All-American Pharoah

Twelve months ago, Zayat Stables took home their first Eclipse Award when American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) was honored as the nation's champion juvenile male on the strength of a pair of Grade I wins. Their statue count grew exponentially Saturday night during the 45th annual Eclipse Awards at Gulfstream Park's Sport of Kings Theater when the all-conquering American Pharoah led home a sweep of Horse of the Year, 3-Year-Old Male, Outstanding Owner and Outstanding Breeder. While the Triple Crown winner swept his own categories unanimously, his connections first made their way to the podium relatively early in the night to accept the breeder award.

“This is extremely humbling,” a visibly moved Ahmed Zayat said. “This is one award I would never ever have dreamt of winning. Just look at the people in this room that have put so much passion into everything and that I admire–the Farishes, Mr. and Mrs. Stronach, the Darley group, Mr. and Mrs. Ken Ramsey. They have put so much effort into this game. To come here from such a modest beginning. From just two broodmares that we bought, I want to thank my first racing manager Sohby Sonbol who went with me into fields looking for horses that we liked. We loved the line of Lord At War (Arg) and bought Carson Jen. Pioneerof the Nile was the first horse I ever bred. How great that his son could come and avenge him and win the Triple Crown. It's a true Cinderella story and I am so humbled. Thank you to the voters–it may have not been an orderly vote, but it is an appreciation, and we get the message.”

The ceremony kicked off with the presentation of the juvenile Eclipse Awards to the unbeaten pair of Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro) and Nyquist (Uncle Mo). Songbird, who dominated the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, became the second Eclipse Award winner campaigned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farm, which previously raced 2011 Horse of the Year Havre de Grace. Porter gave credit to the team at trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's barn and to regular rider Mike Smith. “He's been my friend for over 20 years, and I think he loves Songbird more than I do.”

Owner J. Paul Reddam and trainer Doug O'Neill, who teamed up with 2012 champion I'll Have Another, were on hand to accept Nyquist's award as champion male juvenile.

“Doug O'Neill said after his maiden win in June, 'I've got a plan to get us to the Breeders' Cup,' and he executed that plan flawlessly,” Reddam said. O'Neill added, “Unfortunately, my brother Dennis who picked him out couldn't be here tonight, but he did write my speech, and it says, 'Just thank Dennis.'”

The sprinter categories were next up, and the hotly contested Female Sprinter award went to Lady Sheila Stable's La Verdad (Yes It's True). Sheila Rosenblum was accompanied by trainer Linda Rice.

“My hellos take an hour!” Rosenblum joked about the one-minute limit set on speeches. “La Verdad has made all of my dreams come true. Thank you to my trainer who made this all happen and who begged me to buy her. We have a passion and we love horses. I've got a spectacular group of women over there that are my partners and friends. I love this mare–this is a love story. She's one of a kind. Thank you [Linda Rice] for your team and all of the people who make everything happen in the life of a horse. I'm going to bring more and more women into this.”

James McIngvale reemerged into the racing spotlight this year with Runhappy (Super Saver), who in addition to taking Male Sprinter honors was also a Horse of the Year finalist. McIngvale took the podium with an enthusiastic Cordell Anderson, but notably did not mention Maria Borell, who saddled Runhappy to wins in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and GI King's Bishop S.

“We want to thank Laura Wohlers and Cordell Anderson who wake up every morning thinking about Runhappy and go to bed every night thinking about Runhappy,” McIngvale said. “They're helicopter parents. I want to thank the entire team–there's no 'I' in team, and they live that every day. It's been a hell of a year. Like Seattle Slew and Billy Turner sitting over there with us, he made the team better, the jockeys Edgar and Gary better, and the owner better. Thank you Runhappy–you've truly touched and changed our lives. Stay tuned for 2016!”

Popular journalist Jennie Rees took home her fifth Eclipse Award for one of her final features for the Louisville Courier Journal, a poignant piece on trainer Dale Romans.

“I think I'm the kind of winner they want because I'm really short,” Rees quipped. “This was a great way to tie a bow on a great career with the Courier Journal. I'm not retiring–I'm reinventing myself. I think there's still a place in journalism for old-school beat writers such as myself where you go out there all of the time, boots on the ground, you meet people and you learn about them, and you try to come up with stories that certainly won't fit into 140 characters.”

Robert “Bat” Masterson stepped up to the stage to claim Tepin (Bernstein)'s award for Turf Female, which had seemed a given following her dominant success in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland.

“This is one of those times I wish horses could talk, because Tepin would start off and she would tell you she gave you everything she could give you all year long,” Masterson said. “Every single time, she ran the best that she could run. And she would appreciate this award. She would go on to say that the job that Mark and Norm Casse did was outstanding. They had her since she was a yearling, brought her along. She got hurt as a 3-year-old and they brought her back and they just did a great job. And finally I want to say, a good friend of mine passed away. He went by the name of Fatty. And, if it wasn't for Fatty and his son Deuce, who helped me pick that horse out at the Saratoga sale, we probably wouldn't be here today. So I want to thank both of them. And thank all of you on behalf of Tepin.”

