The Filly In Front

Havre de Grace cruising to win in Belmont's Beldame

In what has been a very up and down year with racing’s elite horses, we may have finally seen the best rise to the top this past weekend but we still don’t have a unequivocal “horse to beat.”

A lot of attention, and justifiably so, will be focused on Havre de Grace (right) who not only has emerged as the best filly in the country but perhaps the best horse. She left little doubt about who the top female is after cruising to an easy win in Saturday’s Beldame at Belmont Park. That victory was on the heels of her breakout performance on Labor Day Weekend when she beat males in Saratoga’s Woodward Handicap.

Her trainer, Larry Jones, indicated her next race will be in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and with a victory would lock up Horse of the Year. She would become the third female in a row to capture that title, marking a first in racing.

With her resume and the fact that a girl is racing against the boys, she will likely be the favorite for the Classic at Churchill Downs next month.

Another former star that has returned to some semblance of glory is 2-year-old champion Uncle Mo.  He was all set to be racing’s next “big thing” but a mysterious liver infection knocked him out of the Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown. The colt didn’t return to the races until late August when he finished second but  he rocketed to an impressive victory in the Kelso at Belmont in a very quick final time.

You can certainly make a case, as some have, that Uncle Mo and his late resurgence will make him the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. There is no question that he does have more mainstream name recognition than all of his potential competitors but it’s hard to see a horse who has yet to beat any of the top caliber athletes become the betting choice next month.

Another horse that will likely take significant money at the betting windows include Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Flat Out (left) who has been finished only worse than second once all year. But, that off the board finish came at Churchill Downs in the June’s Stephen Foster Handicap. What could be more troubling is that he is 0-for-2 at Churchill.

Also Uncle Mo’s stablemate, Stay Thirsty, has improved dramatically since his 12^th place finish in the Kentucky Derby. He has racked up wins in the Jim Dandy and Travers and will need to prove to everyone that he can run well and win outside of New York.

The top two horses from the West Coast will be Acclamation and Game on Dude. Both have had up and down years but Acclamation got white hot during the summer as he reeled off four wins in a row including the Pacific Classic. Game on Dude, from the barn of trainer Bob Baffert, has two big wins in ’11 including last weekends Goodwood and the Santa Anita Handicap back in March.

Who will be favored for the Classic will be an interesting story to watch but all signs point to the hottest girl in the country by the name Havre de Grace.

Horse of Year Candidates

With a dwindling list of big races before the Breeders' Cup championshp in early November, now is a good time to speculate as to the favorites for Horse of the Year.

It appears that there will be five horses competing for year end honors and the chase is led by superfilly Rachel Alexandra. By the end of Saturday's races, the chase could either be over or a little more wide open.

Here are the contenders and some quick facts:

Rachel Alexandra (2009 Record - 7-7-0-0) - Simply put, she's the odds-on favorite to win Horse of the Year. Her string of impressive wins in 2009 add up to a 65-length margin and include the Kentucky Oaks, Preakness, Mother Goose and Haskell. The breathtaking victories in the Oaks and Mother Goose were some of the more impressive you'll ever see but the fact she has beaten the boys twice is equally as amazing. A win in the Woodward would secure her place as one of the best fillies of all-time and basically guarantee HOY.

Zenyatta (2009 Record 3-3-0-0) - The other "big girl" in racing has a career perfect record (12-for-12) but has only raced outside of her home base in Southern California once. Her best chance of winning Horse of the Year is if she beats Rachel in the Breeders' Cup (which is highly unlikely as Rachel's owner has said she is not running in the BC), or if some sort of match race is agreed to. If she does finish her career unbeaten, she still would rank as one of the best fillies of all-time but a notch below Rachel.

Gio Ponti (2009 Record 5-4-0-0) - The four-year-old colt has quietly had a great 2009 as he's rattled off four straight wins, all Grade 1's. The highlight came last month when he beat an international field in the the Arlington Million. The big knock against Gio Ponti is that he's a turf horse and there has only been one grass horse to be named Horse of the Year in the last 25 years. The only chance he has for HOY is if he switches to (artificial) dirt in the Breeders' Cup and wins the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Summer Bird (2009 Record 7-3-1-1) - The winner of the Belmont and Travers has gotten better with each start. His only hiccup this year was a 6th place finish in the Kentucky De

rby which is forgiveable considering he only had three outings before the "Run for the Roses." His best chance to capture HOY will be if he wins the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont and Breeders' Cup Classic plus a Rachel loss. (Remember: Rachel did beat Summer Bird in t

he Haskell).

Einstein - (2009 Record 5-2-0-2) - He is the longest shot of the group. In early summer, the venerable 7-year-old looked to have climbed back as the top older horse after winning the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic on Kentucky Derby Day. But since then, he's run third and fifth. He'll need to win the Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday and the Breeders' Cup Classic if he has any chance combined with a Rachel loss. Either way, he's a great story and will probably head off to stud at the end of the year.

Honorable Mentions: Mine That Bird, Macho Again, Rail Trip