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Saturday, March 31st, 2012
Irvin S. Naylor’s Black Jack Blues kept alive his American unbeaten streak with an authoritative 6 1/4-length victory in the $50,000 Carolina Cup (Gr. 3) on Saturday, March 31, in Camden, S.C. The reigning Eclipse Award champion set all the pace under jockey Ross Geraghty and completed the Carolina Cup’s 2 1/4 miles in 4:06.80 on firm turf.
Making his first start since winning the $250,000 Grand National (Gr. 1) at Far Hills, N.J., on Oct. 22, Black Jack Blues showed no signs of rust as he went to the lead at the start and jumped powerfully over 13 National Fences on the Springdale Course.
Oakwood Stable’s Country Cousin, a multiple stakes winner trained by Julie Gomena, kept pace with Black Jack Blues through the early stages under Carl Rafter. With a half-mile remaining, Arcadia Stable’s All Together moved into second, but Country Cousin launched a challenge entering the final turn and moved into second position again. His attack on the leader was short-lived, and Black Jack Blues jumped the final fence carefully before drawing away through the stretch.
All Together, with Xavier Aizpuru in the saddle, held third, 1 3/4 lengths behind Country Cousin. Owner-trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s Italian Wedding closed ground in the stretch to take fourth, 2 3/4 lengths farther back, in a field of six.
With his Carolina Cup victory, Black Jack Blues answered the final question about his ability: He showed he can handle firm ground against top company. Both of his 2011 victories, in the Grand National and Dorothy Fred Smithwick Memorial Stakes at the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg on Oct. 1, were on yielding turf.
Trainer J. W. Delozier said he was pleased with Black Jack Blues’ performance. “He couldn’t have gone any better,” he said. “Ross was able to give him a breather, and when that other horse came to him he responded. He loves competition.”
Delozier said Black Jack Blues would be pointed toward either the $50,000 Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3) at the Middleburg Spring Races on April 21 or the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1) in Nashville on May 12. Owner Naylor has won the Calvin Houghland Iroquois the last two years with Tax Ruling.
Naylor, 2011’s record-setting leading owner, won the second stakes race of the young National Steeplechase Association season. Another Naylor Irish-bred, Pullyourfingerout, won the season-opening $50,000 Budweiser Imperial Cup for novices at the Aiken Spring Steeplechase a week earlier.
Edited from NSA Press Release
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
The Saratoga Springs community will celebrate its legendary relationship with thoroughbreds at the inaugural Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga, a day of racing and spirited activities set for Saturday, September 15. Proceeds from the first annual Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga will benefit both local and equine charities.
The New York Racing Association (NYRA) will be the host benefactor, teaming up with the National Steeplechase Association (NSA) for this unique event experience, and will make available Saratoga Race Course for this community celebration. What’s more, the famed infield will be accessible for the first time in over 30 years, for sponsor and entertainment activities under corporate tents providing an exclusive, intimate view of the races.
“We are excited to partner with the National Steeplechase Association for the first-ever Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga,” said NYRA President and CEO Charles Hayward. “The most historic and prestigious racetrack in the country will be a fitting venue for this family-friendly event that will benefit local and equine charities.”
Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga officials said they were gratified for the support of both NYRA and the NSA. “Steeplechase race meets are a wonderful way for members of the community to come together for a festive day of sport and socializing,” said Barry Potoker, local Committee Co-Chair for the event. “The tradition of Saratoga Race Course provides the quintessential venue for this unique kind of experience, and we are grateful for NYRA’s generosity. The Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga will offer a wide range of sponsorship and entertainment opportunities for both national and regional businesses to get broad exposure at an exciting, high-profile event.”
NSA President Guy J. Torsilieri said the Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga promises to be a major event on the fall calendar for both steeplechasing and Saratoga Springs. “There’s no better place to kick off our fall championship season,” he said. “Saratoga is synonymous with high-quality racing and a high-quality racing experience. We look forward to sharing the steeplechase experience with the Saratoga Springs community.”
The Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga will present at least five races, four of them over hurdles and carrying purses totaling $100,000. The feature race will be the $50,000 Saratoga Steeplechase Cup. “The Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga will be a very important addition to our fall championship season,” said NSA Director of Racing Bill Gallo Jr. “Its strong purse structure will attract top-notch horses aiming for major races later in the fall.”
