'Jump' - Snap Decision Shines in 10-Year-Old Debut; 2023 Champions Leslie Young and Graham Watters Eye Repeat Victory + Spotlight on Horse to Watch: High Definition (IRE)
'Jump' - Snap Decision Shines in 10-Year-Old Debut; 2023 Champions Leslie Young and Graham Watters Eye Repeat Victory + Spotlight on Horse to Watch: High Definition (IRE)
Monday April 22nd, Edition #29
In Case You Missed It: This Weekends Top 6 USA Jump Racing Stories
Contents
Weekend Review - Snap Decision is spectacular in 10-year-old debut
Saturday’s Results - Middleburg Spring Races and Grand National Steeplechase
Horse to Watch - High Definition (IRE)
NSA Standings - 2023, Champions Leslie Young and Graham Watters demonstrated their intent to repeat
The Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation - New Year, New Helmet: When it comes to jockey safety, it starts at the top
Foxfield Races - Foxfield Races prepares for 45th running
and two dynamic stakes races on Saturday, April 27
“The ‘Jump newsletter’ is an absolute boon to me. Now domiciled in the UK, it keeps me updated on US jump racing. Thank you.” - Barbara Shaw (Facebook)
Snap Decision is spectacular in 10-year-old debut
By Tod Marks
Photo by Tod Marks
Snap Decision is spectacular in 10-year-old debut
A star on the NSA circuit since 2019, Bruton Street-US' Snap Decision put on another astounding display by winning his third G2 Temple Gwathmey Stakes in four years at Glenwood Park at the Middleburg Spring Races on Saturday. Keystone Thoroughbreds' Noah and the Ark was second, Riverdee Stable and Ten Strike Racing's Awakened -- both G1 winners -- was third.
With regular rider Graham Watters aboard, the now 10-year-old Phipps-bred sensation sat behind pro-tem leader The Hero Next Door for most of the 2 1/2 miles and exploded heading toward the final fence, drawing clear of a star-studded field by 8 lengths.
As usual, the Hard Spun gelding was spotting plenty of weight to his opponents, from 10 to 20 pounds, but it made little difference.
For Watters and Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher it was one of four victories on the nine-race card. The duo also scored with Dolly Fisher's timber champion Schoodic in the Middleburg Hunt Cup Stakes.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Middleburg Spring Races
Jack Fisher and Leslie Falini Young dominated Middleburg Spring Races yesterday winning 7 of the 9 races between them!
Graham Watters also had himself a day in the saddle winning 4 races including the G2 Temple Gwathmey
Grand National Steeplechase
Banner day for Teddy Davies yesterday as he almost swept the card, winning 3 of the 4 races at the Grand National Steeplechase Races
HORSE TO WATCH
High Definition (IRE)
By Tod Marks
It's not often we get to see an accomplished European flat runner make the transition to NSA jump racing at the allowance level.
But at Middleburg, Leipers Fork Steeplechasers and trainer Leslie Young unleashed a dynamo named High Definition that turned heads. Making his first NSA start following a career in Europe in which he won a Grade 2 and boasted multiple top three finishes in G1 and G2 competition, the six-year-old son of Galileo rallied from fifth to first to prevail in a spirited duel with Gill Johnston's Bickley to score by a neck in a non-winners of two allowance.
High Definition, a multitalented runner who also earned a maiden victory over jumps at Leopardstown and followed that start with an ambitious attempt at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, also finished a solid sixth in the 2023 Belmont Gold Cup at 2 miles on the flat on Belmont Stakes Day, when he was trained by Joseph O'Brien. On Saturday, Jamie Bargary was aboard for the win.
More fabulous photos at www.todmarks.photoshelter.com
NSA STANDINGS
2023, champions Leslie Young and Graham Watters demonstrated their intent to repeat their success by each winning 4 races on Saturday, catapulting them to the lead in the standings.
Leipers Fork Steeplechasers enjoyed a successful day with two wins at Middleburg, but Riverdee Stables kept pace with a win of their own, maintaining their lead in the standings.
THE TEMPLE GWATHMEY STEEPLECHASE FOUNDATION
New year, New helmet: When it comes to jockey safety, it starts at the top!
Licensed steeplechase jockeys will benefit from a new program that reimburses the cost of purchasing a new helmet every year.
The Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation initiative joins an existing program that pays to replace the helmet of any licensed rider that takes a fall in a National Steeplechase Association-sanctioned race.
NSA’s Rosella Hunter says there are currently 37 licensed riders, 11 of them listed as professionals. All of them are eligible.
Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation president Kathy Neilson, herself an active amateur jockey in the 1990s and early 2000s, says that the helmet upgrade “was made possible by a grant from a generous donor, acknowledging that helmet replacement is an important foundational feature of rider health and welfare, and supporting the NSA’s comprehensive safety protocols.”
Recognizing the different preferences in brands and styles of active riders, the foundation doesn’t “give” helmets to riders; instead, riders can apply for reimbursement each year, paid back up to $500.
Impact study
A 2015 Jockeys’ Guild study underlined what most horsemen knew already – helmets involved in a fall should be replaced.
The study was conducted at Chesapeake Testing in Belcamp, Maryland, and it provided customized testing to mimic a fall on dirt or being stepped on by a horse.
The tests, standardized by ASTM International, involved a monorail drop-tower that plunged a headform onto dirt or a steel equestrian anvil that mimicked the angled edge of a horse’s hoof.
Researchers dropped the helmets to measure the peak Gs, or acceleration, read by sensors inside the helmet.
Three-dimensional scans were taken of the helmets before and after impact. Researchers noted that visual inspection wasn’t enough, as most of the helmet brands looked the same before and after impact.
But, after impact, the protective, high-density foam inside the helmet was compressed.
Even though the helmet looked great on the outside, it was compromised.
Read the Full Article
FOXFIELD RACES
Foxfield Races prepares for 45th running
and two dynamic stakes races on Saturday, April 27
Photo by Dillon Keen Photography
Charlottesville, Va. (April 17, 2024) Albemarle County’s signature Steeplechase racing event will celebrate its 45th running with the return of the Foxfield Races on Saturday, April 27 (2215 Foxfield Track, Charlottesville)
THE DANIEL VAN CLIEF MEMORIAL STAKES RACE
The long-standing Daniel Van Clief Memorial Stakes Race will bring impressive equine talent to Foxfield as they compete for the $75,000 purse. The hurdle race honors the history of one of Virginia’s most influential racing dynasties, named for the late D.G. “Danny” Van Clief, a 1970's state legislator who’s credited with beginning the process of legalizing pari-mutuel wagering in the Commonwealth.
INAUGURAL GOOD NIGHT SHIRT SPORT OF KINGS STAKE RACE SPONSORED BY BROWN ADVISORY
Foxfield will debut an additional stakes race named after consecutive Eclipse Award-winning horse, Good Night Shirt, owned by Charlottesville native Harold "Sonny" Via, Jr. A stakes race with a $50,000 purse, this is the first year for this race and it will continue to be an annual race for years to come at the Spring Races. One of the most dominant steeplechasers in American racing, Good Night Shirt left a lasting legacy on the steeplechase world and Foxfield. Learn more and check out the video here.
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