2024 in review: 10 favorite horses

While the Eclipse Award champions of 2024 will get plenty of fanfare, I’d like to take a more subjective approach and highlight my own personal favorites over the past year.

My top 10 are split between domestic and international campaigners, with the very first one straddling that divide in a way that nearly made history. We’ll start with my idiosyncratic list of stateside performers before saluting the superstars who raced strictly abroad.

Forever Young

Judging by how Forever Young dismantled the 2023 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, he stamped himself as an above-average international hopeful. The Yoshito Yahagi pupil totally followed through on that promise. Forever Young snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a Saudi Derby (G3) where he didn’t look comfortable until very deep stretch, made light of a wide trip around Meydan in the UAE Derby (G2), and came so close to glory in the three-way Kentucky Derby (G1) photo. 

Nor did his demanding spring campaign put a dent in his autumn ambitions. Triumphant off a five-month layoff in the Japan Dirt Classic, Forever Young delivered another commendable effort in defeat when third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). And he issued a statement of intent for 2025 when beating an accomplished field in Sunday’s Tokyo Daishoten (G1), his first victory that counts as an internationally recognized Group 1. Bring on the Feb. 22 Saudi Cup (G1)!

Ways and Means

Ever since her 12 3/4-length debut romp as a juvenile at Saratoga, I have been a charter member of the Ways and Means fan club. The fact that she nearly won the 2023 Spinaway (G1), despite suffering significant interference and injury, only reinforced my lofty regard for the Klaravich Stables homebred. Ways and Means had another brutal, if less detrimental, trip in her comeback in the March 30 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2), and her gutsy runner-up effort convinced me to stick with her in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). 

As a three-quarter sister to the unfulfilled talent Highly Motivated, who gave champion Essential Quality all he could handle in the 2021 Blue Grass (G2) and later set a track record in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup (G3), Ways and Means had a shot at staying the Oaks trip. Alas, I’d overestimated her stamina as she tired to fourth, although a certain Thorpedo Anna would have been too tough anyway.

Ways and Means excelled when reverting to her one-turn specialty. Her stakes breakthrough in the Test (G1) felt as though justice were served at last, and she dusted elders in the Gallant Bloom (G2). Sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), she was in contention for a long way before being outfinished in a close fifth. But I’ll never be disappointed in a brilliant filly who tried so hard.

Kingsbarns

If this year’s older dirt male division ended up leaving something to be desired, I’m tempted to say that maybe the best of them departed the scene prematurely. Kingsbarns was just hitting the peak of his powers in his dynamic Stephen Foster (G1) performance. Unfortunately, that turned out to be his swan song, as he sustained an injury later in the summer that prompted his retirement.

Kingsbarns lured me onto his bandwagon in his career debut in early 2023 at Gulfstream Park, where he muscled his way through traffic to win smartly. Next came an imperious Tampa Bay Downs allowance and a front-running coup in the Louisiana Derby (G2), which raised my hopes for his Kentucky Derby chances. But aggressive tactics backfired at Churchill Downs, and he wound up 14th behind Mage. 

Opening his 2024 campaign back at Gulfstream, in an allowance over a seven-furlong trip that was short for him, Kingsbarns rallied in time. The son of Uncle Mo looked bound for much bigger things when driving to a 3 1/4-length score in the Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland. While he was overturned as the odds-on favorite in the Pimlico Special (G3), Kingsbarns was compromised by a pace duel and by giving the garden-trip Pyrenees six pounds. Their rematch in the Stephen Foster offered a level playing field, both tactically and at the weights, and Kingsbarns left no doubt about his superiority. 

She Feels Pretty

In the 2023 Natalma (G1) at Woodbine, She Feels Pretty showed an ability to travel and quicken in unusually dramatic fashion. She didn’t have a fair chance to duplicate that performance in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), thanks to substantial ground loss every yard of the way from post 11, yet she went down fighting by all of a half-length. That underscored her claims to be a major player in the division this season. 

She Feels Pretty looked like her old Natalma self when resuming in the May 17 Hilltop S. at Pimlico, bolting up by a 5 3/4-length margin that’s especially gaudy for a mile on turf. But we didn’t see the same electricity in her placings in the Belmont Oaks (G1) and Lake Placid (G2). Any concern that she’d lost her killer instinct was eviscerated once she added blinkers. She Feels Pretty annihilated the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) by a stakes-record margin of six lengths and clocked a new stakes-record time in the American Oaks (G1) at Santa Anita. 

Considering how close her Belmont Oaks nemesis, Cinderella’s Dream, went in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), it’s hard not to play the what-if game with She Feels Pretty. Still, trainer Cherie DeVaux was right to give her the time she needed between starts; there’s no guarantee that she would have been in the same form wheeling back for the Breeders’ Cup. 

Carl Spackler

Any horse that can break his maiden by 8 3/4 lengths on turf is by definition worth following, so Carl Spackler has lodged himself in my affection from the early days of his sophomore season in 2023. The E Five Racing Thoroughbreds homebred established his graded stakes credentials in style that summer at Saratoga, doubling up in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) and Saranac (G3). Trainer Chad Brown was talking about potentially advancing versus older horses in the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1), but the colt did not attempt it and ended up being sidelined for the remainder of last year.

Resurfacing in the May 2 Opening Verse S. at Churchill Downs, Carl Spackler gamely persevered in a duel with Talk of the Nation. He was unable to lift when held up in a paceless Poker (G3), in his only loss at Saratoga. More prominent placement paid off in his ensuing starts at the Spa, and Carl Spackler prevailed in the Kelso (G3) en route to a tour de force in the Fourstardave H. (G1). 

