The year’s leading steeplechase horses will be in action on Saturday, Oct. 19, when they compete for the National Steeplechase Association’s earnings championship in the $250,000 Grand National (Gr. 1) at Far Hills, N.J.
The 93rd annual Far Hills Races in central New Jersey attracted leading competitors in the sport’s hurdle divisions for an action-packed program of seven races, with $550,000 in purses on the line. First post time is 1 p.m. for a program that also includes the $75,000 Peapack Stakes for fillies and mares and two $75,000 divisions of the Foxbrook Champion Hurdle for novices in American Steeplechasing’s rising-stars division.
Four Grade 1 races have been run so far this year, and three of the winners–Gustavian, Italian Wedding, and Demonstrative–will line up for the 2 5/8-mile Grand National, the richest race on the NSA calendar. Gil Johnston’s Mr. Hot Stuff, the fourth Grade 1 winner, was entered but was scratched on Wednesday morning.
Also entered was Mary Ann Houghland’s Pierrot Lunaire, the 2012 Grand National winner and Eclipse Award champion who is making his 2013 debut against the year’s toughest field. Willie McCarthy will ride Pierrot Lunaire for trainer Blythe Miller Davies.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard will play a strong hand as he attempts to break out of a long drought in the Grand National. Heading Sheppard’s contingent is his Italian Wedding, who has returned to the races impressively after an extended stay on the sidelines.
Second in the $100,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1) on Aug. 1, Italian Wedding swooped to a one-length victory in Saratoga’s $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) on Aug. 22. He subsequently finished third in Belmont Park’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) on Sept. 19. Bernie Dalton has the mount.
Sheppard, who currently sits atop the 2013 trainer standings by wins, also will saddle his Barnstorming, winner of Saratoga’s $75,000 Michael G. Walsh Novice Stakes on Aug. 15 after a second in the Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes on July 25. Mark Watts will ride.
Sheppard’s team also includes an entry owned by longtime client and partner Bill Pape. Together, they bred and own Divine Fortune, who finished second to Pierrot Lunaire in last year’s Grand National. A two-time Grade 2 winner, Divine Fortune most recently finished seventh in the Lonesome Glory. Darren Nagle has the mount.
Pape and Sheppard will be looking for an improved performance from Pape’s Martini Brother, who finished sixth as the stronger half of an odds-on favored entry in Belmont’s William Entenmann Memorial Novice Stakes on Sept. 19. The five-year-old A.P. Indy gelding won the Kiser and finished a good third in the New York Turf Writers in his previous starts. Jeff Murphy will ride.
Sheppard’s fifth starter is Atlantic Equine’s Hunt Ball, who is seeking his first win since being imported earlier this year. Ross Geraghty, the reigning champion jockey, will ride.
Magalen O. Bryant’s Gustavian, who held off All Together’s renewed drive to win the Lonesome Glory by a nose, will be ridden by three-time champion jockey Paddy Young, who currently is knotted with Nagle atop the jockey standings by wins. Trained by Leslie Young, the jockey’s wife, Gustavian won the Lonesome Glory in his first start for Virginia horsewoman Bryant.
Jacqueline Ohrstrom’s Demonstrative, runner-up to Pierrot Lunaire in last year’s Eclipse Award balloting, won his first start of the year, the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1), and is coming back from a bronchial infection that cost him a start in the A. P. Smithwick. He returned with a dull sixth in the New York Turf Writers and passed tiring horses in finishing fourth in the Lonesome Glory. Robbie Walsh will ride.
Jack Fisher, 2012’s champion trainer by wins and the current leader by earnings, will saddle Andre Brewster’s and Sheila Williams’ All Together. Xavier Aizpuru has the mount on All Together, who suddenly has put it all together at just the right time. He broke a two-year losing streak in a Saratoga Race Course optional allowance claimer and then finished second in the New York Turf Writers and the Lonesome Glory, where a stumble at the last fence may have cost him the victory.
Completing the Grand National field are Randleston Farm’s late-running Spy in the Sky and The Fields Stable’s Left Unsaid. Fifth in the Lonesome Glory, Spy in the Sky will be ridden by Danielle Hodsdon. Trainer Tom Voss named Sean McDermott to ride Left Unsaid, the 2009 Foxbrook winner who would be making his first start of the year for New Jersey owners Betty and Laddie Merck.
