Johannesburg nominated for top U.S. award Europe`s two-year-old star Johannesburg will square off with American champions Point Given and Tiznow for the title of U.S. Horse of the Year, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) said today. The only other European horse to capture the title in the Eclipse awards` 30-year history is All Along, the 1983 winner of the Prix de l`Arc de Triomphe, the Rothmans International at Woodbine, the Turf Classic and the Washington D.C. International. Johannesburg, Aidan O`Brien`s sparkling winner of the Breeders` Cup Juvenile will go in as a longshot for the title, which has stirred up rivalry between fans of reigning Horse of the Year, dual Breeder`s Cup Classic hero Tiznow and the Preakness and Belmont winner Point Given. Johannesburg, unbeaten in seven races including three European Group Ones, will seek to become only the third two-year-old Horse of the Year, following the great Secretariat in 1972 and Favorite Trick in 1997. But the Irish colt will be a hot favourite for the two-year-old category, where he has been nominated alongside his main Breeders` Cup victim, Bob Baffert`s Officer. Tiznow redeemed an injury-plagued season with a thrilling last-gasp triumph in the Breeders` Cup Classic, just outfighting Europe`s Prix de l`Arc de Triomphe hero Sakhee down the Belmont Park stretch. Now retired, Tiznow won 2000 Horse of the Year honours after just as memorable a Breeders Cup` win over Ireland`s `Iron Horse` Giant`s Causeway. Only four horses have won back-to-back Horse of the Year titles since the Eclipse awards were started in 1971 - Cigar in 1995/6, Affirmed in 1978/9, Triple Crown winner Secretariat in 1972/3 and Forego, who won three titles between 1974 and 1976. Point Given swept to five Group One wins, but was denied a Triple Crown by a mysterious flop in the Kentucky Derby and then kept out of the Breeders` Cup by a career-ending injury. Bob Baffert`s `Big Red Train`, has already clinched one Eclipse Award, being a unanimous choice as top three-year-old colt. The NTRA, the National Turf Writers Association and the Daily Racing Form vote for the awards. Winners will be announced on Monday, February 18 in Miami Beach. Eclipse Awards finalists are as follows: HORSE OF THE YEAR: Johannesburg, Point Given, Tiznow. 2-YEAR-OLD FILLY: Habibti, Tempera, You. 2-YEAR-OLD COLT OR GELDING: Johannesburg, Officer, Siphonic. 3-YEAR-OLD FILLY Exogenous, Flute, Xtra Heat. 3-YEAR-OLD COLT OR GELDING: Point Given (unanimous vote). OUTSTANDING OWNER: Richard A. Englander, Juddmonte Farms, The Thoroughbred Corporation OUTSTANDING TRAINER Bob Baffert, Robert J. Frankel, Scott A. Lake. OUTSTANDING JOCKEY: Jerry Bailey, Ramon Dominguez, Laffit Pincay Jr., John Velazquez.