Finally getting his chance at the Coolmore Turf Mile, the son of Lope de Vega seized the initiative to go wire-to-wire. The frenetic tempo of the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar didn’t suit him as well as it did his familiar foe More Than Looks, who exploded from last to score a new career high. Carl Spackler was outpaced in sixth, leaving me to wish that he could have had a Breeders’ Cup opportunity back East. 

Romantic Warrior

Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior, who was celebrated in my 2023 year-in-review piece, proved to be unbeatable in 2024. Not content with mopping up all the marquee events at about 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin – highlighted by three-peats in the QEII Cup (G1) and Hong Kong Cup (G1) – the Irish-bred also collected Japan’s most prestigious event at a metric mile, the Yasuda Kinen (G1). 

Add that to his supremely tough verdict in last year’s Cox Plate (G1), and you have quite an exceptional body of work. To top it off, Romantic Warrior has also broken the all-time earnings record to become the world’s richest horse.

Yet Romantic Warrior’s connections are seeking new mountains to climb, or rather surfaces to explore. Trainer Danny Shum has already got him in Dubai ahead of the Jan. 24 Jebel Hatta (G1), prior to a bold switch to dirt for the Saudi Cup. At this rate, Romantic Warrior will book a spot in the 2025 year-in-review feature. 

Kyprios

Among the numerous contenders from Ballydoyle, Kyprios has pride of place. It’s not merely his physical ability as one of the all-time great stayers, but rather his mental toughness and admirable character to regain world-class form after a life-threatening infection. Very few horses could have coped with the challenge of starting over virtually from scratch, learning how to walk all over again, and made it all the way back to the top of his profession. The initial steps of that comeback occurred last year, and the culmination came in 2024.

When Aidan O’Brien describes the backstory, it puts his perfect 7-for-7 season in awe-inspiring context. Kyprios regained all of his titles from 2022, including the Gold Cup (G1) at Royal Ascot, the Goodwood Cup (G1), Irish St Leger (G1), and Prix du Cadran (G1), and added a new trophy in the British Champions Long Distance Cup (G2).

Bluestocking

After a frustrating 2023 characterized by a series of placings, chief among them near-misses in the Irish Oaks (G1) and British Champions Fillies & Mares (G1), Bluestocking had every right to gain compensation this year. You’d almost think that the Juddmonte homebred felt the same way herself, spending the winter ruminating over her losses and making firm resolutions for 2024. 

At least that’s how her reappearance in the Middleton (G2) at York came across, as Bluestocking bolted up by six lengths in an overdue first stakes victory. The daughter of Camelot next checked the Group 1 box in the Pretty Polly (G1) at the Curragh, exorcising her Irish Oaks demons in the process. Second to the rampaging Goliath in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth (G1), Bluestocking fared best of the older brigade in the Juddmonte International (G1) when fourth behind record-smashing City of Troy. 

The Ralph Beckett filly never lost again, concluding her career by turning the Prix Vermeille (G1)/Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) double. I didn’t have the sense to stick with her as a top selection in Paris, fearing that she’d had a few hard races in succession, but that handicapping folly didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for her richly deserved success. 

Ramatuelle

A head and a neck away from a flawless two-year-old season in 2023, Ramatuelle had the brilliance to inspire classic hopes – if she stayed the mile. The Justify filly looked a class apart when drubbing males in last year’s Prix Robert Papin (G2) and Prix du Bois (G3), and she nearly took the Prix Morny (G1). 

Although Ramatuelle had the misfortune to be a “nearly” horse through the first half of 2024, that did not put me off her one bit. She was bedeviled by various circumstances, beginning with heavy going in the April 9 Prix Imprudence (G3). Arguably hitting the front too soon in the 1000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket, she was overtaken by just a half-length in third. 

Ramatuelle immediately went into my mental notebook as an ideal candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Nor did her ensuing third in the Coronation (G1) at Royal Ascot dissuade me, given the race shape and the stiff finish. The Christopher Head filly finally got the right set-up in the Prix de la Foret (G1) and blitzed older males by three lengths, thereby flying onto many more Breeders’ Cup radars. 

It was gutting to have my months-long idea torpedoed by her vet scratch at Del Mar, and even more so to see Ramatuelle retired after selling to Coolmore for $5.1 million. Plans call for her to visit Wootton Bassett, so I’ll get a head start on supporting her putative foal of 2026. 

Via Sistina

When Via Sistina was pre-entered in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, but didn’t turn up, who could have imagined that one day she’d be mentioned in the same breath as Winx? A couple of years ago, Via Sistina was just on the cusp of a serious upswing that reached dizzying heights once she was transplanted to Australia in 2024. 

Via Sistina initially flashed talent in Great Britain for trainer Joe Tuite, and George Boughey had the pleasure of developing her into a Group 1 winner in 2023. Runner-up to King of Steel in her European finale in last year’s Champion (G1) at Ascot, the Fastnet Rock mare was sold for more than $3.5 million at Tattersalls. 

New owner Yuesheng Zhang of Yulong Investments transferred her to Chris Waller, best known worldwide for training Winx, and Via Sistina has now racked up five Group 1s Down Under. Most sensational of all was her eight-length conquest of the Oct. 26 Cox Plate, where she shattered Winx’s course record. Via Sistina’s long-term goals for 2025 include a title defense at Moonee Valley.