Charismatic named Horse of the Year
Greg Risling
NEWPORT BEACH -- For all the worries they had to stomach watching their
prized thoroughbred suffer a broken leg in a key race last year, the
moment was sweet one for Bob and Beverly Lewis on Monday night.
The Lido Isle couple were presented horse racing’s top honor at a lavish
Beverly Hills reception for one of the horses they own.
Charismatic, a gutsy 3-year-old that no one wanted a year ago, was named
1999’s Horse of the Year by the voting bloc that consists of the National
Thoroughbred Racing Assn., the National Turf Writers Assn. and select
members of the Daily Racing Form. The latter two groups selected
Charismatic as the top horse, enabling the courageous colt to garner the
esteemed honor.
“We certainly had guarded optimism about our chances,” Bob Lewis said of
the industry’s annual Eclipse Awards. “We were fortunate enough votes
came our way.”
It may have been redemption for the Lewises. The Newport Beach residents
were previously denied Horse of the Year accolades for Silver Charm, a
colt that won the 1997 running of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness
Stakes. “The Charm,” as he was known to those who followed him, lost the
third leg of the Triple Crown, but went on to win several more races
before he was retired.
“He [Silver Charm] had some competition that Charismatic didn’t have,”
Lewis said Wednesday. “No horse came strongly to the forefront for Horse
of the Year. Something has to be said for a horse that wins the first two
legs of the Triple Crown.”
Charismatic followed a similar path but never received the stardom
bestowed on his stablemate until Monday. Charismatic was floundering
early last year and the Lewises entered him in two claiming races --
events where other owners could have purchased the chestnut colt.
No one did, and Charismatic first shocked bettors when he won the
Lexington Stakes decisively in April before heading to the Kentucky
Derby. Dismissed at odds of 31-1, Charismatic stunned race fans by
winning the prestigious race and then taking the Preakness two weeks
later.
Poised to sweep the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Charismatic
struggled to reach the wire and finished third. Jockey Chris Antley
realized something was wrong and jumped off the horse and held one of his
legs. The horse had suffered a broken leg in two areas, a potentially
life-threatening injury. But doctors were able to repair the leg and
Charismatic was retired.
Of 17 races in his career, Charismatic won only five. But he amassed more
than $2 million in earnings for his owners.
Antley’s quick action to help Charismatic was lauded as the industry’s
“Moment of the Year,” a distinction voted by race fans. Charismatic was
also voted 3-year-old champion.
The Horse of the Year trophy will sit on the couple’s mantle place, where
five other Eclipse Awards sit. One of the categories in which the Lewises
didn’t win was best owner, which is perfectly fine with them.
“We’ll take Horse of the Year over Owner of the Year,” Lewis chuckled.
No sooner than the couple received their gold statues were they preparing
for another campaign toward the Kentucky Derby. The couple have more than
a dozen 3-year-olds, several of which look promising to give them their
third derby in four years.
However, Lewis said it’s too soon to predict an outcome.
“Race horses are very temperamental and you never know if you will be
lucky enough to have a horse in the Derby,” he said. “I always think I’m
going to wake up from this dream. But I haven’t yet.”
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