Reilly Turf Awards - U.S. Edition

Lady Eli photo courtesy of NYRA/Adam Coglianese Photography/Susie Raisher.

The Reilly Turf Awards apparently have nine lives, since 2015 marks the ninth year for my idiosyncratic season-in-review honors.

The latest incarnation has a new home on the TwinSpires blog, but the categories have a familiar ring. And I’m once again dividing them into two volumes, the first reviewing the U.S. turf scene and the second surveying the internationals.

My original rules remain iron-clad: as the Empress/Kaiserin/Tsarina of these awards, I abide by my decree that a horse may be honored in only one category.

If you would prefer to see others recognized, or placed in a different category, be sure to state your case in the comments. I am a benevolent autocrat, after all.

Now here are my most enduring impressions from 2015:

MOST TANTALIZING WHAT-MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN

While there was a tinge of sadness to bid adieu to the now-retired Wise Dan and Main Sequence, we’d already seen them at their devastating peak. And although it would have been interesting to see California Chrome back on turf, the dirt will always be his calling card. Thus the performer who was most acutely missed in the second half of the season can only be Lady Eli. Chad Brown’s unbeaten superstar could easily have qualified in the “Most Arrogant Display” category for her romps in the Appalachian (G3) and the Belmont Oaks Invitational (G1). But wouldn’t it have been electrifying to watch her mete out the same punishment to her elders? Thankfully, Lady Eli has beaten up on her deadliest foe, laminitis, in just the same way. So please God, we’ll see this lady hold court again in 2016:

 

COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Gabriel Charles, who missed all of 2014 with a bowed tendon, dominated the Eddie Read (G1) in his third start off a nearly 18-month layoff. Sadly, the Jeff Mullins charge was sidelined again by emergency colic surgery a week before the Arlington Million (G1). Bal a Bali beat laminitis to capture his U.S. debut in the American (G3). Although the Brazilian celebrity didn’t garner any other stakes last season, he’ll always be a hero just for making it back to the racetrack and competing at a high level. Her Emmynency survived a potentially fatal attack of colitis late last year, and crowned her comeback with a fittingly determined success in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1).