Sovereignty, Forever Young among 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists

Dual classic winner Sovereignty, Japan’s globetrotter Forever Young, and 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna are among the 2025 Eclipse Awards finalists announced on Sunday. The divisional champions, and Horse of the Year, will be revealed during the awards ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach on Jan. 22.

Sovereignty stood tall in the three-year-old male division after sweeping the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont (G1), and Travers (G1). The homebred paced a banner year for his Godolphin operation, a finalist for yet more awards as outstanding owner and breeder. 

Sovereignty’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, is among the finalists in that category, squaring off against Chad Brown and Brad Cox.

Godolphin has the two leading chances for the turf male Eclipse, both based in Newmarket with Charlie Appleby. Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) winner Notable Speech aims to supplant reigning champion Rebel’s Romance, who was runner-up in his Turf (G1) title defense. 

Unbeaten Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) star Ted Noffey is a virtual lock for champion two-year-old male honors, but many of the other divisions lacked clarity.

Forever Young’s historic success for Japan in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) propelled him into consideration for the older dirt male title. His rival finalists are Sierra Leone, runner-up as the defending Classic champion, and Nysos, whose signature win came in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Thorpedo Anna’s grip on the older dirt female division was loosened later in the season, as she headed into retirement, but the picture remained muddled after the Breeders’ Cup. Distaff (G1) upsetter Scylla and Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) winner Splendora ultimately entered the equation, although it remains to be seen if their Del Mar heroics weighed heavily enough for the electorate.

The two-year-old filly championship will come down to which Breeders’ Cup race the voters preferred. The traditional route would favor Juvenile Fillies (G1) heroine Super Corredora, but Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1) victress Cy Fair has also come in for support. 

The Breeders’ Cup likewise had some bearing on the finalists for champion three-year-old filly. While Distaff runner-up Nitrogen already had developed a body of work, Shisospicy joined the fray by toppling older males in the Turf Sprint (G1). Godolphin’s Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Good Cheer, the leader in the first half of the season, is also in contention.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Shisospicy was named a finalist as champion turf female as well, although the decision likely boils down to the top two from the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), Gezora and She Feels Pretty.

Shisospicy and Splendora are logically finalists in the female sprinter category, along with Kopion, whose claims rest on her victories earlier in the year. 

It’s a similar story in the male sprinter category, with Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Bentornato making a late bid to overtake Book’em Danno, who was put away after his summertime sweep at Saratoga.

Jockeys Irad Ortiz Jr. and Flavien Prat both broke the single-season purse earnings’ record in 2025. Their money battle went right down to the wire on New Year’s Eve, as Prat made a furious late charge, but fell just short of Ortiz’s total of $40,947,847. The margin between them in the Eclipse voting might be razor-thin as well. 

Named after the all-time great Eclipse, unbeaten on the racecourse and a pre-eminent foundation sire of the Thoroughbred, the awards are determined by members of three voting blocs – the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters. Turnout was 92%, with 221 of 240 eligible voters casting ballots. 

Finalists are tabulated from the voters’ top three choices in each category, but only first-place votes decide the Eclipse winners.

2025 Eclipse Awards finalists, in alphabetical order by division:

Two-year-old male: Brant, Gstaad, Ted Noffey

Two-year-old female: Cy Fair, Explora, Super Corredora

Three-year-old male: Baeza, Journalism, Sovereignty

Three-year-old female: Good Cheer, Nitrogen, Shisospicy

Older dirt male: Forever Young, Nysos, Sierra Leone

Older dirt female: Scylla, Splendora, Thorpedo Anna

Male sprinter: Bentornato, Book’em Danno, Nysos

Female sprinter: Kopion, Shisospicy, Splendora

Turf male: Deterministic, Notable Speech, Rebel’s Romance

Turf female: Gezora, She Feels Pretty, Shisospicy

Steeplechaser: Cool Jet, Swore, Zanahiyr

Owner: Godolphin, Klaravich Stables, Spendthrift Farm

Breeder: Don Alberto Corp., Godolphin, WinStar Farm

Trainer: Chad Brown, Brad Cox, Bill Mott

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr., Flavien Prat, John Velazquez

Apprentice jockey: Christopher Elliott, Yedsit Hazlewood, Pietro Moran

Other awards to be presented include the various media Eclipses as well as the Horseplayer of the Year trophy, won by Dan Piazza at the NTRA National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas last March.