All Things 2023: Top 10 & Hall Of Fame
While the focus of this edition of Total Eclipse will be on all things from the 2023 season, 2024 has gotten off to a positive start for the baby blue and black. Frosty O Toole provided the squad with our second win of Week #1 of the year with a rousing high-level Allowance victory at Tampa, making us 2 for 8 to launch the season with a pair of 3rds.
With Frosty O Toole heating things up for the team on the racetrack, we also lit it up in the sales ring at Keeneland this week, selling 6 #EclipseFillies for total receipts of $1,770,000, led by Kaling ringing the bell at $650,000 and our best commercial success for the Eclipse breeding program to date stemming from a Candy Ride short yearling filly out of our mare, Rags Pauline, who topped Session #2 of the sale to the tune of $430,000. Lady Lowery commanded $270,000, Divine Huntress hammered home $170,000, Manhattan Jungle was sold privately for $150,000 and Lily Poo brought a hundred grand. All in all, it was a super series of liquidity events for our partners who deserve to see some fresh powder returned to their pockets as we embark on a new year.
Now, without further ado, we present you with one of our partners and fans favorite editions of Total Eclipse on an annual basis as we recap the season that was 2023, list our Top 10 Highlights with some Honorable Mentions and showcase our Eclipse Hall of Fame inductees.
2023 FROM A 30,000 FOOT VIEW
Eclipse surpassed the 60-win mark for the 4th consecutive year and the 15-Stakes-win plateau for the 4th year in a row as well while racking up greater than $5.8 million in purse earnings in 2023, the 4th straight year we’ve surpassed $5 million in purse dough. This comes off the heals of a $6+ million purse earnings season in 2022, which we came a whisker shy of in 2023 and a $7+ million season in 2021.
While there are always transition periods, rebuilding phases with the retirement of stable stars and natural attrition associated with the operation of any major stable, 2023 was another banner year filled with milestones thanks to our loyal partner base, every horseman and woman responsible for caring for our equine athletes and the horses, the horses the horses!
Since the company’s launch in late 2011, Eclipse has established itself as not a perennial leader, but the perennial leader in the public partnership space in just about every meaningful statistical category and 2023 was a continuation of that trend, as the squad managed to further distance ourself from the pack, racking up a robust 61 total wins, good for a solid 18+% win clip and we tacked on another 61 seconds and 54 thirds from 330 starters, which equates to a 53+% in-the-money rate (176 for 330 ITM). If there’s one major component of our runners output we want to improve in 2024 it’s that our win/place ratio of 61 wins and 61 seconds needs to shift far more tilted in favor of the win category.
It wasn’t just action galore and wins by the many that marked the season that was 2023, but the stable stayed true to our mission to compete and win at the very upper echelon of the sport, topping the Stakes standings among all partnerships by winning a whopping 15 Stakes races, 9 of which were Graded Stakes, including 4 Grade 1’s and placing 51 more times in high level events. Yes…in addition to 15 Stakes and Graded wins, we had 51 placings in Black Type events! And, those figures do not include past-the-wire wins by Teutates in a Group 3 in Ireland in which he was DQ’d and Solo Album’s triumph versus colts in the Grade 3 Ontario Derby in which she was relegated to 5th, the decision which is still under appeal.
In the process of racking up these types of stats, Eclipse topped the charts with a $17,847 average in earnings per start and seeing our runners bank in excess of $5.8 million, which marks the 4th consecutive year we’ve topped $5 million in earnings!
This is some heady stuff and while the Eclipse Award voting is generally limited to individuals when it comes to nominations for Champion Owner, the stats delivered by Eclipse managed partnerships consistently outperforms and goes toe to toe with the Eclipse Award nominees for Champion Owner, with the exception of the behemoth Godolphin again this year.
Having your silks painted on a lawn jockey at Keeneland celebrating a Grade 1 victory is one of the most coveted honors the world over and after the boutique Fall meet in Lexington, not 1, but 2 lawn jockeys were graced with the world-recognized and respected baby blue and black silks. This year’s lineup had the Eclipse silks surrounded by titans of industry, including the Jackson’s, Juddmonte, St. Elias, Godolphin and Peter Brant. Thanks to Candied and Locked’s history-making victories, Eclipse has now won 6, yes 6, Grade 1’s at the hallowed venue.