Who do you like in the $250,000 Grand National (Gr. 1)?
Italian Wedding. (150) 2005 b. g., Alphabet Soup–Effervescent, by Citidancer. Owner-trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Bernie Dalton. 2013 record: 3-1-1-1, $123,000. 2012 record: 1-0-0-0, $2,500. 2011 record: 6-1-0-0, $55,200. 4-1 entry. Rallied for third in Belmont Park’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) on Sept. 19. Notched a one-length score in Saratoga Race Course’s $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) on Aug. 22. Finished a good second in Saratoga’s $100,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1) on Aug. 1 in his first start since fourth-place finish in the 2012 Carolina Cup. Won 2011 Michael G. Walsh Novice at Saratoga.
Pierrot Lunaire. (158) 2004 b. g., War Chant–Playact (Ire), by Hernando (Fr). Owner: Mary Ann Houghland. Trainer: Blythe Miller Davies. Jockey: Willie McCarthy. 2012 record: 5-2-0-1, $253,000. 2011 record: 3-0-0-1, $20,000. 6-1 odds. Locked up 2012 Eclipse Award with victory in $250,000 Grand National (Gr. 1) at Far Hills, N.J., after stunning 48.75-1 win by a nose in Belmont’s Lonesome Glory Stakes (Gr. 1). Kicked off 2012 season with a third in Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3) at Middleburg, Va., and was fifth in the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1), a race he won in 2009. Also finished fifth in David L. “Zeke” Ferguson Memorial (Gr. 3) at Colonial Downs.
Gustavian. (144) 2006 b. g., Giant’s Causeway–Mossflower, by Affirmed. Owner: Magalen O. Bryant. Trainer: Leslie Young. Jockey: Paddy Young. 2013 record: 3-1-1-1, $104,000. 2012 record: 5-1-4-0, $70,500. 2011 record: 5-2-2-0, $33,800. 9-2 odds. Scored biggest victory of his career when he bested All Together by a nose in Belmont Park’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) at 3.85-1 on Sept. 19. Game second in Radnor Hunt Races’ National Hunt Cup (Gr. 3) on May 18 after third in Temple Gwathmey (Gr. 3) on April 20. Won Belmont Park’s 2012 William Entenmann Memorial as 1.35-1 favorite. Never finished worse than second in 2012.
Left Unsaid. (142) 2005 b. g., Dynaformer–Hello Soso (Ire), by Alzao. Owner: The Fields Stable. Trainer: Tom Voss. Jockey: Sean McDermott. 2012 record: 3-0-1-0, $25,000. 2011 record: 1-0-1-0, $13,500. 10-1 odds. Making first start since finishing fourth in 2012 Lonesome Glory Stakes (Gr. 1). Beaten only a nose in A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1), his 2012 debut, then was unable to avoid a fallen horse while making a strong move in the New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1). Novice champion of 2009.
Hunt Ball (Ire). (146) 2005 b. g., Winged Love (Ire)—La Fandango (Ire), by Taufan. Owner: Atlantic Equine. Trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Ross Geraghty. 2013 NSA record: 3-0-0-0, $7,500. 15-1 odds. Pressed early pace in Belmont Park’s Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) and tired to finish sixth. In U.S. debut, finished sixth in Saratoga’s A. P. Smithwick Memorial on Aug. 1, then was eighth in New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1). Veteran British steeplechaser won Taunton handicap in April. Also won at the 2012 Cheltenham Festival.
Demonstrative. (156) 2007 b. g., Elusive Quality–Loving Pride, by Quiet American. Owner: Jacqueline Ohrstrom. Trainer: Richard Valentine. Jockey: Robbie Walsh. 2013 record: 3-1-0-0, $102,000. 2012 record: 6-3-0-0, $209,000. 2011 record: 8-2-4-2, $96,300. 6-1 odds. Passed tiring horses to finish fourth in Belmont Park’s Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) on Sept. 19. Surged to a neck victory in the $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1), his first 2013 start. Missed Saratoga Race Course’s A. P. Smithwick (Gr. 1) with a mild respiratory problem and finished a lackluster sixth in Saratoga’s $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup (Gr. 1), a race he won in 2012. Also won 2012’s $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup (Gr. 1) in Camden, S.C., and was Eclipse Award runner-up. Was 2010 three-year-old champion.
