Without exception, the horses in Monday's G1 $175,000 A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steeplechase H. had something to prove at they walked onto Saratoga Race Course's inner turf course. Foremost, Hudson River Farms' Iranistan (Einstein {Brz}) was out to prove that he belonged in top company after a huge class jump from his first novice stakes [...]

With Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, there's always the second option. The first option for Iranistan (Einstein {Brz}) was on the flat. His sire, a son of 1985 Kentucky Derby winner Spend a Buck, earned more than $1.4-million on grass and a similar amount on dirt, with Grade I victories on both surfaces. His [...]

The GI Calvin Houghland Iroquois pitted youth against experience. On a sweltering Saturday afternoon in Nashville, youth won out. Zanjabeel (GB) (Aussie Rules) marked himself as a star of today and tomorrow when the 5-year-old swept past perennial runner-up Modem (GB) (Motivator {GB}) and pulled away steadily to the wire to win by five lengths. [...]

After 2 5/8 grueling miles, it took a photo finish picture to separate them in the G1 Grand National Hurdle S. last October. Mr. Hot Stuff (Tiznow) hit the line first by a nose, followed by hard-luck Modem (GB) (Motivator {GB}), who in turn was a nose ahead of All the Way Jose (Senor Swinger). [...]

Trainer Julie Gomena offered a wry smile when asked whether her outlook for Stonelea Stables' Balance the Budget (Bellamy Road) had improved as Saturday's 84th annual Carolina Cup Races progressed toward the $150,000 G1 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup at Springdale Racecourse in Camden, S.C. “Yep,” she replied. Indeed, Virginia-based Gomena had every reason to [...]

In Arabic, zanjabeel means ginger, the spice that is mentioned in the Quran as a flavor of a drink in Paradise. On the steeplechase course, the horse Zanjabeel (GB) (Aussie Rules) has the potential to spice up the new jump-racing season when he starts in Saturday's G1 $150,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup in Camden, [...]

The $400,000 G1 Grand National, America's richest steeplechase race, took shape Saturday as a contest between America's best and three overseas invaders, two from England and one from Ireland. On this day, America rules. At the finish, three of the four American competitors were inches apart, and the winner with a valiant last effort was [...]

Owner Robert Aplin and trainer Charlie Longsdon visited from England last fall, and third money from the G1 Grand National paid for their American excursion. Aplin and Longsdon are returning to the Far Hills Races in Central New Jersey Saturday with higher hopes for Hammersly Lake (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}) in the $400,000 Grand National, America's [...]

The paths of Buttonwood Farm's All the Way Jose (Senor Swinger) and jockey Darren Nagle have a striking similarity. Nagle, the young Turk of the jockey colony, is highly talented but never quite delivered the whole package. All the Way Jose, bred and trained by Racing Hall of Fame member Jonathan Sheppard, breezed to the [...]

For the top level of American steeplechase racing, a new season begins Thursday in Belmont Park's GI Lonesome Glory H. With two leading contenders out of action for the rest of the year, the battle for the 2017 Eclipse Steeplechase Award is wide open. With Grade I winners Scorpiancer (Ire) (Scorpion {Ire}) and Diplomat (Kitten's [...]

Michael Mitchell has had a mixed introduction to American jump racing. A native of Rugby in England, he had ridden for several years in New Zealand before dropping anchor in the U.S. earlier this year. He won early, in the Apr. 1 Carolina Cup, and four weeks later in Charlotte, N.C., was delivered a swift [...]

Even by trainer Jack Fisher's lofty standards, 2017 has been an amazing year. The Maryland horseman, the latest in a long succession of Fishers who figured prominently in the steeplechase world, has been fracturing records with regularity. He is the only trainer in the National Steeplechase Association's history to exceed $1-million in annual earnings, and [...]