Post-Race Analysis:
Elmont, New York - June 7, 2001. Augustin Stables' Praise The
Prince (NZ) captured the $100,000 Grade I Meadow Brook Stakes defeating
Michael Hoffman's Pelagos (Fr) by a head after those two battled
each other throughout the length of the stretch. Warren Dempsey's
War Talk finished another 2 3/4 lengths back in third. The winning
time for the 2 1/2-mile test run over 12 fences at Belmont Park
was 4:49.27, well off the track record of 4:40 established by Flatterer
in 1984 while carrying 167 pounds. Praise The Prince carried high-weight
of 160 pounds in the Meadow Brook.
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Praise The Prince (left) battles Pelagos
to the wire in the Grade I Meadow Brook at Belmont Park.
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The Meadow Brook was the third leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown,
which Praise The Prince missed winning by a neck. The 6-year-old
son of Prince Of Praise (NZ), by Crossways (GB), won the first leg
when he defeated Tres Touche by a nose in the Hard Scuffle, but
was defeated by Flasher in the final yards of the Joe Aitcheson
on May17th.
When asked if she had any regrets about losing the Triple Crown
by a neck, winning trainer Sanna Neilson responded: "No, there's
nothing I would have done differently. Praise The Prince is so determined,
but I don't think he saw Flasher coming in the Aitcheson. He's got
the heart of a horse that is 18 hands, but he only measures 15.3.
We tried a different tactic today by dropping him out the back.
We figured with a longer race it would help. Plus he loves to run
at horses. We'll freshen him up now and take him to Saratoga, but
he won't run against (his stablemate) Pompeyo."
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Winning jockey and trainer Gus Brown
and Sanna Neilson secured their positions as leading jockey
and trainer by money won with their victory in the Grade I
Meadow Brook.
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Praise The Prince was content to bide his time at the back of the
pack early in the Meadow Brook before making a bold sweeping move
to circle the field around the final turn. Bien Allure and P.C.
Plod had lead up until that time, with Tres Touche right there in
third. But as the field cleared the 10th hurdle 58-1 shot Dynability
and Australian jockey Craig Hedditch grabbed the lead, and 4-year-old
Tres Touche moved into second place. But Pelagos and Praise The
Prince were moving fastest of all, and those two made the lead at
the top of the stretch. They approached the second-to-last fence
together, with Pelagos putting in the better jump to gain a short
lead as they galloped down to the last. Pelagos then shortened stride
nearing the 12th fence and Praise The Prince gained a head advantage
upon landing. Praise The Prince then lengthened his lead to almost
a length on the run-in, but hung as he approached the wire with
Pelagos closing furiously with every stride to just miss by a head.
Pelagos put his head in front one stride after the wire, but by
then it was too late.
Winning jockey Gus "Buster" Brown said the key to Praise
The Prince's victory was getting him to relax at the back of the
pack early on in the Meadow Brook. "He switched off for the
first mile and a half which really helped him today," said
Brown. "It's not like he was rank early in the Aitcheson, but
he was much more relaxed today. I had him covered up behind horses
and was able to save ground on the rail early. Then I swung him
out when we got to the backside the last time which was a good thing,
since we probably would have gone down over Maxi Tune if we had
stayed on the rail." Maxi Tune fell at the eighth fence. "When
we got to the top of the stretch he just swelled-up on the bridle.
Then Pelagos kept bumping us down the lane, and every time he did
Praise the Prince dug-in even more. He's a determined little horse,
but sometimes he will loaf when he makes the lead."
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Praise The Prince and Gus Brown.
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When asked to compare Praise The Prince to Pompeyo, who Brown also
rides, Brown politely side-stepped the question: "Sometimes
I take Praise The Prince for granted and I think that he is just
a good horse. But then you look at his form, and you have to say
'he is a great horse'. He's just two necks and a nose away from
being undefeated in his last 10 starts. He tries harder than any
horse I've ever ridden, including Pompeyo." Praise The Prince
has never been worse than third over hurdles, and will carry high-weight
with 160 pounds
Pelaogos, a 6-year-old gray son of Exit to Nowhere (by Irish River),
just missed winning his first stakes race at odds of 10-1. Pelagos
is trained by Bruce Miller, who won last year's edition of the Meadow
Brook with Yellowroad, and was ridden by his daughter, two-time
former steeplechase champion jockey Blythe Miller.
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Pelagos and Blythe Miller closed furiously
in the final yards of the Grade I Meadow Brook but fell short
by a head.
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Daybreak Stables' Flasher, who had defeated Praise The Prince three
of the previous four times they had met, was far-back early before
making a mild rally through the stretch to finish fourth beaten
5 lengths. The 7-year-old son of Majestic Light (by Kentucky Derby
winner Majestic Prince) out of the Round Table mare Anything In
Sight, was ridden by Robert Massey when Chip Miller, who rode Flasher
to victory in the Aitcheson, was prohibited from riding under NYRA
rules because he had trained a horse that ran at Belmont Park earlier
this year. The champion steeplechase jockey in 1996, Miller has
151 career steeplechase wins, 11th on the list of lifetime leaders
in the United States. He trails the recently-retired Sean Clancy,
currently in tenth place, by one victory. Beginning last year, Miller
started to reduce the number of riding assignments he accepts in
order to focus on a training career. In 2000 he won five races as
a jockey and five races as a trainer.
