LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For my money, this Breeders’ Cup was an artistic success. First, the decision to move all the 2-year-old races to Friday made for what I thought was by far the best format since the Breeders’ Cup went to a two-day event in 2007. Friday’s events made sense as a group way more than a random collection of races and was far more palatable than the patronizing “Ladies Day” concept. Moreover, this afforded the opportunity for the Distaff, a legacy event, to enjoy its rightful prime-time spot on Saturday. Then, Enable making history while out well past the middle of the course, well, that was really something. But perhaps most importantly, this Breeders’ Cup fulfilled its duty to a significant degree by helping identify divisional Eclipse Award champions. Before we get deeper into this topic, I should reiterate my strong belief that despite Accelerate’s victory in the Classic and whatever else happened in this Breeders’ Cup, Horse of the Year honors and the 3-year-old male championship were settled on the afternoon of June 9, when Justify became just the 13th Triple Crown winner. I went into depth on this in my pre-Breeders’ Cup column. Now, for a look at my read on this Breeders’ Cup’s impact on year-end championships: Older dirt male – Accelerate should be a unanimous choice for this Eclipse Award. Grade 1 victories in the Santa Anita Handicap, Gold Cup at Santa Anita, Pacific Classic, Awesome Again, and Breeders’ Cup Classic make for a résumé that just overwhelms everyone else in his division. The way I see it, it was just Accelerate’s awful bad luck and timing that he did all of this in a season when there was a Triple Crown winner. Older dirt female – This is one division where this Breeders’ Cup Distaff offered no help whatsoever. When Unique Bella was retired in August, Abel Tasman was poised to take control of this division, but she was dismal in the Distaff for a second straight start, leaving a bad taste that her previous Grade 1 wins in the Ogden Phipps and Personal Ensign have a difficult time masking. And the Distaff fade by Blue Prize, winner of the Grade 1 Spinster, likely eliminated any title hopes she had. It seemed unthinkable when Unique Bella retired that the record she compiled early in the year – Grade 1 wins in the Clement L. Hirsch and Beholder Mile, a Grade 2 romp in the Santa Maria, and a second in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom with a legitimate excuse – could stand up while others decided the big fall races, but with the crazy way things have played out, it just might. What a weird division. Three-year-old female – As far as I was concerned, Monomoy Girl had this wrapped up well before the Breeders’ Cup. Her Grade 1 victories in races like the Ashland, Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, and Coaching Club American Oaks – races that shout “championship” – will do that for you. But if there was any sliver of doubt left in this division going into the Breeders’ Cup, it was obliterated with Monomoy Girl’s victory over older opponents in the Distaff at, by the way, a nine-furlong distance that I still feel is just a touch outside her comfort zone. But that’s just another indication of how good she is. Two-year-old male – Game Winner is a mortal lock for this title as the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was his third straight Grade 1 victory. However, I understand why some folks might be less than enthusiastic about this group as a whole. Although Game Winner gives the impression of being one who will appreciate every bit of distance he can get, the fact that Knicks Go and Signalman finished second and third in the Juvenile at odds of 40-1 and 67-1 casts doubt on the overall strength of this Juvenile field. So, too, does the fact that Game Winner ran 0.05 seconds slower than Jaywalk did in winning the Juvenile Fillies after comparable early paces. Two-year-old female – It’s obvious that the winner of this division will be either Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Jaywalk or Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Newspaperofrecord. Historically, this division goes to the dirt specialist. But, while taking absolutely nothing away from Jaywalk, who was thoroughly dominant in the Juvenile Fillies, Newspaperofrecord was absolutely breathtaking Friday for her third blowout win from as many starts. This will be a very interesting vote. Newspaperofrecord looks like she might be the one to seriously test the historical tendencies of the Eclipse Award electorate. Male turf horse – The best finish by a male in the Breeders’ Cup Turf was managed by Sadler’s Joy, who checked in third, and he was beaten almost 10 lengths. Expert Eye came from Europe and got up in time to win a Breeders’ Cup Mile that seemed decidedly subpar. Other than that, our best turf males were seeming flukes or one-shot wonders like Glorious Empire, Channel Maker, and Robert Bruce. The Breeders’ Cup couldn’t help sort out this mess of a division for us. Frankly, I wouldn’t know whom to project as a potential champion right now. I couldn’t even begin to guess. And I doubt I’ll be able to do any better a month from now. Good luck in this division. Female turf horse – This is another fascinating division, though no matter which way it goes, this Breeders’ Cup will have spotlighted the winner. Whom do you go for? Do you side with Enable, who prevailed over fellow filly Magical and buried males in the Breeders’ Cup Turf to become the first to win the Arc de Triomphe and Turf in the same year, and to accomplish that as a female? Or do you go with Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Sistercharlie, who has racked up a compelling campaign stateside? Historically, the Eclipse Award electorate is reluctant to reward horses like Enable who make only one U.S. start, even if that one start was a big deal, like Enable’s certainly was. And I generally agree with that thinking. These are, after all, North American championships, so they should require more than fleeting North American participation. That said, I sense Enable will test this standard primarily because of the history involved with her Turf win and, whether it should even apply or not, the fact that she is a two-time Arc winner. It is quite possible, if not likely, that Enable is a better horse than Sistercharlie. But Sistercharlie compiled a U.S. campaign that merits carrying the vote. (As an aside, for those who think I’m being inconsistent in making a case for Sistercharlie over Enable and strongly stating that Justify should be Horse of the Year over Accelerate, know this: Wins in the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes certainly equate to a campaign and should meet anyone’s standards for “body of work.”) The Filly and Mare Turf at 1 3/8 miles was Sistercharlie’s fourth Grade 1 score on the season, all at different distances, following on the heels of the Jenny Wiley at 1 1/16 miles, the Diana at 1 1/8 miles, and the Beverly D. at 1 3/16 miles. And Sistercharlie really should be undefeated this year, as she had a bad trip in her only loss of 2018 in the Grade 2 New York Stakes. Yet despite Sistercharlie’s gleaming record going in, the Filly and Mare Turf was very likely her best race yet as she missed last month’s Flower Bowl, and she found a way to overcome and rally into a pace that was extremely slow, even allowing for the soft nature of the footing she caught Saturday. Male sprinter – Roy H made it back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Sprint victories with a thoroughly decisive score Saturday after a wide sweep from off the pace, and he is extremely likely to make it two straight male sprinter championships as well. That is because this was Roy H’s second consecutive Grade 1 victory and third graded stakes win of the campaign, and also because his chief divisional rival going into the Breeders’ Cup, Imperial Hint, could only manage third in the Sprint, and a soundly beaten third at that. Female sprinter – Eight of the 11 winners of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint went on to be voted champion female sprinter for that year, so this event clearly has a major impact on the divisional championship. However, two of the last three Filly and Mare Sprint winners did not go on to titles (Bar of Gold upset the race last year while Unique Bella got the championship, and Wavell Avenue won the Filly and Mare Sprint in 2015, but La Verdad was voted champion), and there is a chance this run could extend to three out of four after Shamrock Rose recorded a 25-1 Filly and Mare Sprint upset Saturday. Shamrock Rose’s only other graded stakes victory came in the Grade 2 Raven Run. That’s not a strong CV, so Marley’s Freedom, a Grade 1 winner this year who also won two other graded stakes and was a close fourth Saturday as the strong favorite, will likely still get support. And the undefeated Dream Tree, who was forced to miss the Filly and Mare Sprint when she displaced in her last workout, could attempt a Unique Bella by creating a strong title candidacy with a late-season Grade 1 score. :: Want to get the latest news with your past performances? Try DRF’s new digital PPs