Kentucky well-represented in Eclipse Awards
Idiomatic comes out of Turfway Park to become older female champion
By Jennie Rees (Coady Media photo of Idiomatic earning her first stakes victory in Turfway’s Latonia)
Including Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish and Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, last night’s Eclipse Awards ceremony showed the continued strength of Kentucky racing. (The dominance of Kentucky in the breeding is a given, with every equine champion except those for female turf and steeplechase champs being foaled in the commonwealth and sired by a Kentucky stallion.)
Let’s start with Juddmonte Farms’ older filly & mare champion Idiomatic, who began her championship season with three races at Turfway Park and won graded stakes at Churchill Downs and Keeneland (the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster, further delighting her owners and race sponsor) en route to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff. She’s trained by Brad Cox, who finished second to Bill Mott for what would have been a third Eclipse as outstanding trainer.
Speaking of Turfway Park, special shout-out to Axel Concepcion, who started last year based in the Mid-Atlantic but relocated to Kentucky last fall, finishing a close second in the standings at Turfway’s holiday meet. Axel’s agent is Bryson Cox, son of Brad.
Of course Lexington-based Godolphin dominated the night, repeating as outstanding owner and breeder, with Cody’s Wish claiming Horse of the Year and older male champ and Pretty Mischievous giving Kentucky-based trainer Brendan Walsh his first champion. It was 2022, but we’ll add that Pretty Mischievous started her career with three races at Churchill Downs before returning to win the Oaks in the definitive 3-year-old filly race.
Next to Godolphin for landing the biggest haul of trophies was Hall of Famer Bill Mott, whose main base is New York but was a force in Kentucky before heading East and long has maintained a Churchill Downs division. Mott was voted outstanding trainer for the fourth time. In addition to training Cody’s Wish, he trained Juddmonte’s two-time champion sprinter Elite Power and the 2-year-old filly champ Just F Y I.
Two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody’s Wish really got started at Churchill Downs, earning his first three victories there in 2021 and returning in 2022 to win the Hanshin and to take the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes in his first start of 2023. Elite Power’s first five races, including his first two victories, also were at Churchill Downs and he came back to Kentucky to win the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland before repeating this year at Santa Anita. (Try as we might, we can’t lay claim to 3-for-3 Just F Y I except that she is a Kentucky-bred by Ashford Stud’s Triple Crown winning-stallion Justify.)
Repeat Filly & Mare Sprint champion Good Night Olive also mainly raced in New York for trainer Chad Brown, but did break her maiden at Keeneland in 2021, came back to the Blue Grass to win the 2022 Breeders’ Filly & Mare Sprint at Keeneland and finished third at Churchill Downs last year in the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff.
Co-owner Mike Repole credited Breeders’ Cup Turf runner-up Up to the Mark with securing the male turf championship in Kentucky, earning his first Grade 1 victory in the $1 million Old Forester Turf Classic on Derby Day and returning to Keeneland to win the $1 million Coolmore Turf Mile by a nose over eventual Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Master of the Seas.
And Irad Ortiz, winning outstanding jockey for the fifth time in six years, might race mainly in New York and Florida, but he is a regular at Keeneland and Kentucky Downs, as well as Derby Week at Churchill Downs.