In addition to the thrill of the non-pari-mutuel races, other festivities will include music, equine exhibitions & shows, 5k walk/run on the famous Saratoga Race Course, celebrities, an authentic barbeque along with other food selections, special carriage rides on the dirt race track, vendor village, and much more! As is the tradition at the Spa, a free giveaway is planned for all paid admissions.
The Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga will wrap up a busy summer of world-class horse racing in Saratoga Springs. The season kicks-off with the Open House, the NYRA-sponsored Sunday afternoon of racing and activities for community members on Sunday, July 15.
A committee of community leaders, including the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and the Saratoga Convention & Tourism Bureau, is at work planning the details of this inaugural Steeplechase Festival at Saratoga. The event will include one-of-a-kind sponsorships and entertainment opportunities, plus the festival’s charitable beneficiaries will be announced in the very near future. A website, promotional and sponsorship opportunities brochures will be developed over the coming months with all the important information about this new and unique celebration. In addition, there is a pre-event party being planned for the evening of Friday, September 14 to be held at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
For further event information and for sponsorship/entertainment opportunities, please contact Barry Potoker at 518-366-0946 or bpotoker@nycap.rr.com.
January 16th, 2012
When is a horse that wins one Grade I race better than a horse that has won two Grade I races? Apparently, when the horse that won only one Grade I race wins the richest race of the season, or so say the majority of Eclipse Award voters who selected Black Jack Blues (Ire) over Tax Ruling as the 2011 steeplechase Champion. While Black Jack Blues did defeat Tax Ruling the one time they met in the Grand National, that victory came in the over a deep and tiring Far Hills Race Course that produced several longshot winners on October 22nd. While Tax Ruling, like many horses that day, clearly failed to handle the Far Hills course, he defeated 2010 Champion Slip Away in the Grade I Iroquois in May and closed the season with a gutsy victory in the Grade I Colonial Cup. Those triumphs were enough to garner this writer’s top Eclipse vote, as well as the top votes cast by Joe and Sean Clancy. While the majority of the Eclipse voters didn’t see it that way, since neither Tax Ruling nor Black Jack Blues know or care which one of them won the Eclipse Award, what does it matter? Eclipse awards are for owners, and both horses are owned by Irv Naylor.
Reprinted below is the NSA press release announcing the winner:
Irvin S. Naylor’s Black Jack Blues (Ire) was voted the 2011 Eclipse Award as North America’s champion steeplechase horse. The champion was announced Monday, Jan.16, at the annual Eclipse Awards dinner at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Definite Article gelding, trained by Joseph W. Delozier III, won his only two U.S. starts, including the year’s richest race, the $250,000 Grand National (Gr.) at the Far Hills Races in New Jersey on Oct. 21. Before that impressive seven-length victory, he had dominated the $35,000 Dorothy Fred Smithwick Stakes at the Virginia Fall Races on Oct. 1.
Those two victories earned him $171,000, and as the earnings leader he was honored with the National Steeplechase Association’s Lonesome Glory Champions Award. He missed the season finale, the $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup (Gr. 1), because of a mild respiratory infection.
Naylor purchased Black Jack Blues on the recommendation of bloodstock agent Nick Carter and Delozier. The gelding had won three novice races earlier in 2011, at Worcester in England and Fllos Las in Wales.
Carter “picked him out. He came to me and said, ‘This is the one,’ ” Delozier said in accepting the Eclipse Award for Naylor, who was out of the country and unable to attend the ceremony. Delozier also credited jockey Ross Geraghy, who rode Black Jack Blues in both his U.S. starts.
Delozier praised the work of Rebecca Curtis, the young Wales-based trainer who handled Black Jack Blues for owner Peter Neary. “He came to my barn in great form and made my job easy,” Delozier said.
Black Jack Blues easily outpolled Naylor’s Tax Ruling, the year’s only two-time Grade 1 winner, by 137 to 80 among the Eclipse voters. Naylor’s first purchase after he moved into hurdle racing after years of dominating the timber circuit, Tax Ruling scored a repeat score in the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois on May 14 at Nashville’s Percy Warner Park and a gutty 1 1/4-length victory in the Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup on Nov. 19 in Camden, S.C.
The Dynaformer gelding also finished fourth in the $50,000 Carolina Cup (Gr. 3) on April 2 on Camden’s Springdale Course, and he was pulled up in the Grand National. He had prepared for his fall campaign over fences with a victory in a training flat race at Shawan Downs in Maryland on Sept. 24. His 2011 earnings totaled $153,500, second-highest on the NSA circuit.
