Mark My Word (Omar Walker) winning the Viceroy Trophy over 1800 metres on June 25. - Colin Hamilton

With the Superstakes winner MARK MY WORD and champion sprinter SAINT CECELIA having distinguished themselves at the highest level this season, the big question is who will be Horse of the Year.

The claims of both are so compelling that opinions are divided as to the legitimate choice.

During the first half of the year, the American-bred horses RONRON and MISMYRTLEBOYRICHIE dominated the action, only to fade away in the second half owing to ailments.

Members of the racing press along with CTL's racing secretary Denzil Miller Jr, will cast their ballots in another fortnight or so to determine the winner.

However, this won't be made public until the night of the annual None Such Awards dinner in early February when the champions of 2011 will be honoured.

The Richard Azan-trained MARK MY WORD will be seeking to win back-to-back Horse of the Year awards following unanimous acclaim in 2010.

Owned by Elite Bloodstock Limited, the classy four-year-old colt by Market Rally out of Miss Chestnut was not as devastating this year compared to 2010 when he won the Triple Crown. But he won the biggest race of the year, the $5-million CTL Superstakes for the second time in a row, finishing the season with five wins from nine starts.

He was the season's leading stakes winner with $6.3 million, thanks to other wins in the Bonnie Blue Flag Trophy in April, the Viceroy Trophy in June, inaugural running of the Rum Fire Invitational with a purse of $2 million on September 24, and the $1.5-million Harry Jackson Memorial Cup as recent as Boxing Day.

SAINT CECELIA, on the other hand, won six of her nine races for stakes of $4.9 million. Trained by Spencer Chung for his family, the speedy five-year-old mare swept the major sprint races, including the Caribbean Sprint Championship on November 12, Reggae Trophy and None Such Sprint, among others.

But as far as the Horse of the Year award is concerned, her claims were reinforced on December 10 when she beat a top class field over 1400 metres in the 40th running of the prestigious CTL Gold Cup over 1400 metres, her victims including none other than MARK MY WORD. As I said earlier, the balloting will be close. Any bets?