Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Slip Away, honored with an Eclipse Award on Jan. 17 as the 2010 champion steeplechase horse, occupies the top rung in the year’s National Steeplechase Association Theoretical Handicap, prepared annually by Director of Racing Bill Gallo Jr.
Slip Away, who won the NSA’s Lonesome Glory Champions Award as the year’s leading earner with a end-of-season victory in the Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup (Gr. 1) on Nov. 13, was weighted at 154 pounds in the Theoretical Handicap, which rated all 34 horses that placed in NSA open and novice hurdle stakes races in 2010.
In addition to winning the Colonial Cup, Slip Away won the Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3) at the Middleburg Spring Races in Virginia on April 17. Trained by Tom Voss, the Skip Away gelding also finished second in three Grade 1 races, the Calvin Houghland Iroquois in Nashville on May 8, Monmouth Park’s Helen Haskell Sampson on Sept. 25, and the Grand National at the Far Hills Races in New Jersey on Oct. 23.
Second in the Theoretical Handicap was Percussionist, a well-traveled Irish-bred who swooped into the U.S. to score a decisive victory in the Grand National but was unplaced in the Colonial Cup. He was rated at 152, only two pounds behind Slip Away. In third position was Iroquois winner Tax Ruling at 150 pounds.
Tied for fourth at 148 pounds were Sampson winner Arcadius and two Saratoga Race Course stakes victors, New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) winner Sermon of Love and A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 2) winner Divine Fortune.
Slip Away’s top rating was the lowest of any highweight in the Theoretical Handicap’s 19-year history. Eclipse Award winner Flat Top was ranked at 156 pounds in 1998. The peak is Racing Hall of Fame member Lonesome Glory, ranked at 170 pounds in 1995.
“This year’s rankings reflect how competitive the season was. Two-pound differences between the top horses are very rare,” Gallo said. “It’s no disrespect to Slip Away, who raced hard in all his starts and finished out of the top three only once. But all the top horses kept beating each other, so the rankings had to reflect that competitiveness.”
2010 NSA THEORETICAL HANDICAP
SLIP AWAY 154
PERCUSSIONIST (IRE) 152
TAX RULING 150
ARCADIUS 148
DIVINE FORTUNE 148
SERMON OF LOVE 148
CLASS BOPPER 146
PREEMPTIVE STRIKE 146
SPY IN THE SKY 146
DARK EQUATION 144
DECOY DADDY (IRE) 144
ALL TOGETHER 142
LEFT UNSAID 142
NATIONBUILDER 142
SWAGGER STICK 142
CALL YOU IN TEN 140
COUNTRY COUSIN 140
DICTINA’S BOY 140
LEAD US NOT 140
THE PRICE OF LOVE 140
DYNANTONIA 138
EASY RED 138
ITALIAN WEDDING 138
VIRGINIA MINSTREL 138
DR. BLOOMER 136
SEER 136
TORLUNDY 136
YOU THE MAN 136
AMBERSHAM 134
COMPLETE ZEN 134
GROUND FROST 134
HERE COMES ART 134
CHESS BOARD (GB) 132
MAJOR MALIBU 132