Naylor also had the third Eclipse finalist, Decoy Daddy, who won three stakes races, two of them graded. In the spring, he won the $50,000 Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3) at the Middleburg Spring Races in Virginia on April 23 and took the $75,000 Marcellus Frost (Gr. 2) at Iroquois three weeks later. He also won the $40,000 Noel Laing for the second straight year at the Montpelier Hunt Races in Virginia on Nov. 5. He closed out the season with an unplaced finish in the Colonial Cup. His 2011 earnings totaled $124,100, third on the year-end list.
Naylor is only the second owner to be represented by all three Eclipse finalists. He duplicated the feat of Augustin Stables, which had the three finalists in 2001, led by Eclipse winner Pompeyo.
The Eclipse Award winners were determined by votes of the Eclipse Awards’ three sponsoring organizations, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters Association, and Daily Racing Form.
Camden, SC – November 19, 2011:
Tax Ruling found his best stride late in the race and scored a gutty 1 1/4-length victory over Divine Fortune in the 42nd annual edition of the $100,000, Grade I, Marion DuPont Scott Colonial Cup. Arcadius made a late move to nail front runner Here Comes Art at the wire for third. Trained by Brianne Slater and ridden by Xavier Aizpuru, Tax Ruling ran the Colonial Cup’s 2 3/4 miles in 5:11.20.
Bred by the Phipps Stable, Tax Ruling was sold privately to his current owner, Irvin S. Naylor, before making his first start. A gelded son of leading steeplechase sire Dynaformer, Tax Ruling was produced by Grade I winner Fantastic Find, and is a half-brother to Grade I winner Finder’s Fee. The 8-year-old descends from the same Phipps family as 1994 champion 3-year-old filly Heavenly Prize.
“He’s kind of a cool horse,” trainer Brianne Slater said. “I was pretty confident with him. He’s been training pretty well. He’s been bucking and squealing. And, Xav (jockey Xavier Aizpuru) gave him a great ride … he really did.”
The Colonial Cup was Tax Ruling’s second Grade 1 victory of the year following his score in the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois in May when he defeated last year’s champion Slip Away. Today’s win likely sealed the 2011 Eclipse Award as champion steeplechase horse for Tax Ruling, as he was the only horse to win two Grade I steeplechase races this year.
Tax Ruling’s primary competition in the Eclipse voting will come from Black Jack Blues (Ire), a recent import who won both of his U.S. starts easily, including a seven-length victory in the $250,000 Grade I Grand National at the Far Hills Races last month. Black Jack Blues, who missed the Colonial Cup because of a minor respiratory infection, earned the National Steeplechase Association’s Lonesome Glory Champions Award this year as the leading purse earner, having bankrolled $171,000 in 2011.
At the Colonial Cup start, Tax Ruling went to the lead immediately and set the pace with Here Comes Art, ridden by trainer Arch Kingsley Jr. “He’s always been a front-runner,” Aizpuru said. “If he’s not on the lead, he wants to be right there.”
Tax Ruling and Here Comes Art jousted for the lead for more than two miles, with Kingsley’s mount in front as the field turned into the stretch. Divine Fortune and jockey Darren Nagle took the inside route to the last fence and jumped to the lead.
Aizpuru kept pushing Tax Ruling toward the finish line, and they drew clear in the final sixteenth. Arcadius, ridden by Brian Crowley, closed stoutly at the end to nip a tiring Here Comes Art for third.
Tax Ruling, who finished third in each of the last two editions of the Colonial Cup, entered this year’s race as one of three horses eligible to claim Eclipse award honors. The other two were Decoy Daddy, who had won the Grade III Temple Gwathmey Hurdle Handicap in April at the Middleburg Spring Races, and the Grade II Marcellus Frost Hurdle Stakes in May at the Iroquois races, and Divine Fortune, who scored a repeat victory in the Grade II A. P. Smithwick in August at Saratoga Race Course before losing his rider in the Grand National.
Click here for the result chart of the 2011 Colonial Cup.
Edited from NSA press release
Far Hills, NJ – October 22, 2011
Owner Irv Naylor and trainer J.W. Delozier capped an unprecedented afternoon at the Far Hills Races when recent import Black Jack Blues (Ire) won the $250,000 Grade I Grand National. It was the third win on the day for the owner-trainer team, all but locking up the National Steeplechase Association owners’ championship for Naylor and providing Delozier with his best day as a trainer. Stablemates Imperial Gin and Lake Placid opened the day with victories before Black Jack Blues wired a field of 14 in the richest race on the NSA’s annual schedule.
