Wise Dan named US Horse of the Year

Sunday 19 January 2014, 5:10pm

Wise Dan has been named United States Horse of the Year for the second time, collecting two other awards along the way.

At the Eclipse Awards on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), Wise Dan became just the sixth horse to take the top honour in consecutive years, joining Secretariat, Forego, Affirmed, Cigar and Curlin.

"A horse like this is a miracle," owner Morton Fink said.

Last week Wise Dan and Japanese star Orfevre were each given international ratings of 129 to be third equal behind joint leaders for 2013, Black Caviar and Treve.

Other top honours went to trainer Todd Pletcher, jockey Javier Castellano and long-time trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who received the Eclipse Award of Merit to commemorate his career.

Wise Dan won six of his seven starts in 2013 and capped the year with victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

It was also the second straight year Wise Dan took home Eclipse honours in the Older Male and Male Turf Horse divisions. The now seven-year-old beat Mucho Macho Man and Will Take Charge for the top award.

"And we hope that we're back next year," his trainer Charles LoPresti said.

Pletcher grabbed the trainer's Eclipse Award for a record sixth time. He was an overwhelming winner, picking up 183 of the 248 votes cast after a year when his horses won just over $25.2 million.

"It takes really special horses to accomplish something like this and we've been blessed with a lot of opportunities," Pletcher said.

Pletcher also introduced Lukas, his mentor, before the trainer accepted the Merit Award.

"When it comes to Wayne Lukas, there is no comparison," Pletcher said. "He's unequivocally the greatest of all time."

Castellano won his first Eclipse Award after leading all jockeys last year with 362 wins and $26.2 million prize money, a season record.

Shared Belief took out the two-year-old male after winning all three of his starts as a juvenile, which explains why he's one of the early favourites for this year's Kentucky Derby.

Other awards went to She's a Tiger (two-year-old filly), Will Take Charge (three-year-old male), Beholder (three-year-old filly), Royal Delta (older female), Points Offthebench (male sprinter), Groupie Doll (female sprinter), Dank (female turf horse) and Divine Fortune (steeplechase).

– AAP

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