next middle distance 3yo..

2yr Colt - Sand & Sea - beat competitors from CPT & JHB but i have seen stranger things happen
2yr Filly - Lady in Black - although she didn't race in any other graded race
I still firmly believe that there should be a scoring system for 2yr olds or it will forever be subjective, the minimum requirement being the winning of a grade 1.

3yr Colt - Edict won two Grade 1's in two different provinces....enough said
3yr Filly - Just Sensual

Older Male - Legal Eagle on graded performances
Older Filly - Carry on Alice on graded performances
Sprinter - Bull Valley two grade 1's in open company
Miler - Legal Eagle two grade 1's in different provinces
Middle Distance - should be Edict of Nantes considering he is the only one to have 2 grade 1's in this distance category however only against his own age group. Whisky Baron should then be the choice as he beat Mar & L Eagle but with a pull at the weights this would then leave Marinaresco who won the July carrying 60kg's taking on all comers giving weight all around.

Champion Stayer - don't even get me started..... the graded program was changed so in the rules where a grade 1 performance is the most important criteria we now just write in another condition that the panel can use discretion. The rule is that there are rules but we can change them, makes sense. Hermuso Mundo deserves champion stayer but life and racing has nothing to do with deserve....... something wrong with the program when you have the season finale being a grade 3 with two grade 1's being run in the lead up to the grade 3. We must look like we know what we are doing to the rest of the world.

To me the name GOLD CUP always conjures up something magic, ASCOT AND CHELTENHAM

Totally agree Dave, my point is simple, make the Gold Cup the final leg of the stayers championship but clarify upfront and not retrospectively. Have prizes for the top three performers an the award for no.1

The same could be done for the 2yr olds......

At least everyone would know, that way trainers & owners can plan and not be surprised. Next year, no horse wins any two legs of the staying races and the award goes to the JHB Derby winner.... how happy are the owners of Al Sahem going to be? We won a grade 1 over 2450m but that wasn'the good enough last year.

Does National Colour qualify to broodmare of the year?