Post-Race Analysis:
Dade City, Florida - March 5, 2006: Meadow (NZ) won the first steeplechase
stakes race of the year when he captured the sixth annual edition
of the $35,000 Little Everglades Stakes by 7 3/4 lengths under jockey
Danielle Hodsdon. Erin Go Bragh (NZ) finished second to give New
Zealand-breds a sweep of the top-two places while another foreign-bred
horse, Desert Swing (Fr), was two lengths further back in third.
The winner established a new stakes record of 3:38.4 for the 2 1/8
mile race, besting the previous mark of 3:39.8 established by Tres
Touche in 2002.
Calvin Houghland's Meadow came into the Little Everglades Stakes
having captured two steeplechase and three flat races in Australia
before being imported to the United States late last year. The 8-year-old
son of St. Hilarion (by Sir Ivor) could become a force to be reckoned
with this spring for Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, and
will most likely make his next start in Keeneland's Royal Chase.
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Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard
sent New Zealand-bred Meadow out to capture the Little Everglades
Stakes in his American debut.
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"He seems like a nice enough horse and this was a good place to
start out – you wouldn't want to go right to the Grade I races,"
Sheppard told the National Steeplechase Association (NSA).
Brigadoon Stable's Erin Go Bragh carried high-weight of 154 pounds
in the Little Everglades Stakes and ran well to finish second. The
7-year-old son of Desert Sun (by Green Desert) won the Appleton
Memorial at Far Hills last fall and then ran a solid third behind
McDynamo and Hirapour in the Grade I Colonial Cup in November. Matt
McCarron was aboard for trainer Doug Fout.
Irvin S. Naylor's Desert Swing, a great-grandson of Caro, looks
to have a bright future in America based on his third-place finish
in the Little Everglades Stakes. The 6-year old is trained by recently
retired steeplechase jockey Tom Foley and was ridden by Darren Nagel.
Run on a state-of-the-art turf course located midway between Ocala
and Tampa, the Little Everglades Steeplechase has quickly become
a destination for steeplechase horses and their fans.
"It's a good sign to see seven horses ready to run in a stakes
right out of the box," said Bill Gallo, the NSA director of racing.
"Because it's early and trainers get held up by weather sometimes,
we were happy with the entries and ready for a great start to the
season."
The complete order of finish for the Little Everglades Stakes is
set forth below.
Sheppard and Hodsdon also teamed up to win a $15,000 maiden hurdle
with Timber Bay Farm's Bonfo. The 6-year-old emerged from a six-pack
of horses who jumped the second-last together and caught Pukka in
the final yards to win a narrow photo finish. Gowithfate was third.
Bonfo had lost all eight of his starts in 2005, but made quick work
of the maiden condition in 2006.
John Griggs' Hip Hop won his second straight going wire-to-wire
in the $20,000 optional claiming hurdle under veteran jockey Chip
Miller. The 5-year-old turned back several challenges in the stretch.
Capital Peak lost jockey Jody Petty with a mistake at the second-last,
sending Hip Hop off alone for the win over Gather No Moss and Michele
Marieschi. Petty was taken to the local hospital with potential
injuries to his ribs.
In the opener, Athene Noctura Stable's For And For graduated the
maiden ranks with a $15,000 maiden claiming score for jockey Rylee
Zimmerman. Allison Fulmer owns and trains the winner, a 4-year-old
making his hurdle debut.
Eskimo Passion and Westbound Road won flat races to close the
day.
GRADE I STARS EYE KEENELAND
As usual, Keeneland's Royal Chase will attract the top steeplechasers
in training with its $150,000 purse and the prestige of having been
won by five Eclipse Award winners in its eight runnings. The April
21 race is the target for 2005 champion McDynamo and his chief spring
rival Sur La Tete.
The former, a Keeneland purchase and the earner of more than $800,000
over jumps, won the race in 2003 and chased Hirapour home in 2005.
Pennsylvania-based trainer Sanna Hendriks reported that the 9-year-old
was back in work and will slowly gather momentum for Keeneland after
his winter break.
"We've just tried to keep him happy, but he's had a pretty busy
winter," Hendriks told the NSA. "He's been galloping sporadically
when the ground is good, and he's done a little work on a sawdust
track that we have, plus some foxhunting which is really good for
him. He is galloping now, but just started and won’t have a work
for three more weeks or so."