On his way to the stage to accept his third straight Eclipse as outstanding jockey, Javier Castellano was extensively congratulated by Ahmed Zayat. It was another banner season for the Venezuela native, who admitted to being more nervous awaiting the night's results than being aboard a 4-5 shot in a Breeders' Cup race.

It was Justin Zayat's turn to take the microphone for American Pharoah's 3-Year-Old Male speech.

“What a wonderful year!” he exclaimed. “American Pharoah is truly an example of great teamwork to all of the people that raised him. From Vinery, Tom VanMeter, Taylor Made Farm, to the McKathans that broke him and the Bob Baffert stable that really brought out this beast's talents. Starting this year we were really behind the eight ball, we really had to squeeze in those works to make the Rebel. Bob and his team did a superb job. Going down to Monmouth after the Belmont was a dream for all of us–I brought all of my friends to the track and I probably never felt so much pressure in my life. And to really be a great horse you have to beat older horses, and American Pharoah did that on the greatest stage in the Breeder's Cup Classic.”

Leonard Lavin, previously announced as the Eclipse Award of Merit honoree, did not travel to Gulfstream, but grandson Craig Bernick was on hand to accept the Glen Hill Founder's newest trophy.

“I wish he could be here, but I'm honored to speak on his behalf,” Bernick commented. “This is likely the first Eclipse Award of Merit awarded to a horse owner that never owned a champion or raced in a Triple Crown race, which accentuates the persistence that Leonard Lavin has for horses and this business. His proudest moment was winning the GIII Equipoise Mile at Arlington Park in 1994. It coincided the 50th reunion of his ship, the USS DuPage, that he served on during WWII, and 100 of his shipmates made the trip to Chicago and he took them all to Arlington Park and surely [trainer] Tom Proctor has never had more pressure on him than that.”

Bernick summed up Lavin's principles: “Be a man of your word, pay your bills on time, be patient with horses, stand up for what you believe, whether it's popular or not, never suggest an idea to someone that you wouldn't do yourself and most of all, he stressed that the Glen Hill name was an extension of the Lavin and Bernick families, so make sure everything that is associated with it is done properly and with class.”

Trainer Bob Baffert made his own trip to the front of the room for the Outstanding Trainer Award. It was his fourth Eclipse Award, albeit his first since completing a hat trick from 1997-99. Baffert fumbled the trophy during the presentation, but the Hall of Fame conditioner recovered and quipped, “Well, that would have been bad. I never thought I'd be up here again because the competition has been fierce.” Baffert also acknowledged his fellow finalists, Chad Brown and Todd Pletcher, “You guys were looking really strong and had great years until June 6. Every trainer in this room, we dream of a horse like American Pharoah. He's a gift from God.”

The American Pharoah axis continued with the Outstanding Owner honors, and Ahmed Zayat was exultant.

“What took so long? This is the one we really wanted!” he exclaimed. “I never dreamt I'd get the breeder award, ever, but as an owner, I'm not going to be humble about it. I'm a very straightforward man. I'm extremely proud of what we've achieved with Zayat Stables–we've been in the business since 2006. Yes, American Pharoah is the jewel of the crown, but we are not a one-horse stable. And for that I'm so thankful to everyone who helped build our stable.”

Beholder (Henny Hughes) was widely expected to earn other Eclipse Award to go with her earlier honors as a juvenile and sophomore. Accepting on behalf of the GI Pacific Classic heroine were Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey and trainer Richard Mandella.

“I want to keep talking, because Ned and I want to try out for 'Dancing With the Stars,' so if we wait a little longer, we'll hear some music,” Mandella said wryly. “Joking aside, Bob [Baffert] mentioned what a great feeling it is to train a horse like he had and I have the same feeling with Beholder. They are two horses that it would take crops to replace them.”

Though there was no mystery about the revealing of Horse of the Year, it was a mild surprise to have Joanne Zayat as the keynote speaker.

“This is an incredible honor,” she said. “We sat here last year and took home 2-year-old of the year, and I thought actually, 'Game over.' I really didn't think that we'd be up here again. I didn't think we, the Zayat family, could get any closer, but American Pharoah did just that. This journey has been really surreal. We entered this game about 9 1/2 years ago and if you had told me at that point that…one year we'd even win the Triple Crown of seconds, I would have said, 'You're crazy.' A state of shock is really what it was like when we won the Triple Crown. I remember seeing Secretariat. I'm in awe of all of you who stick it out in this game, because we all know the highs are really high, and the lows are really low. You've got to pull up the bootstraps and come back to the track, and that's what everyone here has done. I look at American Pharoah as America's horse. He's really the people's horse. This night has been amazing for us.”

Those words brought the packed house to their feet, and capped the sensational season put forth by the Zayats' beloved homebred.

–by Marie Kizenko