NEWS
Champs Elysees honored
as Canada’s Horse of the Year
Posted: Friday, January 29, 2010 11:34 PM
CHAMPS ELYSEES
Michael Burns photo
by Steve Bailey
Juddmonte Farms’ homebred Champs Elysees (GB) captured Canada’s richest race in 2009 and was honored with the Sovereign Award as Canada’s Horse of the Year on Friday night at the Ultra Supper Club in Toronto.
The seven-year-old Danehill horse became the first U.S.-based runner to capture Canada’s highest honor in Thoroughbred racing since Pin Oak Stable’s homebred Peaks and Valleys, who was trained by Bill Mott, in 1995.
Trained by the late Bobby Frankel and assistant Humberto Ascanio, Champs Elysees finished second to Einstein (Brz) in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) and second to eventual champion older male Marchfield in the Sky Classic Stakes at Woodbine before halting a six-race winless stretch with a half-length victory from off the pace in the $1.9-million Pattison Canadian International Stakes (Can-G1) on October 17 at the Toronto track.
Champs Elysees, who also was honored as champion male turf horse, also finished third twice during the season and earned $1,509,683 in 2009, almost a half-million more than he made the previous year, when he won three times.
The Sovereign Awards also saw the first tie in its 35-year history as Grade 1 winner Negligee and Grade 3 winner Biofuel each got 135 votes to share champion two-year-old filly honors.
Brereton C. Jones’ homebred Biofuel won two of five starts on the season, including the Mazarine Stakes (Can-G3) on October 10 at Woodbine. Negligee won two of four starts, capturing the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) on October 9 at Keeneland Race Course for owner Sovereign Stable.
Unbeaten Hollinger, who won all four of his starts, including two stakes, was voted champion two year-old male.
In the three-year-old divisions, Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser winner Milwaukee Appeal won twice and finished second four times from nine starts to take champion three-year-old filly honors while Queen’s Plate Stakes and Plate Trial Stakes winner Eye of the Leopard, who won three of his seven starts, was voted champion three-year-old male.
In the people categories, Eugene Melnyk swept both the owner and breeder categories, making it the first time since 2004 that Frank Stronach or his Adena Springs operation did not take at least one of the two categories.
Melnyk was voted outstanding owner for the second time after winning the award in 2007 and outstanding breeder for the first time.
Roger Attfield, who trained Hollinger to championship honors, was voted outstanding trainer for the seventh time but first since 2002. For the year, Attfield’s runners won 55 of 249 starts, including four graded stakes, and earned $4,064,272.
Jockey Patrick Husbands won 196 races and 21 stakes during the season and earned $10,124,705 in purses to capture outstanding jockey honors for the third consecutive year and the seventh time overall.
2009 Sovereign Award winners
Horse of the Year: Champs Elysees (GB)
Outstanding two-year-old filly: Biofuel, Negligee
Champion two-year-old male: Hollinger
Champion three-year-old female: Milwaukee Appeal
Champion three-year-old male: Eye of the Leopard
Champion older female: Serenading
Champion older male: Marchfield
Champion turf female: Points of Grace
Champion turf male: Champs Elysees (GB)
Champion female sprinter: Tribal Belle
Champion male sprinter: Field Commission
Outstanding jockey: Patrick Husbands
Outstanding apprentice jockey: Omar Moreno
Outstanding trainer: Roger Attfield
Outstanding owner: Melnyk Racing Stables
Outstanding breeder: Eugene Melnyk
Champion broodmare: Pico Teneriffe
Outstanding photograph: Michael Burns Jr.
Outstanding feature story: Bruce Walker
Outstanding newspaper article: Curtis Stock
Outstanding film/video/broadcast: Woodbine Entertainment Broadcasting Department
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times
