FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011 For information about TDN, call 732-747-8060. HOY: BLAME, GOLDIKOVA OR ZENYATTA? ADENA SPRINGS TOPS AMONG BREEDERS Led by Horse of the Year finalists Blame (Arch), According to statistics released Thursday by The Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) and Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}), Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. (TJCIS), Frank the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Stronach=s Adena Springs finished the 2010 season as Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broad- the leading breeder in North America, with earnings of casters yesterday announced the finalists for 2010 $13,369,852. Adena Springs was the leading breeder Eclipse Awards, recognizing for the eighth consecutive season and was represented excellence in Thoroughbred by the winners of 506 races from 3661 starts (13.8 racing. Winners in all 17 horse percent). Including a handful of partnerships, Adena and human categories will be bred the winners of 519 races from 3739 starts. The announced at the 40th annual year=s second-leading breeder was Brereton C. Jones, Eclipse Awards dinner cere- who alone or in partnership bred the winners of 293 mony on Monday evening, races from 1858 starts (15.7 percent) for earnings of Jan. 17, at the Fontainebleau $7,504,518. Both Adena Springs and Jones are among Miami Beach. Record partici- the Eclipse Award finalists and are joined by Claiborne pation of 238 out of 251 vot- Farm and Adele Dilschneider, the breeders of Horse of Blame (inside) & Zenyatta ers (94.8 percent), represent- the Year candidate Blame. Sarah K Andrew ing the NTRA, the NTWAB and Daily Racing Form, took ECLIPSE AWARDS FINALISTS (in alphabetical order) part in this year=s voting. Finalists were determined in · Owner - Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, Mr. and Mrs. each category by voters= top three selections, using a Jerome S. Moss, WinStar Farm 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are deter- mined solely by first place votes. The voting was au- · Breeder - Adena Springs, Claiborne Farm & Adele B. Dilschneider, Brereton C. Jones dited by the Louisville accounting firm Strothman & Company. (Edited press release) · Trainer - Bob Baffert, Todd Pletcher, John Shirreffs · Jockey - Ramon Dominguez, Garrett Gomez, John Velazquez ECLIPSE AWARDS FINALISTS (in alphabetical order) · Apprentice Jockey - Forest Boyce, Omar Moreno, Angel Serpa · Horse of the Year - Blame, Goldikova (Ire), Zenyatta · Two-Year-Old Male - Boys at Tosconova (Officer), To Honor and Serve (Bernardini), Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) ·Two-Year-Old Filly - Awesome Feather (Awesome of Course), R Heat Lightning (Trippi), Turbulent Descent (Congrats) ·Three-Year-Old Male - Eskendereya (Giant’s Causeway), Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike), Paddy O'Prado (El Prado {Ire}) ·Three-Year-Old Filly - Blind Luck (Pollard’s Vision), Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet), Havre de Grace (Saint Liam) · Older Male - Blame, Quality Road (Elusive Quality), Richard's Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) · Older Female - Life at Ten (Malibu Moon), Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled’s Song), Zenyatta · Male Sprinter - Big Drama (Montbrook), Majesticperfection (Harlan’s Holiday), Smiling Tiger (Hold That Tiger) ·Female Sprinter - Champagne d'Oro (Medaglia d’Oro), Dubai Majesty (Essence of Dubai), Rightly So (Read the Footnotes) · Male Turf Horse - Dangerous Midge (Lion Heart), Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat), Winchester (Theatrical {Ire}) · Female Turf Horse - Goldikova (Ire), Proviso (GB) (Dansili {GB}), Tuscan Evening (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}) · Steeplechase Horse - Arcadius (Giant’s Causeway), Percussionist (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), Slip Away (Skip Away) www.claibornefarm.com P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 1/7/11 • PAGE 2 of 6 • thoroughbreddailynews.com According to TDN's Progeny PPs, Badge of Silver can also boast Silverleo, third in the 1 1/16-mile $150,000 Display S. over Woodbine's Polytrack in late November TDN’s and his leading money earner of 2010; Governor's Badge and Airmid, both winners over Turfway's The Hot List Polytrack (going six furlongs and one mile, respec- tively); and the highly regarded Pride of Silver, winner Don't have time to pore over sire lists? In a new of a 1 1/16-mile Hollywood maiden special weight in weekly feature, the TDN is doing the work for you. mid-December. Badge of Silver also has at least eight We'll tell you which sires are leading the way in their winners going sever furlongs or less on the main