Mighty Heart, the one-eyed Queen’s Plate winner who became a fan favorite, was crowned the 2020 Canadian Horse of the Year during a virtual presentation of the 46th annual Sovereign Awards ceremony on Thursday. Owned and bred by Larry Cordes, Mighty Heart swept the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Plate and Prince of Wales Stakes, before finishing a tired seventh in the Breeders’ Stakes. He was voted champion male 3-year-old over stablemate Belichick, the four-length Breeders’ Stakes winner. For the second year in a row, perennial champion male sprinter Pink Lloyd was second in the Horse of the Year voting, losing by a point total of 95-78. Silent Poet was third in the Horse of the Year voting with 30 points. It was a good night for Josie Carroll, who trains Mighty Heart and Woodbine Oaks winner Curlin’s Voyage, who won for champion 3-year-old filly in a tight vote over Merveilleux and Artie’s Princess. Carroll, however, lost for outstanding trainer to Mark Casse by a margin of 120-100. Casse won the top trainer award for the 10th consecutive year, which boosted his total wins in the category to 13. Casse won 93 races and his runners earned more than $5.3 million, numbers that exceeded his 2019 totals despite a shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Casse trained 2020 champions Skywire, who beat out Pink Lloyd for champion older male honors on the main track, and male 2-year-old winner Gretzky the Great, who took the Grade 1 Summer. His other 2020 Woodbine stakes winners included Not So Quiet and Helium. The 2017 Canadian Horse of the Year, Pink Lloyd did win his fourth straight champion male sprinter award for Entourage Stable. His only loss in five starts was a wide third behind Ride a Comet in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road. Pink Lloyd’s caretaker, Michelle Gibson, was named outstanding groom. A refugee from the show-jumping world, she has worked for trainer Robert Tiller for nearly 10 years. Artie’s Princess won the voting for champion female sprinter by a large margin. Trained by Wesley Ward, Artie’s Princess won all three of her Woodbine starts, most notably the Grade 2 Bessarabian. Unbeaten Grade 1 Natalma winner Lady Speightspeare won champion 2-year-old filly honors in another landslide. Trained by Roger Attfield, Lady Speightspeare missed the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf due to injury. Grade 2 Dance Smartly winner Theodora B., trained by Michael Dickinson, was victorious in the champion female turf category. Champion male turf horse honors went to Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf victor Say the Word, who was trained by Gail Cox in Canada. Danceforthecause, the dam of Say the Word and Grade 2 Canadian winner Rideforthecause, was voted outstanding broodmare. She was purchased by Gainesway Farm for $925,000 from the Sam-Son Farm dispersal at this year’s Keeneland January sale. Souper Escape’s domination of the champion older female on the main track category aided Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation in winning for outstanding owner. Live Oak won 14 races and more than $1.1 million, which included other stakes winners March to the Arch, Salute With Honor, and Souper Sensational. Ivan Dalos’s Tall Oaks Farm captured outstanding breeder honors for the second time in the past three years. Horses bred by Tall Oaks won 19 races and more than $2.2 million. Rafael Hernandez beat out Justin Stein for outstanding jockey after they duked it out for leading rider throughout the Woodbine meet. Hernandez won the Woodbine riding title with 129 winners, and his mounts banked more than $5.4 million. Mauricio Malvaez, who took the Grade 3 Canadian Derby on Real Grace, was voted outstanding apprentice. He won 16 races, and his mounts earned $210,888. Sam-Son Farm, the runner-up in the outstanding owner and breeder categories, received a Special Sovereign Award for the successful operation’s contributions to the sport. A finalist on numerous occasions, Chris Lomon finally won his first Sovereign Award for outstanding writing for “The Pep-Talking Groom, Willy, and a Queen’s Plate Crown.” Will Wong won for outstanding photograph for “Mambointheforest.” The outstanding digital audio/visual and broadcast award went to Santino Di Paola for “Dear Horse Racing.” Horse of the Year: Mighty Heart (95), Pink Lloyd (78), Silent Poet (30) Champion male 2-year-old: Gretzky the Great (152), Ready to Repeat (46), Stephen (27), Master Spy (27) Champion 2-year-old filly: Lady Speightspeare (148), Dreaming of Drew (54), Alda (39) Champion male 3-year-old: Mighty Heart (149), Belichick (78), Shirl’s Speight (31) Champion 3-year-old filly: Curlin’s Voyage (83), Merveilleux (76), Artie’s Princess (72) Champion older male main track: Skywire (116), Pink Lloyd (94), Mr. Ritz (24) Champion older female main track: Souper Escape (142), Painting (52), Summer Sunday (32) Champion male turf horse: Say the Word (111), Silent Poet (79), Count Again (74) Champion female turf horse: Theodora B. (90), Rideforthecause (88), Elizabeth Way (47) Champion male sprinter: Pink Lloyd (142), Silent Poet (95), Not So Quiet (35) Champion female sprinter: Artie’s Princess (133), Lady Grace (45), Boardroom (38) Outstanding broodmare: Danceforthecause (75), Include Katherine (62), Count to Three (59) Outstanding jockey: Rafael Hernandez (145), Justin Stein (82), Patrick Husbands (13) Outstanding apprentice jockey: Mauricio Malvaez (154), Nikki Alderson (60), Edgar Zenteno (59) Outstanding trainer: Mark Casse (120), Josie Carroll (100), Kevin Attard (50) Outstanding owner: Live Oak Plantation (124), Sam-Son Farm (51), Gary Barber (35) Outstanding breeder: Tall Oaks Farm (103), Sam-Son Farm (93), Anderson Farms Ont. Inc. (48) Special Sovereign Award: Sam-Son Farm Outstanding writing: Chris Lomon Outstanding photograph: Will Wong Outstanding digital audio/visual & broadcast: Santino Di Paola Outstanding groom: Michelle Gibson