Joining ranks with the immortal Hall of Fame champion John Henry, Wise Dan was named thoroughbred racing’s Horse of the Year last night at the annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park. Wise Dan, a Kentucky-based 5-year-old gelding owned by Morton Fink and trained by Charles Lopreski, also won Eclipse Awards as the best older male and top male turf horse. John Henry in 1981 was the last horse to win all three of those awards in the same year.
Ramon Dominguez, the perennial leading rider in New York who fractured his skull in a Friday spill at Aqueduct, was honored as the nation’s top jockey for the third year in a row. He is in improving condition at Jamaica Hospital.
I’ll Have Another, which won the first two legs of the Triple Crown before being scratched from the Belmont Stakes, was named top 3-year-old male. The other Eclipse Awards went to: 2-Year-Old Male: Shanghai Bobby; 2-Year-Old Filly: Beholder; 3-Year-Old Male: I’ll Have Another; 3-Year-Old Filly: Questing (GB); Older Female: Royal Delta (4); Male Sprinter: Trinniberg (3); Female Sprinter: Groupie Doll (4); Female Turf Horse: Zagora (FR) (5); Steeplechase Horse: Pierrot Lunaire (8); Owner: Godolphin Racing LLC; Breeder: Darley; Jockey: Ramon Dominguez; Apprentice Jockey: Jose Montano; Trainer: Dale Romans