Indian Blessing - My 3yo Champion

The 3-year-old Filly Eclipse category is as close as they come this year. On any given day, it seems that any of them could beat all of the others. If I was making the nominations, I would have nominated Indian Blessing rather than Eight Belles. No disrespect the deceased Derby runner-up. I just think that Indian Blessing had a more impressive year. In fact, I would make the case that Indian Blessing is the Champion 3-year-old filly.

Music Note won three Grade 1 races and almost won a 4th in the Alabama. She split with Proud Spell, and who can blame her for losing to Zenyatta and Cocoa Beach on an unfamiliar surface in the Breeders Cup? Proud Spell won the Kentucky Oaks, the Alabama and two Grade 2 races. I think her absence from the Breeders Cup and her loss as the heavy favorite in the Cotillion hurts her case.

And why exclude Eight Belles? Her four races prior to the Derby were wins in a N2L Allowance, an overnight stakes race, a Grade 3 and a Grade 2. Her performance in the Derby was indeed impressive, but her abbreviated campaign to me is not championship caliber. Bring the boos and the accusations of heartlessness, but that’s what I believe.

Indian Blessing won two Grade 1s, two Grade 2s and a Grade 3 over four different distances, two different surfaces and under three different jockeys. She finished no worse than 2nd in a campaign consisting of only graded stakes and the Breeder’s Cup. She is often labeled a sprinter, but she won at 8.5 furlongs this year too. Over eight races, she lost to Ventura, Zaftig and Proud Spell. Ventura is a year older and is a credible candidate for Champion female sprinter. Zaftig produced a ridiculous 113 speed figure to win the Acorn. And Proud Spell’s win is offset by Indian Blessing’s win over her on the same track and the same distance the month before.

So, my write-in vote goes to Indian Blessing. She just did more than the others. It’s too bad that the real voters will not get a chance to vote for her. In many other years, any of the these pp's would qualify for the championship, but in this year of great female performances, her challenging and diverse resume stands over the competition.