Kinross Farm's Sur La Tete, second in the 2005 running of the Royal
Chase, is likewise on the return trail. The 8-year-old missed the
second half of last season with foot problems, but should be ready
for Keeneland and a defense of his Iroquois title May 13. Grade
I stalwarts Hirapour (off-season ankle surgery) and Preemptive Strike
(continued foot problems) will likely miss Keeneland. Three Carat,
Racey Dreamer, Erin Go Bragh and Mixed Up could make the 2 1/2-mile
race.
STEEPLECHASE TRIPLE CROWN STARTS APRIL 1st
The Carolina First Carolina Cup kicks off the Steeplechase Triple
Crown, a series of $75,000 races for novices (first- and second-year
steeplechasers) at Springdale Race Course in Camden, South Carolina
on April 1st. Marablue Farm's Bon Fleur looks like the preseason
favorite, though the novices can be as unpredictable as flat racing's
3-year-olds at this time of year. Jonathan Sheppard trains the 6-year-old
homebred, who won a Grade I novice in November. Others of note in
the Triple Crown mix are Good Night Shirt, Latino, South Of Fifty,
The Looper, Ginz, Meet At Eleven and The Next Man.
The series was shifted slightly with Belmont Park's cancellation
of the Meadow Brook, which had been the final stop on the Triple
Crown trail. Now, the program starts with the Carolina Cup and continues
to the Temple Gwathmey in Middleburg, Virginia April 22nd and concludes
with the National Hunt Cup at Radnor, Pennsylvania on May 20th.
JUMPING AROUND: Trainer Jonathan Sheppard needs three wins to reach
the 900 mark in American steeplechase victories. The member of Thoroughbred
Racing's Hall of Fame has won more than 2,500 total in his career
. . . Two-time jockey champion Matt McCarron had off-season shoulder
surgery and will again ride first-call for trainer Doug Fout while
trying to dethrone 2005 champion Jody Petty. The latter rides mainly
for the top stable of Sanna Hendriks . . . The NSA's major races
will again be part of the NTRA's Wire to Wire racing news show on
ESPN2. All three Triple Crown races, the Royal Chase and the Iroquois
make up the spring schedule.
Edited from NSA press release.
Results:
|
FP
|
Horse
|
lbs
|
Jockey
|
Trainer
|
Owner
|
|
1
|
Meadow (NZ) |
142 |
Hodsdon |
Jonathan Sheppard |
Calvin Houghland |
|
2
|
Erin Go Bragh (NZ) |
154 |
McCarron |
Doug Fout |
Brigadoon Stable |
|
3
|
Desert Swing (Fr) |
142 |
Nagle |
Tom Foley |
Irvin S. Naylor |
|
4
|
Class Sprite |
142 |
Boucher |
Lilith Boucher |
Mede Cahaba Stable |
|
5
|
Orchid Princess |
134 |
Dalton |
Linda B. Klein |
Linda B. Klein |
|
6
|
Mulahen (GB) |
150 |
Walsh |
Kathy N. McKenna |
Mrs. S.K. Johnston |
|
7
|
Say What You See (Ire) |
146 |
Z. Miller |
Dabney Thompson |
Calvin Houghland |
back to top
Pedigree of Winner:
to follow.....
Pedigrees compliments of Del
Mar Pedigree Query
Previous Winners:
| YEAR |
FIRST (Age) |
JOCKEY |
lbs. |
SECOND (Age) |
lbs. |
THIRD (Age) |
lbs. |
| 2001 |
War Talk (6) |
Kingsley |
148 |
Emancipate (6) |
148 |
Pelagos (6) |
151 |
| 2002 |
Tres Touche (5) |
Bentley |
158 |
Electron (9) |
154 |
Cold Cat (6) |
147 |
| 2003 |
Al Skywalker (10) |
Foley |
158 |
Swoop & Soar (6) |
142 |
Brown Lad (10) |
146 |
| 2004 |
Preemptive Strike (6) |
Walsh |
146 |
El Guardaespalda (Chi) (7) |
150 |
Raise A Storm (Ire) (7) |
142 |
| 2005 |
Raise A Storm (Ire) (8) |
Massey |
146 |
Little Hurt |
146 |
Il Capitano (GB) |
150 |
Post-Race Analysis | Results
| Pedigree of Winner | Previous
Winners