It’s hard to find another stable who wins as many races, and important ones, from Coast to Coast and everywhere in between like Eclipse does and every horse we are associated with we maintain substantive equity in and management control. There’s no smoke and mirrors when it comes to the baby blue and black and the biggest players in the game are proud to align with us because they recognize the value add we bring to the table with our sophistication and expertise in all sectors of the industry.
While our stable’s performance is arguably worthy of Eclipse award consideration, we are hugely proud of the pair of Eclipse Award nominees we do have in the form of Candied, up for Champion 2 Year-Old Filly, and Locked, who got the nod as Champion 2 Year-Old Colt nominee. We could have had a 3rd in the 3 Year-Old Filly category with Anisette delivering an Eclipse Award nominee quality campaign, but she failed to get the nod despite her multiple Grade 1-winning season.
Another source of enhanced pride for Eclipse is that 224 partners won at least 1 race as Members of Eclipse partnerships in 2023, 133 of whom enjoyed Stakes glory, 68 of whom enjoyed Graded Stakes glory and 48 of whom enjoyed the taste of Grade 1 victory. This is why people join the Eclipse team and family and there’s nothing like the feeling of high-fiving and posing for photos in Winners’ Circles in the biggest races on the biggest days at the best venues.
Eclipse always operates under the notion that horse racing is “the ultimate what have you done for me lately?” game, so to be able to deliver top caliber results for our partners and to keep identifying the “big horses” year in and year out on a consistent basis is a heartfelt source of pride and drive for the Eclipse team.
Even though we see some stable stars depart by way of retirement, the balance of the squad remains exceptional, as our auction buying with yearling acquisitions and 2 year-olds in-training along with our private purchases off the racetrack, both domestically and abroad, continues to produce incredible output, emphasizing our strengths in all realms of the game. We are our own harshest critics and we’re going to be wrong way more than we’re right, but we learn far more from our failures than our successes and our track record speaks for itself.
And, our international influence continues to evolve as we had winners in England, France and Ireland as well as a Stakes win in Germany and an Allowance win in Australia, all in 2023. So, the Eclipse Equine Portfolio has a strength-to-strength profile and makeup and we have every intention of only enhancing that upward trajectory on a global scale.
Eclipse is never an operation to rest on our laurels and we remain hungrier than ever to deliver the Grade 1 results on and off the racetrack that our 1st class partners desire and deserve.
To see our 2023 North American stats and all historical stats for Eclipse and to be able to compare our statistics to other public partnerships, an exercise we strongly encourage you to do, check out this link on Ownerview:
https://www.ownerview.com/syndicate/o6-1861482/eclipse-thoroughbred-partners
Now, here’s our highly-anticipated annual Top 10 Highlights, 4 of the horses who happen to be making back-to-back, repeat appearances on the esteemed list and 8 of the 10 who are #EclipseFillies, a proper representation of Eclipse’s equine portfolio:
TOP 10 HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023
10. MANHATTAN JUNGLE leads the brigade by virtue of her good win in the $100,000 Sweet Life Stakes down the hillside turf course at Santa Anita. Manhattan Jungle took her partners on a world tour at age 2, the last stop being the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland and she was then transferred into the care of Michael McCarthy with an eye towards seeking success on the slalom style toboggan course at The Great Race Place. Manhattan Jungle polished off 2022 with a strong 2nd in the Blue Norther Stakes and then executed the game plan to perfection when strolling down the slopes to score under another international sensation, Frankie Dettori. Manhattan Jungle had her season ended after she was injured when 3rd in the Angel’s Flight Stakes and after being an RNA on Monday at Keeneland, we struck a deal to sell her to Australian breeders and she’ll make a heckuva mama Down Under.
