| 2006-01-16
9:48:55
Saint Liam, Afleet Alex,
Lost in the Fog among Eclipse Award
NEW YORK
(AP) --- Breeders'
Cup Classic winner Saint Liam, Preakness and
Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex and sprint
star Lost in the Fog were among the Eclipse
Award finalists announced Thursday.
Three finalists in each of 15
categories were chosen, with Saint Liam in the
running for top older horse, Afleet Alex for
champion 3-year-old male and Lost in the Fog
for best sprinter.
Finalists for Horse of the Year
were not released, but Saint Liam and Afleet
Alex are likely candidates. Winners will be
announced Jan. 23 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Saint Liam, who won four of six
races in 2005 -- all Grade 1 stakes -- capped
his career with a one-length win over Flower
Alley in the BC Classic at Belmont Park on Oct.
29. Other finalists in the older male category
are Borrego and Rock Hard Ten.
Afleet Alex finished third in
the Kentucky Derby before winning the Preakness
and the Belmont in what turned out to be the
final race of his career. The other 3-year-old
male finalists are Derby winner Giacomo and
Travers winner Flower Alley.
Although Lost in the Fog lost
for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Sprint,
the 3-year-old still won eight of nine races
in 2005. BC Sprint winner Silver Train and Saratoga
County are the other finalists.
Todd Pletcher, who set a North
American single-season earnings record for trainers
with more than $20.8 million, tops the Eclipse
Award finalists for trainers. The others are
Steve Asmussen and Bobby Frankel.
The awards are voted on by turf
writers and racing secretaries at National Thoroughbred
Racing Association tracks.
The other finalists:
2-year-old male: First Samurai,
Henny Hughes, Stevie Wonderboy
2-year-old female: Adieu, Folklore,
Wild Fit
3-year-old female: Round Pond,
Smuggler, Summerly
Older female: Ashado, Pleasant
Home, Stellar Jayne
Male turf horse: Artie Schiller,
Leroidesanimaux, Shirocco
Female turf horse: Cesario, Intercontinental,
Megahertz
Steeplechase: Hirapour, McDynamo,
Sur La Tete
Owner: Michael Gill, Live Oak
Plantation, Melnyk Racing Stables, Inc.
Breeder: Adena Springs, Edward
P. Evans, Live Oak Stud
Jockey: Jerry Bailey, Edgar Prado,
John Velazquez
Apprentice jockey: Channing
Hill, Justin Stein, Emma-Jayne Wilson
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