 Black Jack Blues sprints away from stablemate Organisateur at the last fence of the Grade I Grand National. Black Jack Blues went to the lead at the start and was never headed. He jumped well under Jockey Ross Geraghty and pulled away on the final turn to win by seven lengths in5:29.80 for the Grand National’s 2 5/8miles.
 Black Jack Blues leads (right-to-left) 2nd place finisher Organisateur, 4th place finisher Your Sum Man and 3rd place finisher Dynaski at the 9th fence of the Grade I Grand National. Naylor also picked up second money with his Organisateur (Ire), trained by Bruce Miller. Finishing third was Armata Stable’s Dynaski, who was three-quarters of a length ahead of 2009 Grand National winner Your Sum Man, owned by The Fields Stable. Irish invader Dirar was a distant fifth.
 Irv Naylor (2nd from left) in the winner's circle with Black Jack Blues. Naylor acquired Black Jack Blues over the summer on the recommendation of bloodstock agent Nick Carter. Delozier ran him shortly after his arrival in the United States and won the $35,000 Dorothy Fred Smithwick Hurdle Stakes at the Virginia Fall Races in Middleburg, Virginia on October 1st.
Never challenged on the front end, Black Jack Blues scored by 4 1/4 lengths over top novice Demonstrative. Organisateur made a late run to pick up a second-place check under Bernie Dalton, and Dynaski overtook stablemate Your Sum Man for third money. Both Dynaski and Your Sum Man are trained by Tom Voss.
 Mabou (center) jumped poorly at the 4th fence of the Grand National. Mabou, upset winner of the $100,000 Grade I New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap at Saratoga Race Course after being claimed there for $30,000, did not handle the yielding ground and was pulled up by jockey Robbie Walsh. Co-owner and trainer David Jacobson said he would consider the $100,000 Grade I Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup on November 19th for his stable’s only steeplechase horse.
 Left-to-right: Mabou, Italian Wedding and Black Jack Blues before the start of the Grand National. The Grand National, which attracted most of the leading contenders in American steeplechasing’s champion division, was no different. Black Jack Blues went to the lead as soon as starter Barry Watson dropped the flag, and the Irish-bred set a steady pace while jumping well. Organisateur made a late run to pick up a second-place check under Bernie Dalton, and Dynaski overtook stablemate Your Sum Man for third money. Both Dynaski and Your Sum Man are trained by Tom Voss.
 Jockey Ross Geraghty high-fives trainer J.W. Delozier after Black Jack Blues won the Grand National. Lake Placid Wins Foxbrook
Naylor’s Lake Placid, racing on the outside and on the lead in the Foxbrook Champion Hurdle, turned back a challenge from Timber Bay Farm’s History Boy and won by two lengths. Jacqueline Ohrstrom’s Demonstrative made up ground late to finish third, 2 1/2 lengths farther back in the rich novice stakes.
The 2 1/2-mile Foxbrook was the second victory in a week for Lake Placid, a $10,000 claim by Delozier.
Edited from NSA press release
Click here for the result chart of the 2011 Grand National.
 Black Jack Bag and jockey Ross Geraghty. Jumping Around
An Irish-bred has won the last three consecutive runnings of the Grand National, however, 2009 winner Your Sum Man and 2010 winner Percussionist have yet to win another race after their Grand National victories…..Irish-breds claimed four of the top-five placings in this year’s Grand National, finishing first, second, fourth and fifth…..Lake Placid, who has been claimed for just $10,000 twice this year, has now won six races in 2011 while racking up $114,000 in earnings, second best of all steeplechasers this season……A different horse has won each of the three Grade I steeplechase races run so far this year. If a 4th horse wins the Grade I Colonial Cup at Camden on November 19th there is a very real possibility that a former $10,000 claimer will be voted the Eclipse award as champion steeplechaser.
Saratoga Springs, NY – September 1, 2011
Here Comes Art grabbed the early lead and turned back several challengers at the final fence, before drawing away to a 3 3/4-length victory under a well-timed ride by trainer Arch Kingsley Jr. to win the $53,000 Ninepins Hurdle at historic Saratoga.