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From right to left: Tres Touche, Maxi
Tune, Dynability, War Talk, Pelagos, Flasher (partially hidden)
and Praise The Prince negotiate the seventh fence in the Grade
I Meadow Brook.
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War Talk acquitted himself well in all three Triple Crown races
this year. Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard,
the 6-year-old son of Kingmambo (by Mr. Prospector) finished a close
third in the Hard Scuffle and the Meadow Brook and was fourth and
in the Aitcheson.
Lucy Acton's Internal Affair and Elisabeth Todd's
Loyal Spirit both scratched.
The Steeplechase Triple Crown is restricted to horses that did
not break their maiden over fences before March 1, 2000.
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Tres Touche, Flasher, Praise The Prince,
Pelagos, P.C. Plod, War Talk and Park Debut at the first fence
in the Meadow Brook.
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The Meadow Brook is named after the Meadow Brook Hounds, which
used to hunt foxes near Belmont Park on the north shore of Nassau
County, Long Island. Founded in 1881, the hunt was generally considered
one of the best in the United States during the first half of the
20th century. Mr. F. Ambrose Clark, for many years a leading steeplechase
owner, was the master of the Meadow Brook Hounds in the 1920's,
and current leading steeplechase trainer Tom Voss's grandfather
used to hunt with Meadow Brook when he lived on Long Island. The
Meadow Brook Hounds annually held a well- attended steeplechase
race meeting on Mr. Clark's property starting in 1919, and the trophy
that will be presented to this year's winning owner is the same
trophy that was presented to the winning owners last century. Unfortunately,
the Meadow Brook Hounds folded in 1970 as a result of the development
of Nassau County, which borders New York City and is only 12 miles
from Manhattan. The Hunt's clubhouse still stands today as the home
of the Meadow Brook Golf Club in Jericho, New York.
back to top
Results:
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PP
|
Horse
|
lbs
|
Jockey
|
Trainer
|
Owner
|
|
1
|
Praise The Prince (NZ) |
160 |
G. Brown |
S. Neilson |
Augustin Stables |
|
2
|
Pelagos (Fr) |
151 |
B. Miller |
F.B.Miller |
Michael Hoffman |
|
3
|
War Talk |
151 |
J.W. Delozier |
J. Sheppard |
Warren R Dempsey |
|
4
|
Flasher |
157 |
R. Massey |
J. Day |
Daybreak Stable |
|
5
|
Dynability |
148 |
C. Hedditch |
J. Fisher |
Arcadia Stable |
|
6
|
Tres Touche |
141 |
D. Bentley |
R. Hendriks |
Contrarian Stables |
|
7
|
Bien Allure |
148 |
A. Kingsley |
J. Sheppard |
Peter Van Andel |
|
8
|
P.C. Plod |
154 |
M. McCarron |
N. Morris |
Kinross Farm |
|
9
|
Park Debut |
151 |
R. Boucher |
J. Lawrence |
Dresden Farm |
|
F
|
Maxi Tune |
151 |
C. Murphy |
T. Voss |
The Fields Stable |
| Scr |
Internal Affair |
148 |
M. Cooney |
D. Williams |
Lucy Horner |
| Scr |
Loyal Spirit |
148 |
R. Horgan |
L. Bosley |
Elisabeth Todd |
| Winner: |
Praise the Prince (NZ) - Dark Bay or Brown
Gelding, October 3rd, 1995
Bred by Thoroughbred Investments Ltd. in NZ |
| Pedigree: |
Prince of Praise - Dynataine, by Centaine
(AUS) |
| Pgm |
Horse |
Win |
Place |
Show |
| 2 |
Praise the Prince (NZ) |
3.70 |
2.50 |
2.40 |
| 6 |
Pelagos (FR) |
|
6.20 |
4.60 |
| 4 |
War Talk |
|
|
4.70 |
| Wager Type |
Winning Numbers |
Payoff |
Pool |
Carryover |
| $2 Pick 3 |
3-5-2
(3 correct) |
45.80 |
50,926 |
|
| $2 Pic 4 |
5-3-5-2
(4 correct) |
133.00 |
124,185 |
|
| $2 Daily Double |
5-2 |
9.80 |
111,474 |
|
| $2 Exacta |
2-6 |
26.80 |
182,181 |
|
| $2 Trifecta |
2-6-4 |
113.00 |
188,547 |
|
| Pgm |
Comment |
| 2 |
Praise the Prince (NZ): reserved early, 4
wide move final turn, dug in gamely, driving |
| 6 |
Pelagos (FR): rated along outside, 3 wide
move final turn, game finish inside |
| 4 |
War Talk: sluggish start, wide move, good
finish outside |
| 8 |
Flasher: rated inside, inside trip, good finish
inside |
| 11 |
Dynability: wide trip, no response when roused |
| 7 |
Tres Touche: with pace, tired |
| 10 |
Bien Allure: forward early, tired |
| 9 |
P. C. Plod: tired after tenth fence |
| 3 |
Park Debut: jumped poorly, tired |
| 12 |
Maxi Tune: fell at eighth jump |
back to top
Pedigree of Winner:
PRAISE THE PRINCE G, 1995
DP = 4-1-4-1-0 (10) DI = 2.33 CD = 0.80
Pedigrees compliments of Del
Mar Pedigree Query
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Post-Race Analysis | Results
| Pedigree
