by Don Clippinger
Bob Le Beau, showing no signs of rust after eight months away from a jump race, overcame a mistake at the next-to- last fence of Saratoga Race Course's Grade 1 A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase S., picked off horses on the final turn, and surged to a one-length victory on Thursday.
Owned by The Fields Stable of Laddie Merck, Bob Le Beau completed an unprecedented 12-month sweep of the New York Racing Association's three Grade 1 steeplechase races after winning Saratoga's New York Turf Writers Cup and Belmont Park's Lonesome Glory Handicap last year. Cont. p2
The nine-year- old Irish-bred gelding, ridden by Jack Doyle, had been idle over fences since a lackluster fifth in the Grade 1 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup last November. He gave trainer Elizabeth Voss a couple scares, first when he was last through much of the race and then when he stumbled slightly over the seventh of eight fences on Saratoga's inner turf course.
Doyle said Bob Le Beau woke up after the miscue and was ready to go to work over the final 3 1/2 furlongs. “I was a little bit worried when he missed the second-last hurdle,” Doyle said. “When we landed over it, I gave him a squeeze, and he came alive.”
Bob Le Beau has enough speed to win flat races for hurdlers—a flat score at Parx Racing on July 10 set him up for the Smithwick—and once in gear nothing stops him. “He has so much speed when he gets going, you can point him and put him anywhere you want,” Doyle said.
Currently leading the National Steeplechase Association jockey standings, Doyle guided Bob Le Beau through much of the field of 10 and picked off Scorpiancer inside the furlong pole before opening daylight on the field. But jockey Connor Hankin elicited another effort from Bruton Street US's Scorpiancer, who was closing ground through the final 30 yards. Portrade, also owned by The Fields Stable and trained by Voss, set the pace to the last fence and held on nicely to finish third, 5 1/4 lengths behind Scorpiancer.
A. P. SMITHWICK MEMORIAL STEEPLECHASE S., (NB) $125,000, SAR, 8-4, 4yo/up, 2 1/16mT, 3:51.20, fm.
1–BOB LE BEAU (IRE), 158, g, 9, Big Bad Bob (Ire)–Shine
Silently (Ire), by Bering (GB). (€1,800 Ylg '08 TIDEC). O-The
Fields Stable; B-Anamoine, Ltd. (IRE); T-Elizabeth Voss; J-Jack
Doyle. $75,000. Lifetime Record: SW & MGSP-Ire, 49-14-8-2,
$617,457. *Full to Bible Belt (Ire), GSW-Ire & GSP-Eng,
$174,788.[bullet ad=”itm-g2-g3″][bullet ad=”78317″]2–Scorpiancer (Ire), 148, g, 7, Scorpion (Ire)–Janebailey (GB), by
Silver Patriarch (Ire). (€0 RNA Wlg '09 TINO; €26,000 3yo '12
GOJUN). O-Bruton Street-US; B-Mrs Mary O'Connor (IRE);
T-Jack O. Fisher. $22,500.
3–Portrade (Ire), 142, g, 7, Trade Fair (GB)–Portorosa, by Irish
River (Fr). (€2,500 RNA 3yo '12 TIAUG; £50,000 5yo '14
BBNOV). O-The Fields Stable; B-Keene Bloodstock (IRE);
T-Elizabeth Voss. $12,500.[bullet ad=”78317″]Margins: 1, 5 1/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.90, 12.30, 42.00.
Also Ran: Maserati (Brz), Overwhelming, Schoodic, Balance the Budget, Demonstrative, Spirit of Shankly (GB), Rudyard K.
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