ARCADIA, Calif. — The queen is dead; long live the king! After three straight years in which a filly or mare was named Horse of the Year — Rachel Alexandra (2009), Zenyatta (2010) and Havre de Grace (2011) — the crown this year will pass to a colt or gelding, who can clinch that honor today in one of the nine Breeders’ Cup World Championship races at Santa Anita.
In the order they will race, the three leading contenders for 2012 Horse of the Year are the 4-year-old colt Point of Entry in the $3 million Turf and a pair of 5-year-old geldings, Wise Dan in the $2 million Mile and Game On Dude in the $5 million Classic.
Trainer Shug McGaughey, whose nine Breeders’ Cup victories are second to D. Wayne Lukas’ 19, said he thinks his Point of Entry could follow in the footsteps of Kotashaan, voted Horse of the Year after winning the 1993 Turf at Santa Anita. A victory in the turf would give him five stakes wins in a row — a Grade 2 and four Grade 1’s — following scores in the Elkhorn, Man o’War, Sword Dancer and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic.
Wise Dan’s explosive stretch kick has carried him to three runaway wins for trainer Charles Lopresti, by five lengths in the Grade 2 Fourstardave, 3 1/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile and 2 1/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile. Earlier in the year, he won the Grade 3 Ben Ali on Polytrack at Keeneland by 10 1/2 lengths.
Bob Baffert’s Game On Dude, second in last year’s Classic, is 4-for-6 this year, winning the Grade 2 San Antonio, Grade 2 Californian, Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup and Grade 1 Awesome Again, and he was second, beaten just a half-length, in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic. His only bad stumble was a 12th-place finish in the Dubai World Cup.
If those three older horses fail to fire, then voters could turn to Shanghai Bobby if he remains unbeaten by adding the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to victories in the Grade 2 Hopeful and Grade 1 Champagne.
Another undefeated 2-year-old, Favorite Trick, was tabbed Horse of the Year after winning the 1997 Juvenile at Hollywood Park.