Barnstorming. (144) 2006 b. g., Thunder Gulch—Soul of the Cat, by Stravinsky. Owner-trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Mark Watts. 2013 record: 5-1-1-0, $65,500. 2012 record: 2-0-0-1, $8,000. 4-1 entry. Rolled to a 6 1/4-length victory in Saratoga Race Course’s Michael G. Walsh Novice Stakes On Aug. 15 after good second in Saratoga’s Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes on July 25. Fourth in the National Hunt Cup (Gr. 3) at the Radnor Hunt Races on May 18 and the Queen’s Cup MPC ‘Chase in North Carolina on April 27. Finished fifth in Carolina Cup in his 2013 debut.
All Together. (140) 2005 b. g., Danzig–Unify, by Farma Way. Owners: Andre W. Brewster and Sheila J. Williams. Trainer: Jack Fisher. Jockey: Xavier Aizpuru. 2013 record: 5-1-2-0, $93,500. 2012 record: 6-0-0-3, $29,000. 2011 record: 7-1-3-2, $85,800. 5-1 odds. Beaten mere nose in $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) at Belmont Park on Sept. 19. Ran strong second in Saratoga Race Course’s $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup (Gr. 1) on Aug. 22. Won for the first time in two years in Saratoga optional allowance claimer on Aug. 1, when he ran for a $30,000 tag. Set pace in 2012 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) and finished fifth after third in A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1). Novice champion in 2010.
Divine Fortune. (148) 2003 ch. g., Royal Anthem–My Tombola, by Northern Fling. Owners: William Pape and Jonathan Sheppard. Trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Darren Nagle. 2013 record: 5-1-1-1, $52,000. 2012 record: 7-1-3-0, $113,500. 2011 record: 4-1-1-0, $64,000. 4-1 entry. Set early pace in Belmont Park’s Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) and tired to finish seventh on Sept. 19. Attended early pace in the $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) on Aug. 22 and faded to finish seventh. Lacked closing punch in A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1) and finished third. Finished a game second in $150,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois (Gr. 1) on May 11. Cruised to a convincing victory in the Sandhills Cup in North Carolina on April 6.
Martini Brother. (146) 2008 dk. b. or br. g., A.P. Indy—Island Sand, by Tabasco Cat. Owner: Bill Pape. Trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Jeff Murphy. 2013 record: 5-3-0-1, $95,250. 2012 record: 3-0-0-1, $2,250. 4-1 entry. Ran a disappointing sixth in Belmont Park’s William Entenmann Memorial Novice Stakes on Sept. 19. Leading novice finished a good third in Saratoga Race Course’s New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1), beaten a length on Aug. 22. Previously undefeated in 2013 after half-length score in the Jonathan Kiser Novice Stakes on July 25. Also won Atlanta maiden race on April 13 and defeated more experienced rivals in Thompson Memorial allowance hurdle at Radnor Hunt Races on May 18.
Spy in the Sky. (146) 2004 ch. g., Thunder Gulch—Monaassabaat, by Zilzal. Owner: Randleston Farm. Trainer: Jimmy Day. Jockey: Danielle Hodsdon. 2013 NSA record: 4-0-0-0, $17,000. 2012 record: 6-1-1-1, $111,250. 2011 record: 6-0-0-3, $12,000. 10-1 odds. Finished fifth in Belmont Park’s $150,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (Gr. 1) on Sept. 19 and Saratoga Race Course’s $150,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) on Aug. 22 after fourth in $100,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1) on Aug. 1. Finished seventh in Radnor’s National Hunt Cup in seasonal debut on May 18. Upset 2012 A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1) at 25-1, ran third in the New York Turf Writers Cup (Gr. 1), and was nipped at the wire in the $150,000 Lonesome Glory Stakes (Gr. 1) at Belmont Park.