Gill Johnston’s Dahoud collected his second straight victory and marked himself as a horse to watch when he drew away to a 2 3/4-length victory in the $50,ooo AFLAC Supreme Hurdle at the 28th annual Steeplechase at Callaway on Saturday, Nov. 3. Woodslane Farm’s Brave Prospect finished second, and Jonathan Sheppard’s Barnstorming was a distant third.
Brave Prospect set the pace in the 2 1/4-mile AFLAC Supreme Hurdle for novices, or horses in their first seasons of racing over fences. Dahood, who raced in second position, moved when jockey Ross Geraghty asked him and drew clear to a daylight victory in 4:01.20 on firm turf.
A New Zealand-bred, Dahoud had won the $25,000 Harry E. Harris maiden hurdle at Far Hills, N.J., on Oct. 20 in his second start over fences. He had had a successful career on the flat in California and finished second in Grade 2 and Grade 3 races last year.
Jack Fisher, who trains both Dahoud and Brave Prospect, also collected a victory with Sheila J. Williams’ Seer in the $15,000 Suntrust Hurdle open claimer to solidify his position atop the trainer rankings by wins. He has 16 victories for the season, five more than Sheppard, who has a commanding lead in the earnings column. Geraghty rode both of Fisher’s winners and moved closer to his first jockey title. He also assumed the lead by earnings from Brian Crowley. Darren Nagle trails Geraghty by three wins.
In the afternoon’s second stakes race at the Georgia meet, Magalen O. Bryant’s Well Fashioned took advantage of a late mistake by Lillehammer to win the $40,000 Crown Royal Stakes for fillies and mares. Well Fashioned, who had fallen in the Peapack Stakes at Far Hills, shadowed the pace of Riverdee Stable’s Lillehammer and Irvin S. Naylor’s Cordillera, who swapped the lead through the race’s first two miles. Lillehammer bobbled at the next to last fence, however, and James Slater drove Well Fashioned to a one-length victory.
Cordillera finished third, three-quarters of a length behind Lillehammer. Two contenders for the 2012 National Steeplechase Association filly and mare championship, Cubist and Kisser N Run, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Well Fashioned ran the Crown Royal’s 2 1/4 miles in 3:54.80.
