Horse of the Year Trophy - Season 45

[Digital Downs]

Here are the candidates for horse of the year:

Pleasant Surprise 4yo - Notable Wins
New Orleans Classic G2
Pan American Stakes
Royal Cup Classic Championship
Royal Cup Stayer Championship

Watch My Dust 3yo - Notable Wins
Belmont Stakes G1
Wood Memorial G1
Arlington Cup G3
Digital Downs Classic Championship

Cuts Like Diamond 3yo - Notable Wins
Preakness Stakes G1
Florida Derby G1
Santa Anita Stakes G1
Digital Downs Classic Championship
Digital Downs Stayer Championship

Thewinnerisspokenfor 4yo - Notable Wins
San Pasqual Stakes G2
Santa Monica Cup G3
AP Indy Stakes G1
Azeri Stakes G2
Osaka Hai G1


Honorable Mention - Mo Money Mo Problems 3yo


Add Community Opinions below in this thread for who you feel deserves to be Horse of the Year - Season 45

[Trunoble Lodge]

Really solid horses there and each one is deserving of the title.

Three Group 1 wins and two championships is a fantastic effort and gets my nod as HOTY.

CUTS

[Taylorandtaryn]

I agree with my friend Norm that all 4 could easily have HOTY seasons but I would like to add a few more items about my star. He was tied with Pleasant Surprise with 14 stakes wins in the season the other 2 candidates had 11. He was second in season earnings to Watch My Dust with Cuts Like a Diamond and Pleasant Surprise 3rd and 4th of the candidates. Thewinnerisspokenfor was the season leading in total wins with 20. 3 more than Pleasant Surprise 6 more than Watch my Dust and 8 more than Cuts like a Diamond. Those 20 wins are more than any horse since season 6 of DD and by my research only one horse has ever won more than 20 in history. And lastly with his earnings this season it placed him with the career earnings lead with over 2 million. He did not win a champ race while hitting the board in both his tries but the title of the award is Horse of the Year(season) which I feel he had as good a season as any on the list. Thanks for your reading and may the best horse win.

Good luck at the races,

Eddie

P.S. For all you new players running in your first Eliminator either the 2 or 3 yr old races. Don't give up on your horses if they don't advance. It can be a brutal series. Thewinnerisspokenfor finished 8th out of 10 in the first round. I was destroyed because he was the one I had touted on the forum as my best. Well it all turned out ok with him

[Chrisman]

Pleasant Surprise, a total beast when I let her run...

[Bobby Dazzler]

Hi im probably not here long enough to judge all the above horses. I have to say all the above horses would be a welcome addition to any stable. But 3 G1 wins and 2 Championships clearly speaks for itself in my opinion. I could only dream of achieving anything like that. So my vote would be Cuts Like Diamond.
Regards Garry

[Donovan Stables]

All very nice horses. But my vote is Cut Like Diamond.

Eddie that is good advice about the eliminator horses. In the past I have given up on some that I should have kept trying
Good Luck at the Races to Everyone

[And More Racing Stable]

OK here goes...by the way I'll take any of them you guys want to give me.

Last season I stated that there was only one horse I could see winning it (and that wasn't meant to disparage Pleasant Surprise at all just that Thewinnerisspokenfor had such an outstanding season).

By contrast this season might have been the most competitive group of horses I have ever seen vying for the honor.

In addition to the accomplishments Bob laid out above...
Most wins (20) Thewinnerisspokenfor
Most earnings ($900K+) Watch My Dust
Most Stakes Wins (14) Pleasant Surprise and Thewinnerisspokenfor
Best winning percentage (52.17%) Cuts Like Diamond

So my conclusion...
Any of the four would be a deserving choice because they each had their own unique accomplishments. If it was based on total career to date it might be an easier choice but it's based on last seasons accomplishments and based on that with everything taken into consideration it is very difficult for me to separate Cuts Like Diamond and Pleasant Surprise.

[Star Of The Desert]

Pleasant Surprise

[Chrisman]

Keep in mind guys, though as Cuts is, she don't race against Thewinnerisspokenfor like Pleasant does. Keep in mind the 3yo card favors G1 on race labeling. Stakes count in general does matter. Total wins in top company should as well.
That said, if Cuts Like Diamond is declared so, it will be well deserved!

[Foggydan Farms]

Unless we embark on a new normal, the winners in years past were the horses that accrued the most wins. I know it is a seasonal award, but it just so happens that the horse broke the all time money record this season. And 20 wins is beyond amazing. As much as I hate this horse as an adversary, my vote has to go to Winnerisspokenfor. Whether it wins or not, Grats to Ed for managing a great horse.

[Second To None]

Just an idea? But as most of you are agreeing that anyone of them could be considered as HOTY and they all seem to be evenly matched, then why not put all of them in a final race and the winner then could be crowned HOTY

[Digital Downs]

These are all great responses and hopefully we get more.

I don't think wins is a good stand alone criteria. If one horse races 20 times and 18 are stakes races and the another horse runs 50 times and 15 are stakes races..35 of the other races could just be standard races with inferior competition. So while 20 wins is pretty awesome we would have to check where the wins were and against what tier of horses. However, it's not a reason to penalize. We aren't foolish enough to discount the incredible career or season of Thewinnerisspokenfor. The horse is on the list for a reason and was also Season 44 Horse of the Year.

Also, the competition on these sets of 4yo and 3yo's are at a minimum equal. There were 4 very strong horses in the 4yo group and there were 4-5 very strong horses in the 3yo group and both groups ran against each other all season. So this is a very talented mix and probably the best back to back groups in a long time.

Current Season is the scope

Weighted Criteria
Championships - Should always carry the most weight
G1
G2
G3
Earnings for the season
Wins
ITM%

Also, maybe 1 overall horse of the year isn't the best idea to begin with. Should we have a 2yo 3yo and 4yo horse of the year (season)?

Anyhow..we may just put it up for vote but I would suggest or recommend that before voting to actually look at past performances from January to April for this information.

[Taylorandtaryn]

I wouldn't mind a race for the four the only problem is that they have all gotten one year older. They all can get a route of ground so it would be interesting to say the least.

To save anyone the trouble of looking up my horses wins here is his breakdown

Grade 1 - 2 wins
Grade 2 - 2 wins
Grade 3 - 1 win
Q races - 8 wins not sure what grade those would be
Sunday Sr Added - 4 wins
Sunset Sr Added - 2 wins
Mayhem WFA - 1 win

Equals 20 wins

[Digital Downs]

I think a race is in order. Have all for horse compete on the same track. All aged now so it will be equal weight. This is not a deciding factor on Horse of the Year but certainly will be entertaining and for some bragging rights. I just need all 4 stables to agree.

Race this Saturday night

$12 entry fee
1 1/4 Miles
$60 Site added cash

Watch My Dust - Thewinnerisspokenfor - Pleasant Surprise - Cut Like Diamonds

Please confirm below

[Taylorandtaryn]

Thewinnerisspokenfor will be ready