Indian Blessing states her case

Indian Blessing made a final argument for champion female sprint honors with an impressive 1 ½-length victory in the La Brea Stakes (G1) over Santa Anita Park’s Pro-Ride surface on Saturday.

The effort was slightly overshadowed by the breakdown of Indyanne , who suffered a fractured sesamoid in her left foreleg while dueling with Indian Blessing in the stretch.

Some voters already have submitted their selections (the deadline is January 5), and the La Brea was restricted to three-year-old fillies, so it’s unclear how it will impact the Eclipse Awards.

Indian Blessing’s only win over older fillies and mares came in the Gallant Bloom Handicap (G2) at Belmont Park, where she defeated just three rivals. Given her four-length loss to Ventura in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, this is one of the toughest calls on this year's Eclipse ballot.

Either filly would be a deserving champion. My initial thought was to go with Ventura. Even though she did not have a typical sprinters’ campaign (all her victories came on synthetic tracks and turf, at 6 ½ furlongs and longer), she showed a ton of quality and a dynamic turn of foot.

But I waited to see how Indian Blessing looked in the La Brea to make my final decision. To me she looked like a champion (a two-time champion actually, as she was champion two-year-old filly of 2007).

Always in possession of blinding speed, Indian Blessing can now comfortably track or set a rapid pace and finish strongly. She finished 2008 with six wins (including three G1s) and was never worse than second in nine starts.

The Indian Charlie filly, out of Shameful (by Flying Chevron), was bred in Kentucky by owners Hal and Patti Earnhardt.

It was great to hear trainer Bob Baffert say Indian Blessing will remain in training next year. Her next target will be the Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-G1).