Beverly Steinman’s Perfect Edge closed strongly on the outside to claim the place spot, three-quarters of a length clear of Gentry Stable’s Be Certain in third. Arcadia Stables’ Hope for Us All, half of a 1.85-1 favored entry with Mrs. Ogden Phipps Hurdle winner Opera Heroine, finished fourth in a field of ten for the final steeplechase race of Saratoga’s 2011 season. A nine-year-old Royal Anthem gelding, Here Comes Art ran the Ninepins’ 2 1/16 miles in 3:55.66 on a firm inner turf course after going off as the 3.95-1 second betting choice.
Owned by Carrington Racing Stable, Here Comes Art was making his third start of the Saratoga season, after finishing third in the $70,000 Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes on July 28 and being pulled up at the last fence after setting the early pace in the $70,000 Michael G. Walsh Novice Stakes three weeks later. For the Ninepins, an optional allowance, Camden-based Kingsley called his own number and donned Carrington’s silks for his first ride of the year over fences.
Breaking from the outside, Here Comes Art moved to the lead before crossing under Saratoga’s finish line for the first time and set a relaxed pace. Opera Heroine stalked the leader early, with Hope for Us All in striking range. Opera Heroine began to drop back on the final turn as 41.75-1 Perfect Edge and 4.10-1 Be Certain launched their attacks.
Here Comes Art jumped the last of nine fences in stride, with Perfect Edge a length back and Be Certain preparing to overtake Hope for Us All. The front-runner spurted away from his challengers a few strides after the fence and gradually increased his margin to the finish line in the final steeplechse race this year at Saratoga.
Edited from NSA press release
Click here for the result chart of the Ninepins Hurdle.
The first three finishers from the Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes for fillies and mares will take on nine male opponents on Thursday, September 1st, in the $53,000 Ninepins Hurdle, the final steeplechase race this year at historic Saratoga Race Course.
Heading the group emerging from Saratoga’s first steeplechase race for females is Arcadia Stables’ Opera Heroine, who pulled away to a three-length victory on August 11th. The seven-year-old Partner’s Hero mare will be seeking her third straight Saratoga victory, after a maiden score at the Saratoga Open House on July 17.
Under the conditions of the Ninepins, a 2 1/6-mile optional allowance, Opera Heroine will start for a $30,000 claiming price. Trainer Jack Fisher named Willie Dowling for a return engagement.
Opera Heroine will be coupled in the wagering with Arcadia’s Hope for Us All, who finished fourth in the Steeplechase Owners and Trainers Association Firestone Tire Hurdle, an optional allowance on August 4th. Fisher tapped Xavier Aizpuru to ride the five-year-old Royal Anthem gelding.
Finishing second in the Mrs. Phipps was Magalen O. Bryant’s Well Fashioned, a four-year-old Cozzene filly trained by Doug Fout. Jeff Murphy has the mount. Well Fashioned will be part of an entry with Bryant’s Air Maggy, who is trained by Jonathan Sheppard and will be ridden by Darren Nagle. Fout also entered Beverly Steinman’s Perfect Edge, who will have Ross Geraghty in the saddle, and Sheppard also will be represented by Bill Pape’s Dugan, ridden by Robbie Walsh.
Lonesome Nun finished third in the Mrs. Phipps in her first start for leading owner Irvin S. Naylor and trainer Brianne Slater. Bernie Dalton has the mount on the six-year-old Vicar mare. Lonesome Nun will be coupled in the betting with Naylor’s Saluda Sam, who finished third in Saratoga’s National Steeplechase Association J. P. Morgan Hurdle, an optional allowance on August 18th. Carl Rafter has the mount on the six-year-old Adcat gelding, who is trained by Kathy McKenna.
Move-Up Stables’ Quiet Approval, also trained by McKenna, will be making his first start since a fourth-place finish in the $100,000 Helen Haskell Sampson at Monmouth Park last September. Roddy Mackenzie will ride Quiet Approval, who will carry a $30,000 claiming price.
Two members of the Ninepins cast will be making their third Saratoga starts, after competing in the Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes on July 28 and the Michael G. Walsh Novice Stakes on Aug. 18. Carrington Racing Stables’ Here Comes Art set the early pace in both and held on for third in the Kiser. In his subsequent start, he was pulled up at the Walsh’s final fence. Trainer Arch Kingsley Jr. will be in the saddle.
Trainer Tom Voss will send out Armata Stable’s Cornhusker, who finished fifth in the Kiser and sixth in the Walsh. Willie McCarthy has the mount aboard the English-bred Dynaformer gelding, who will carry a $30,000 claiming price. Voss also entered Gentry Stable’s Be Certain, who was sixth in the SOTA-Firestone Tire optional hurdle in his first start since finishing second in the 2008 Grand National at Far Hills, N.J. Paddy Young has the mount. Be Certain also starts for a $30,000 price.