track-- respective divisions, and point out some of the less no big surprise given the nature of, and opportunities obvious sires who are quietly making the grade. This offered in, two-year-old races in the U.S. In any case, it week, we focus on newly turned sophomore sire Badge was always going to be interesting to see what kind of of Silver. horses Badge of Silver would sire, given his versatility on the track. From early returns, it appears the answer Ends Well, Begins Well for Badge of Silver… is: all kinds. It was a happy New Year's weekend for the folks at A refresher on Badge of Silver's racing career. Pur- Airdrie after their 2010 freshman sire Badge of Silver chased by Ken and Sarah Ramsey for $85,000 as a (Silver Deputy) came away with a pair of new Keeneland September yearling in 2001, Badge of Silver black-type winners. On Friday, the well-related Silver was smashing in his debut just seven months later, Medallion, a colt bred by Airdrie chief Brereton Jones, winning by a pole on the (then) dirt course of staged a mild upset when taking the Eddie Logan S. at Keeneland. He didn't make it back to the track until the Santa Anita (video). A day later, another colt by Badge following January, but was just as impressive, winning of Silver, King Congie, rallied down the center of the by seven lengths in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance at Fair course to win Calder's $100,000 Tropical Park Derby Grounds. (video). The only problem--if you can call it that--is that It looked like the Ramseys and trainer Ronny Werner Friday was 2010, and Saturday was 2011, and while had a top sprinter on their handsYuntil Badge of Silver the Airdrie team would probably have liked to ended took his two-turn bow, the GIII Risen Star S. a month 2010 with two juvenile black-type winners on Badge of later, by 10 lengths. He was awarded a big 109 BRIS Silver's resume, they had to "settle" for an strong start figure for the win (1 1/16 miles in 1:42 4/5), and was to 2011. rightly made the 6-5 choice in the GII Louisiana Derby As it is, Badge of Silver now sits in 19th on the TDN in March, one of the better renewals in recent memory. Second-Crop Sire List (by cumulative earnings). From He crossed the wire in sixth that day (behind Peace 83 named foals, he currently has 15 winners from 38 Rules, Kafwain and Funny Cide), but it was revealed runners (39.47 percent), with two black-type winners afterward that he'd suffered a season-ending injury and three black-type horses. during the running. It is notable that When Badge of Silver returned to the races in 2004, Badge of Silver's it was initially as a sprinter, but after three starts (and a weekend exploits trainer switch to Bobby Frankel), he spent the rest of came on turf: the his career going a mile or longer. During the next two Eddie Logan at one seasons, he won two nine-furlong graded events on dirt mile on the sod and and finished second in a pair of GI Cigar Miles (including the Tropical Park in his career finale, in 2006, to Discreet Cat). But Derby is nine furlongs. Frankel also tried the horse on the turf, which made They are among a some sense, given the fact that his damsire is Silver number of Badge of Hawk. Badge of Silver won his first start on turf in an Silvers who have ex- impressive effort in the nine-furlong GII San Gabriel S. celled on something King Congie Jim Lisa photo in January of 2006, then returned from a 10-month other than conven- layoff and was a very good third in his second grass try tional dirt. and penultimate career start, the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill. Cont. p3 P TDN HEADLINE NEWS • 1/7/11 • PAGE 3 of 6 • thoroughbreddailynews.com TDN Hot List cont. Jones added that Badge of Silver's versatility was Airdrie was impressed enough to secure his breeding also a big plus. He noted that, while Badge of Silver services, and he stood his first year there in 2007. never started over a synthetic surface, he posted two "His brilliance is really what attracted us to him," bullet six-furlong drills over Keeneland's Polytrack in Brereton Jones's son, Bret 2006 in the lead-up to the Breeders' Cup Mile (he went Jones, explained Tuesday. in 1:13 flat and 1:12 2/5 in consecutive works). "The fact that he won at first "When we bought him, it was just around the advent asking going 4 1/2 furlongs at of synthetic tracks," said Jones. "We went to see him Keeneland in April in his for the first time--other than in the paddock before two-year-year-old year, then races--over at Keeneland, which had just installed its later proved to be so good Polytrack. Chad Brown, who was an assistant for around two turns and on turf, Bobby Frankel at the time, told us how well he worked that was very appealing. And over it." physically, he was our kind of Badge of Silver horse.