9. LADY LOWERY was a private purchase off a debut 2nd at Turfway and readily provided her partners with rapid dividends by winning a pricey MSW in Florence, Y’All and then she took her talents to the Mid-Atlantic where she ran away and hid from her competition in the $100,000 Beyond the Wire Stakes at Laurel for trainer Will Walden. Lady Lowery was never quite right after that and her career was cut short, but she was an unblemished 2 for 2 for Eclipse and partner Gary Barber and commanded a solid exit strategy with a final buying bid of $270,000 to WinStar Farm on Monday.
8. SELENAIA rewarded the partners who put their faith in Eclipse’s ability to identify yearling talent at Tattersalls in England with a sweet score in the Grade 3, $100,000 Honeymoon Stakes at Santa Anita for trainer Jonathan Thomas. The daughter of Sea the Moon handed Eclipse our 4th, yes, 4th victory in the Honeymoon as she crossed the wire doing handstands under “Jersey” Joe Bravo. Although she fell off form thereafter, partially in part due to some admitted mismanagement by Eclipse and no fault of the filly’s, Selenaia has been freshened up and should make her presence felt in the older filly & mare turf division this coming stand.
7. SOLO ALBUM became yet another #CurlinEclipseFilly to capture a Graded Stakes when she dominated the Grade 3, $150,000 Selene Stakes at Woodbine in Toronto for Hall of Famer, Mark Casse. Methodically developed at age 2, the upstart golden gal really hit her stride as a Soph, earning Graded honors in the Selene, placing in a Listed event and there is a reasonable chance her DQ when she bulled over the boys in the Grade 3, $150,000 Ontario Derby could still be overturned, which would make her a dual Graded Stakes victress in 2023. Between Solo Album, Manhattan Jungle, Lady Lowery, Selenaia and the soon-to-be spotlighted, Anisette, the Sophomore #EclipseFillies did some serious damage from Coast to Coast and North of the border and 3 of those 5 are slated to return to action as 4 year-olds.
6. ABAAN ranks as the feel-good story of 2023 for the team as he soured on us after a dull effort in the Belmont Gold Cup and, thanks to the vision of partner, Dr. Joe Fowler, was thereafter converted into a steeplchase horse. Abaan, a multiple Graded and Stakes winner as a turf marathon specialist on the flat for Eclipse, took to the timbers, as they say, like a duck to water and after being green in his debut over hurdles in August, he ran away and hid from his foes in a MSW and then parlayed that momentum with a glorious triumph in the $100,000 Foxbrook Champions Hurdle Stakes at the famous Far Hills meeting. Kate Dalton was entrusted with Abaan’s transition and she has been nothing short of spectacular in the process and after some R&R over the winter, Abaan’s batteries are charged for what could be a monumental steeplechase season in 2024.
5. QUEEN GODDESS was regal to the core when she earned another major jewel on her crown when delivering a breathtaking performance to win the Grade 3, $500,000 Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf at Gulfstream Park. Eclipse had previously been 3rd in the Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup and 2nd and 3rd in the Grade 1, $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf, so Queen Goddess’ royal display was a nice one to add to the trophy mantle on one of the most important days of the American racing calendar. A Grade 1-heroine, multiple Graded-winner and Grade 1-placed, Queen Goddess nearly added another Graded tally to her resume in the Grade 2 Goldikova, only to get nailed on the wire, but she’s training like a woman-possessed and is setting her sights on making her swan song a historic one in the Pegasus on January 27th for Michael McCarthy, who, as usual, has done a masterful job in an elongated and elite career for Queen Goddess.
4. NEST couldn’t manage to stay at the top of the charts after her Sophomore season for the ages in 2022 when she won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3 Year-Old Filly, but her exhibition in the Grade 2, $200,000 Shuvee in her comeback at Saratoga this past summer was a reminder of how brilliant she was. Nest was unable to sustain her top form after a 3rd in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign, but she owed us nothing and was allowed to be showcased at Fasig-Tipton’s “Night of the Stars” when selling for a blockbuster sum of $6 million. Eclipse has sold more than a dozen #EclipseFillies for 7-figures+, topped multiple sales, sold the highest-priced broodmare prospect in the USA for the year on a few occasions and landed several lucrative stallion deals, but the Nest story from cover to cover is one which has certainly risen to the very best of the best in Eclipse’s existence and it’ll take something more than special to knock Nest off her perch.