The Ninepins is named for the English import who won the 2000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap for the Hudson River Farms of Albany real estate executive Edward Swyer and Hall of Fame trainer Sheppard.
Edited from NSA press release
Click here for FREE Daily Racing Form past performance charts for the 1st race at Saratoga on September 1st.
Saratoga Springs, NY – August 25, 2011
When David Jacobson, a successful claiming trainer at Aqueduct Racetrack, haltered the steeplechaser Mabou out of a $30,000 optional claimer on August 4th, it was the first time in at least five years anyone had claimed a horse out of a hurdle race at Saratoga Race Course.
This afternoon, Jacobson took a page out of his father’s book when he saddle Mabou to an incredible come-from-behind upset of the Grade 1, $100,000 New York Turf Writers’ Cup Handicap.
 Mabou and jockey Robbie Walsh jumping the last fence in the New York Turf Writers' Cup Handicap. Adam Coglianese photo. The Turf Writers’ not only marked Jacobson’s first starter in a steeplechase race, it resulted in the 56-year-old trainer’s first-ever graded stakes win.
“I can’t believe I’m standing here,” said Jacobson, who owns a part of Mabou with Drawing Away Stable. “In the weeks after [the claim] I trained [Mabou] like I train and take care of all my horses, and he responded to it, obviously.”
With jockey Robert Walsh aboard, Mabou dropped to the back of the pack after taking the first jump poorly as Straight to It, part of the favored entry with Divine Fortune, took the lead. Jumping well thereafter, Mabou moved into contention on the final turn and went to the front after the final fence, pulling clear to hit the wire 5 ¾ lengths ahead of the well-regarded Irish import Dirar.
“He’s been running on the pace, and I told the jockey, ‘Let’s try taking him back,’” said Jacobson. “I didn’t want him as far back as he was, but I left it up to Robbie and Robbie did an amazing job judging the horse. He said he was relaxed and did whatever he asked him to.”
Sent off at 16-1, the second-longest shot in the field of nine, Mabou returned $35.20 for a $2 win bet and earned $60,000. An 8-year-old gelded son of Dynaformer, Mabou completed the 2 3/8 miles in 4:40.72 as he earned his 10th career victory from 33 starts.
Although he personally lacked experience with steeplechasers, Jacobson said his father, the late trainer Buddy Jacobson, was at one time the leading jumping trainer at the Spa during the 1960s.
“It goes back about [45] years to my father,” said Jacobson. “My father was very successful claiming jumpers here at Saratoga. I owe it all to him.”
Jacobson’s father claimed Lake Delaware from trainer Evan Jackson in 1967 and turned him into a multiple stakes winner over fences in 1968 and 1969 when steeplechase racing was a daily occurrence at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga. Buddy Jacobson also claimed Barras, a French-bred who won five steeplechase races in the United States and set a new course record of 3:20.8 for 15 furlongs over hurdles at Saratoga in 1962. Jacobson claimed Barras from Hall of Fame conditioner D. Michael Smithwick for $5,000.
Dirar, who held the lead briefly in the stretch, was two lengths head of Dynaski. Divine Fortune, who finished fourth, was disqualified to sixth after causing a chain reaction spill near the three-eighths pole involving Decoy Daddy, Sermon of Love and Straight to It, who all got up and walked off the course along with their jockeys.
Because of the disqualification, Nationbuilder was moved up to fourth and Sweet Shani to fifth.
Jacobson said he was not sure where Mabou would go from the Turf Writers’ Cup; the next Grade 1 steeplechase race is the $250,000 Grand National in Far Hills, N.J. on October 22.
“We’ll discuss his next start with the owners,” said Jacobson. “The horse will tell us what the next move is.”
Edited from NYRA press release
Click here for the result for the 2011 New York Turf Writers’ Cup Handicap.
Follow the link below for a video replay of the 2011 New York Turf Writers’ Cup Handicap:
http://www1.drf.com/displayVideo.do?track_id=SAR&raceDate=20110825&raceNumber=01&day_evening=D&country=USA
The $100,000 Grade I New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap, to be contested as the first race this Thursday at historic Saratoga Race Course, has drawn an intriguing cast of characters: an 11-year-old New Zealand-bred mare trained by a Hall of Fame conditioner that has won at least one race at Saratoga for 44 straight years; an Irish invader that was bred by the Aga Khan; and a horse from the barn of flat trainer David Jacobson that was claimed out of a steeplechase race earlier this month. Add to this mix the first three finishers from the Grade II A.P. Smithwick Hurdle Stakes on August 4 and the richest jump race on the Saratoga schedule has all the makings of a fabulous event that presents a handicapping puzzle that is not for the feint of heart.
