2020 Eclipse Award Champion Male Sprinter
Whitmore was one of the most beloved sprinters of the modern era, a hard knocking gelding who raced for years and finally captured the biggest prize in his division at age eight. He was foaled in 2012, a son of 2003 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Pleasantly Perfect out of the mare Melody's Spirit. He raced for the partnership of Robert LaPenta, Ron Moquett, Head of Plains Partners, and Whitmore Brigades, and Ron Moquett himself trained him as well. Irad Ortiz Jr. rode him in his championship moment.
Whitmore built his name in the bluegrass and at Oaklawn Park, where he became the king of the Count Fleet Sprint Handicap with multiple wins in that race over the years. He was a fixture on the Breeders' Cup Sprint trail, finishing in the money in the big race year after year without ever quite getting to the wire first. Each fall he would head to the championships, and each fall he would come close. Racing fans loved his consistency and his blue collar style, and his connections kept him going through one season after another.
Patience finally paid off in November 2020. The Breeders' Cup Sprint was held at Keeneland that year, and Whitmore went off as a respected veteran in the race. With Irad Ortiz Jr. in the saddle, he came rolling down the lane and rolled past his rivals to win the Grade 1 sprint at long last. The crowd erupted as the eight year old finally got his championship moment. Whitmore was named the 2020 Eclipse Award Champion Male Sprinter, capping years of effort with the trophy he and his connections had chased for so long.
Whitmore kept on running into 2021 before being retired with earnings of more than $4.5 million. As a gelding he could not go to stud, so he was sent to Old Friends Equine in Kentucky to enjoy a long retirement among other racing legends. Whitmore is remembered as a fan favorite of the highest order, the kind of tough old campaigner who lights up paddocks and racetracks for years, and as a horse whose patient connections finally got the championship they had so earned.
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