3. ANISETTE was an absolute revelation for Eclipse this season, adding to an increasingly long line of #EclipseEuroFillies to be plucked by the squad from obscure roots and then evolving into a household name on American soil. After a logic-defying score in an Allowance at Santa Anita in her stateside debut, Anisette then reeled off the Grade 2, $200,000 San Clemente to the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks double Where The Turf Meets The Surf. It was a historic summer for the filly, who was impeccably conditioned by Frenchman, Leonard Powell and piloted by Italian, Umberto Rispoli, throughout her campaign. After super seconds in the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive versus her elders and in the Grade 3 Autumn Miss, Anisette put an exclamation point on an already banner stand when she cat-hopped home in the Grade 1, $300,000 American Oaks. Her victories in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks and the Grade 1 American Oaks handed Eclipse with our 2nd such win on those prestigious events in the past 3 years and arguably should have been good enough to land Anisette as a Finalist for Champion 3 Year-Old Filly, but no such luck. The English import is sweetening up for a spell and will come back on a mission in 2024 to prove she’s a true Champ.
1 and 1a. The top spot cannot be doled out to just a single Member of the team, so they’ll share the honor as an entry as 1 and 1a as CANDIED and LOCKED are equally as deserving of the honor. Both yearling purchases and turned over to the GOAT, Todd Pletcher, Candied and Locked had similar Freshman seasons, both breaking their Maidens impressively at The Spa at Saratoga and then taking their partners straight to the top of the mountain while conquering Grade 1 glory at Keeneland around 2-turns within 24-hours of one another. Candied did so in the Grade 1, $600,000 Alcibiades under a strong ride by Luis Saez while Locked got his Grade 1 accolade in the $600,000 Breeders’ Futurity with Jose Ortiz in the tack. It was a magical 24-hours for those who bleed baby blue and black and as a stable founded with the mission of making history, this feat etched Eclipse’s name into the record books as the 1st ever owner to win the Alcibiades and the Breeders’ Futurity in the same year. The pair would go on to turn in very good thirds in their respective Breeders’ Cup heats and after brief, yet well-deserved deep breaths, they head into their Classic seasons as the #2 points-earners on the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby leader board and both are nominated for Eclipse Awards in their 2 Year-Old division. Of the 17,850 thoroughbreds born in the USA in 2021, just 6 could be nominated as Finalists for Eclipse Awards and Eclipse has 2 of the 6. That’s some serious stuff!
HONORABLE MENTION
SISTER OTOOLE is a rare equine athlete who has had the privilege of sipping her water and wine from the Fountain of Youth. Selectively-raced season after season under the watchful eye of Graham Motion, Sister Otoole earned her way into the Honorable Mention list by way of her 2nd consecutive victory in the $100,000 TOC/CTT Stakes at Del Mar, the annual summer turf marathon Stakes Where The Turf Meets The Surf for fillies & mares by the seaside. Sister Otoole proved superior in this event in 2022 and came back to repeat in 2023, a mighty feat to be sure. Sister Otoole has always had a soft spot in Eclipse’s hearts as a daughter of our big-time turf marathoner, Amira’s Prince, but her race record stands on its own merits, and, it’s possible she could seek a 3-Peat in the TOC/CTT Stakes in 2024 as she’s raring up for her 7 year-old season!
NEEDLEPOINT may not be a household name quite yet, but she is cut out to be a star and while we only had the chance to see her shine once as a Frosh, she left a lasting impression by way of her spectacular debut score on the undercard of Group 1 Prix de Diane day at Chantilly in France. Part of the original yearling Euro filly package purchased for our go-to, phenom, effervescent trainer, Amy Murphy, Needlepoint has been sidelined since her star quality unveiling, but is being geared up to make major noise as a Soph and even though she has been lurking in the weeds while her counterparts, Geologist and Passionately, made appearances at Royal Ascot, she very well could have the last laugh.