 Dirar (Ire) ships over from Ireland to contest the Grade I New York Turf Writers' Cup Handicap.
The 11-year-old mare is Sweet Shani (NZ), a gray granddaughter of Danzig that has bankrolled more than $280,000 running over fences. Sweet Shani won her only start so far this year, a $50,000 filly and mare hurdle stakes at Iroquois in May. She gets in light with only 142 pounds and will be ridden by Xavier Aizpuru, who was aboard when Sweet Shani finished sixth in this race four years ago. At 11 years of age, she is easily the oldest horse to start in a race at Saratoga this year, but trainer Jonathan Sheppard is not concerned about her age:
“New Zealand-bred horses age a lot better than American-bred horses,” said the Hall of Fame conditioner. “They train their horses a lot easier in New Zealand when they are young, and Sweet Shani has not been over-raced here in the States, so she has plenty of gas left in the tank. She stays all day so she should like the distance of the Turf Writers’. She’s a lovely mare and we are all very fond of her around the barn.”
The Irish invader is Dirar (Ire) trained by Gordon Elliott, a young conditioner on the rise who was one of the top-five steeplechase trainers in Ireland last season. In 2007 Elliott became the youngest trainer to ever win the world’s most prestigious steeplechase, the Aintree Grand National, with Silver Birch. Elliot was just 29-years-old at the time.
Elliott won another major race in Great Britain last August when Dirar won the Ebor Handicap at York Racecourse. Prior to becoming a trainer Elliott was a successful jockey winning over 200 races in Ireland including two victories at Cheltenham and five winners in America.
Dirar enters the New York Turf Writers’ after two consecutive third-place finishes over hurdles, the most recent coming in the Guinness Galway Hurdle Handicap in July. Bred by the Aga Khan, the 6-year-old King’s Best gelding has earned $392,482. He carries 150 pounds in the New York Turf Writers and will be ridden by former champion jockey Barry Geraghty, who is the younger brother of American-based steeplechase jockey Ross Geraghty, who has the mount on Decoy Daddy (Ire) in the Turf Writers’.
Elliott plans to extend Dirar’s stay in the United States until the Far Hills race meeting on October 22nd.
“We’ve had runners over here before, but no success,” said Elliott. “The prize money is very good and there is also the chance of good ground. Dirar travelled over nicely and seems in good order. It’s great to have Barry on our side for the race and the plan is to finish up at Far Hills in October. We might run him once or twice in between.”
 Dirar (Ire) and jockey Jamie Spencer winning the Ebor Handicap at York last year. Mabou enters the Turf Writers’ off a $30,000 claim by David Jacobson on August 4th when he finished fifth in an optional claiming hurdle event at Saratoga for trainer Tom Voss. While this will be Jacobson’s first starter over fences, claiming steeplechase horses was standard practice for Jacobson’s father, Howard “Buddy” Jacobson, decades ago.
“My father claimed a bunch of jumpers and did very well with them on the flat and over jumps,” said Jacobson. “Jumpers are trained totally differently than flat horses. Sometimes when you get a horse that has been trained differently, they can improve. That’s what I am hoping for.”
Jacobson’s father claimed Lake Delaware from trainer Evan Jackson in 1967 and turned him into a multiple stakes winner over fences in 1968 and 1969 when steeplechase racing was a daily occurrence at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga. Buddy Jacobson also claimed Barras, a French-bred who won five steeplechase races in the United States and set a new course record of 3:20.8 for 15 furlongs over hurdles at Saratoga in 1962. Jacobson claimed Barras from Hall of Fame conditioner D. Michael Smithwick for $5,000.
“Most steeplechase horses are big, strong and sound,” said the younger Jacobson. “Stamina is not an issue. Speed is what tends to hurt horses legs. These horses run longer distances, and distance horses stay sounder longer.”
