With his four major stakes victories, at distances from a mile to a1 3/8 miles, Gio Ponti was clearly the most accomplished turf horse based in North America in 2009. And so he gets the vote here as the season’s turf champion.

Making that decision required as much time as writing that paragraph. On a day when Gio Ponti aimed for a more lucrative reward, Conduit won the Breeders’ Cup Turf. But Conduit was hardly overwhelming and that victory alone doesn’t approach, doesn’t even come close, to matching Gio Ponti’s accomplishments.

But the scale doesn’t tip quite so conspicuously when comparing the turf accomplishments of Ventura and Goldikova. Ventura had another outstanding season, winning three of her six starts with three seconds. On turf, she won two of three, with a runner-up finish in the Kilroe Handicap, losing to Gio Ponti by a nose. Goldikova, of course, won the Breeders’ Cup Mile with a powerful finish down the stretch at Santa Anita.

Both horses are worthy. Ventura beat a very strong field in the Woodbine Mile: Ferneley ran second, Sterwins third, Bribon fourth and Rahy’s Attorney seventh. If Ventura’s victory in the Matriarch wasn’t especially head-turning, that’s partly because her only real competition became the expectations she had created for herself. Despite the race’s Roman numeral, the field wasn’t particularly strong, and Ventura won as you would expect, without a moment’s doubt, as the 3-5 favorite.

An Eclipse Award honors the accumulation of accomplishment. And for me, unless it’s sensational, a single performance isn’t going to trump a collection of major victories. But Goldikova’s victory was indeed sensational: She shaved 23 seconds in the final quarter-mile while rallying from 10th and circling horses. The Mile arguably attracted the best field to meet on the turf this year. Just look at the horses that finished behind Goldikova, some of them far behind: Cowboy Cal, Court Vision, Justenuffhumor, Delegator, Courageous Cat, Whatsthescript, Gladiatorus, Zacinto and Ferneley, who ran seventh.

I wouldn’t argue with anybody who votes for Ventura. And, frankly, I’ve gone back on forth on this for days. But for me, in the end, Goldikova won the Eclipse Award as the champion turf female by a nose. Or maybe it would be more accurate to say Ventura lost it by a nose.

Informed Decision is one of the obvious Eclipse winners, a ball-peen hammer choice as the champion female sprinter. But her campaign also makes an eloquent argument for the horsemanship and expertise of her trainer, Jonathan Sheppard. In fact, the sprint divisions highlight the abilities of the two trainers who are most deserving of an Eclipse.

Informed Decision won six of her seven races this year, with victories at five different racetracks, on both synthetic surfaces and dirt. Early in the year, Sheppard said he was pointing the filly at the Breeders’ Cup, and he did a masterful job getting her there ready for a superlative effort.

Sheppard also guided Forever Together through another lucrative season. Although not quite as good as a year ago, Forever Together earned nearly $800,000 in 2009. And, of course, Sheppard resurrected the career of Cloudy’s Knight, who didn’t win a race in 2008. But his year, after joining Sheppard’s stable, Cloudy’s Knight won four of five, including three stakes, and he finished second by a nose in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon. Sheppard won 16 graded stakes this year. Only three trainers – Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert – won more.

Kodiak Kowboy earned this Eclipse vote with his victories in the Vosburgh, defeating Fabulous Strike, and the Cigar Mile, beating Bribon and Vineyard Haven. He was very good all year, winning two of his first six starts, including the Carter Handicap. But when he rejoined Asmussen’s stable (Asmussen had developed Kodiak Kowboy as a 2-year-old), he took his performances to an even higher level. Asmussen, of course, also developed the sensational 2-year-olf filly Hot Dixie Chick, and he guided Rachel Alexandra to four victories after taking over for Hal Wiggins.

For most of the 2-year-olds that raced this year, their campaigns were like so many paths in the woods: You just don’t know where they’re going to lead. But for Eclipse purposes that’s hardly important. In voting for the champion juveniles, I’m not trying to identify those with the most potential, only those with the most accomplishments.

Lookin At Lucky seemed to have a full allotment of both accomplishment and potential, but he was the exception. And as such he’s clearly the champion 2-year-old colt. He concluded his campaign with an easy victory Saturday in the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. It was his fifth victory of the year in six starts and his fourth stakes win, his only loss coming in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he had a rough trip and finished second, a head behind Vale of York.

Lookin At Lucky had a perfect trip in the CashCall, and the clocking was rather pedestrian. The victory, in other words, wasn’t particularly impressive, even though he won pricking his ears. His victory in the Norfolk was impressive though, and the powerful son of Smart Strike has the looks that suggest he could be up to playing the part of the sport’s next superstar.

His trainer, Bob Baffert, seems to effervesce whenever he talks about the colt. And Baffert could be traveling the Triple Crown path with numbers next year. Tiz Chrome, the flashy winner of the Stuka, and Clutch Player, a debut winner, also have abundant potential.

Beyond Lookin At Lucky, few of the colts consistently impressed. Buddy’s Saint, another powerful colt who looks as if he could run for miles, overwhelmed his rivals in the Nashua, winning by 12 lengths. But then his Remsen was excruciatingly slow. Jackson Bend won and won and won again, but he raced only at Calder and outshone the same cohort repeatedly.

Super Saver looked terrific winning the Kentucky Jockey Club, but he got singed in the Champagne. Future success could depend on his learning to control his speed. Rule looked outstanding in his two stakes victories at Delta Downs, his athleticism and style recalling War Emblem. But a small oval such as Delta’s emphasizes athleticism, gives athleticism an edge; and Rule has yet to prove he can be so effective racing at larger tracks.

Vale of York won the Juvenile in his only race here, and he, too, had some trouble in the race. Noble’s Promise, D’ Funnybone, Dublin, Homeboykris, Thiskyhasnolimit and Backtalk all had their moments. But Lookin At Lucky was clearly the champion.

The situation isn’t quite so clear among the fillies. Blind Luck, Hot Dixie Chick, Mi Sueno, Sassy Image and She Be Wild all won two major stakes. She Be Wild, of course, won the richest of those, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, but she hardly seemed best that day. She had a perfect trip, getting through an opening inside, while the horses who finished second, third and fourth had considerable trouble. Circumstances and Julien Leparoux put her in the winner’s circle, not championship talent.

If it were just a matter of talent, Hot Dixie Chick would be the hands-down champion. She dominated in her stakes victories at Saratoga, beating good fields that included Beautician and Bickersons. But Hot Dixie Chick’s campaign ended with Saratoga.

Championships are based on accomplishments, not just talent. And Blind Luck’s accomplishments, viewed as a whole, add up to a championship: She gets my vote. Not only did she win two major stakes, but she also ran second at Del Mar in the Debutante despite a wide trip and third in the Juvenile Fillies despite trouble.

For trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, Blind Luck improved steadily. And Sunday, she concluded her campaign by winning the Hollywood Starlet by seven lengths in one of the better performances given by a 2-year-old all year. Her winning time (1:41.96) for the 1 1/16 miles, by the way, was 1.34 seconds faster than Lookin At Lucky’s in the Futurity on Saturday. Blind Luck finished with four victories in six starts. It was the kind of campaign that should be encouraged.