TEUTATES never actually officially won a race during his tenure on the Eclipse roster, but he crossed the wire 1st in a thrilling rendition of the €60,000 Group 3 Heider Family Stables Gallinule Stakes at The Curragh in Ireland at long odds, only to be taken down in favor of the prohibitive favorite from the Ballydoyle/Coolmore juggernaut. It was a prime example of the polarized, extreme emotions racehorse owners can go through in the blink of an eye and the devastation of being stripped of our 1st Group tally in Europe was simmered by a subsequent sales transaction whereby Teutates was acquired by interests from Hong Kong for a sizable sum.
GOLDEN CANARY makes her way onto the Honorable Mention list by virtue of her winning performance over colts as a Maiden in the $100,000 Soaring Free Stakes at Woodbine for Mark Casse. A royally-bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro, Golden Canary joined an ever-growing list of Debutantes who have beaten the boys for Eclipse as well as Maidens who’ve grabbed their diplomas in Stakes races. Casse has made a habit out of this trend and Golden Canary gave her partners a major blood-pumping experience when she pulled it off by spreading her wings in the Soaring Free.
GEOLOGIST is the 2nd of the trio of Amy Murphy #EclipseEuroFillies to hit the awards list. A global traveler at age 2 and now into her 3 year-old season, Geologist’s key moment came in the Winterkonigin Stakes in Cologne, Germany, marking Eclipse’s initial success in Deutschland. It was also special to see a female trainer, Amy Murphy, combine with a female jockey in Hollie Doyle for the accomplishment. Campaigned heavily in important races throughout Europe, including at tilt at Royal Ascot, Geologist is a venerable iron filly and might hand Eclipse our first ever Guineas at Meydan.
LILY POO didn’t fully live up to expectations as a Soph, but her win in the Cal Oaks at Golden Gate, the 2nd such tally by an Eclipse gal in the historic event by The Bay, was a gratifying Stakes win and she backed it up with placings in the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita and the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks at Horseshoe Indy. An honest filly, Lily Poo deserves credit for being a road warrior and bringing her all no matter the surface, distance or venue.
ECLIPSE HOMEBREDS are finally starting to cycle into a reasonable pattern of productivity. We have been very selective about the #EclipseFillies we’ve retained for our boutique broodmare band and 2023 was a coming out party for a handful of homebreds, including Okaloosa, a son of our multiple Graded-winner and Classic-placed stallion, Destin out of our multiple-winning, mare, Capriana, who won a New York-Bred MSW at Aqueduct for Horacio DePaz; Tagliatelle, a son of our Belmont Stakes hero, Tapwrit and out of our Stakes-placed former mare, Orecchiette, who won a Maiden Claimer in his debut at Churchill Downs for Byron “Scooter” Hughes; Jimmy the Hat, a son of an unraced, yet talented mare, Vocal, who won at 2nd asking on the man-made at Turfway Park for Wayne “Cat Man” Catalano; and Stirred Up, who placed in 2 trips to Post versus MSW company in Kentucky and appears to have a promising future for Michael McCarthy. Breeding thoroughbred racehorses is the ultimate test of patience and commitment and we’re beginning to see the fruits of our labor come to fruition and the partners who’ve stayed the course as Members of the various breeding partnerships we have cultivated are reaping some deserved gratification. With our VP of Bloodstock, Sean Tugel, at the helm, we’re seeing marked improvement in our breed-to-race program as well as our overall program as our matings and pedigree analysis strengthen our roster in all respects.
BLUE MOON AFTERCARE PROGRAM has been a mainstay for the baby blue and black brethren for several years now and finally in 2023 the operation became an official, certified 501(c)3 charitable organization. The brainchild of our VP of Partner Relations, Kelsey Marshall Hughes, Blue Moon has done incredible work year in and year out, rescuing, rehoming and retraining dozens of former Eclipse runners and doing important philanthropy for industry-related charities, including numerous accredited aftercare organizations. The health, safety and well-being of our equine athletes is always priority #1 at Eclipse and Blue Moon epitomizes that notion day in and day out.