In addition to the 11-year-old mare, the Irish invader and the claimer, a talented field of seven other horses have been entered in the New York Turf Writers’ Cup Handicap, a 2 3/8-mile test over ten fences. Along with Sweet Shani, trainer Jonathan Sheppard has entered Divine Fortune and Sermon of Love, who will run as a coupled entry for owner William L. Pape. Divine Fortune has been assigned highweight of 156 pounds h after his victory in the $75,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial on August 4th. Jockey Brian Crowley, who has won three of the six steeplechase races this season at Saratoga, has the mount.
Sermon of Love, who will carry 150 pounds, is seeking his first win since a one-length score in last year’s New York Turf Writers’. Darren Nagle will be aboard the 8-year-old son of Pulpit for the first time. Sheppard will also tighten the girth on Mrs. Calvin Houghland’s Nationbuilder, who finished third in the Smithwick. The 7-year-old son of Came Home was assigned 142 pounds and will be ridden by Danielle Hodsdon. Nationbuilder will be part of a coupled entry with Mrs. Houghland’s Sweet Shani.
The second highweight in the Turf Writers’ at 154 pounds is Irvin S. Naylor’s Decoy Daddy, who finished a solid second to Divine Fortune in the Smithwick, beaten two lengths after leading over the last fence. Trained by Tom Foley, Decoy Daddy won the $50,000 Grade III Temple Gwathmey and $75,000 Grade II Marcellus Frost this Spring.
Two horses that get in light with only 140 pounds Dynaski and Straight to It. Dynask finished fifth in the Smithwick for trainer Tom Voss, and will be ridden for the first time by last year’s champion steeplechase jockey Paddy Young, who leads all riders again this year with 16 wins over fences but is still looking for his first victory this year at Saratoga. Straight to It was unplaced in the Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes at Saratoga on July 28th for trainer Jack Fisher, who has named Willie Dowling to ride.
Randleston Farm’s Spy in the Sky, who was pulled up in the Smithwick, will carry 146 pounds as he seeks his first win of the year. Trainer Jimmy Day has named Jeff Murphy to ride the 7-year-old son of Thunder Gulch, who won the 2009 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap.
Click here for FREE Daily Racing Form past performance charts for the Grade I New York Turf Writers’ Cup Handicap.
Saratoga Springs, NY – August 18, 2011
Italian Wedding, given a savvy, powerful ride by Brian Crowley, overtook Demonstrative deep in Saratoga Race Course’s stretch and won the $70,000 Michael G. Walsh Novice Hurdle Stakes by a length for owner-trainer Jonathan Sheppard. Jacqueline Ohrstrom’s Demonstrative finished 4 3/4 lengths clear of All Together, the Jonathan Kiser Novice winner who surrendered the lead early in the stretch.
 Italian Wedding (left) overtook All Together at the last fence to win the Michael G. Walsh Novice Hurdle Stakes. Adam Coglianese photo. Italian Wedding, who had finished fourth in the 2 1/16-mile Kiser, savored the Walsh’s 2 3/8-mile distance and scored his first victory of the year in 4:33.54 on an inner turf course rated as good. The winner was part of a 2.15-1 favored entry with Sheppard’s One Giant Step, who finished fourth, 1 1/2 lengths behind All Together.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer Sheppard also won Steeplechase Thursday’s first race, the $53,000 National Steeplechase Association J. P. Morgan, an optional claimer at 2 3/8 miles, with Parker’s Project, owned by Hudson River Farms and ridden by Darren Nagle.
The novice stakes race, named for the late Racing Hall of Fame trainer Mickey Walsh, attracted several cast members from the Jonathan Kiser on July 28, the first Steeplechase Thursday at historic Saratoga.
As he had done in the Kiser, Carrington Racing Stable’s Here Comes Art went to the lead immediately, with Arcadia Stable’s All Together shadowing his pace under jockey Xavier Aizpuru. Italian Wedding raced on the inside, tucked in just behind the leaders.
 Parker's Project with Darren Nagle up won the allowance hurdle race at Saratoga on August 18th. Here Comes Art surrendered the lead to All Together on the final run down the backstretch, and Demonstrative took command on the final turn under Robby Walsh before jumping the final fence with a one-length advantage over All Together.
Crowley took Italian Wedding to the outside approaching the last National Fence, and they gradually overtook Demonstrative in deep stretch. All Together, the reigning novice champion, held on gamely for third.
In the NSA J. P. Morgan, 14.20-1 Parker’s Project took command at the eighth of ten fences and drew away to an impressive 3 1/2-length victory. Crowley finished second aboard Augustin Stables’ Port Morsbey, also trained by Sheppard.
Edited from NSA press release.
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