CuriosoJorge, I cannot believe they are old enough either! (19 and 17) I must be really old! Rowdy’s dam lives there on the farm and just had another foal. Not sure if this one is a half sister or full sister to Rowdy Irishman.
The bulls are fun!!! Thanks!
As cited before, McDynamo will start the season this weekend in Nashville for the Iroquois Steeplechase:
May 9, 2007: “66th Iroquois boasts steeplechase showdown”
Sur La Tete and McDynamo meet for the first time this year in the $150,000 Iroquois, a 3-mile Grade I hurdle stakes. Sur La Tete won head-to-head here in 2005. The encore matchup fell through last year; McDynamo was a race-day scratch with shipping fever.
Sur La Tete is bidding to become the first to win the Iroquois three years in a row. Twelve horses have won it back-to-back.
Other entries include Houghland horses Meadow and Chivite, as well as The Looper, Kilbeggan Lad, Good Night Shirt and Summersville.
Bow Strada, another Houghland horse that led much of last year’s Iroquois before fading to fifth, is in the 2-mile $50,000 Marcellus Frost.
Fingers crossed for the nephews! Kilbeggin Lad with Will and Summersville with Russell. Their other grandparents live in Nashville and it seems every time they come to see them ride they fall at the jump where the grandparents are sitting. Hope they can either kill the jinx or leave grandparents at home
A few options to choose from and not a bad idea with the the more public party - which raises funds for charity too - to educate folks on how it works 
The 2007 Iroquois Steeplechase events begin this weekend with the Steeplechasers pre-race party as well as the Hunt Ball.
A new tradition, only three years old, the Steeplechasers pre-race party is a chance for future Steeplechase volunteers and patrons to meet current participants and learn the ropes. The party starts at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall (405 12th Ave. S.).
Partygoers will help themselves to a full bar and cocktail buffet and be entertained by Holly Williams and Chris Janson. Tickets for the event are $50 in advance or $60 at the door; all proceeds benefit the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University.
Also on the list of festivities is the annual Hunt Ball where the Masters of the Hillsboro Hounds and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt will celebrate the 66th running of the Iroquois Steeplechase with an evening of elegance.
The black tie event includes dinner, dancing and a silent auction. Prizes for the auction include a PGA Golf package, a Baldwin Grand Piano and a week-long trip to Italy.
Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. for this invitation-only event and dancing continues until Midnight at the Belle Meade Country Club.
The Tennessean May 11, 2007 “Hats, horses and history in the making”
Because of the $150,000 purse that will be awarded to the winner of the Iroquois’ last race of the day, some of the most celebrated animals in the sport will be in Music City to participate. With a combined $415,000 in purses and bonuses (up from $385,000 in 2006), six races are scheduled with varying levels of difficulty, with the last being around a three-mile oval track with a slight incline at the end.
“They call it Heartbreak Hill,” said Henry Hooker, Iroquois Steeplechase
Race Committee chairman. “That’s where the test is, and we find out if the horses have anything left.”
Sur La Tete, the horse that has won the past two years, will return in hopes of a three-peat. His strongest opposition will likely come from McDynamo, a converted flat-track racer whose career earnings of $1,118,104 set an American steeplechase record. Sur La Tete edged McDynamo for the victory four of the five times they have faced each other. The two horses haven’t met in the Iroquois since 2005.
If Sur La Tete wins the Iroquois this year, he will be the first horse in the event’s history to do so three years in a row.
DRF: Entries Sat May 12 at Percy Warner Field; Race 6
Iroquois Hurdle S. (G1)
3 Miles (Hurdle)
4 Year Olds And Up
Stakes
Purse: $150,000
All horses assigned 158-lbs
PP - Horse - Jockey
1 Mon Villez (FR) - McCarron M O
2 Sur La Tete - Read C
3 Good Night Shirt - Dowling W
4 Meadow (NZ) - Hodsdon D
5 Summersville - Haynes R
6 Kilbeggan Lad (IRE) - Haynes W
7 Hip Hop - Miller F B Jr
8 Chivite (IRE) - Young P J
9 McDynamo - Petty J
10 The Looper - Murphy Cyril
Parmich, I was at the point to point in March. Was that Will and Russell who came off iin the second race when that horse crashed through the wing? That was just crazy!!! Although, I don’t think anyone was hurt, which is good.
Good luck to them Saturday, I have to work so I’ll miss it.
yes, In Atlanta a loose horse crashed into them and they both fell. Russell cracked a few ribs and partially collapsed his lung. He went to the hospital for a little while and then said he needed to get out and get back to School. Will drove him back to school that Sunday night … He is freshman at Va Tech and you can imagine what happened the day he got back to into class… the horrible shooting.
Hope for better luck for the them this weekend!!! they are great boys and lots of fun. It is a real family affair. Their little brother hot walks the horses back at the barn and sometimes takes them to the paddock.
Parminch - FatDinah was talking about the Hillsboro point to point, at Percy Warner (Nashville.) I remember hearing about all the problems at Atlanta, but, FatDinah, no, they weren’t the ones (I don’t believe) at the HH point to point. I think it was Robbie Walsh, maybe on one of Mike Berryman’s. I can find out if you like.
Does anyone have the Iroquois results yet?
Good Night Shirt won the big race-- Noblest won the 1st – can’t remember the rest…
I have a few pics on the Iroquois thread, too.
One of the racing magazines has a brief blurb, and it looks like McDynamo was 24 lengths or so back. It is early in the season for him, though.
AP/ESPN 5-12-07 “Good Night Shirt wins Iroquois Steeplechase”
excerpt
Good Night Shirt beat Sur La Tete by 5 lengths Saturday in the $150,000 Iroquois Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park.
With Irish rider William Dowling in the saddle, the 6-year-old Good Night Shirt upset three-time steeplechaser of the year McDynamo and Sur La Tete, the winner of the last two runnings of the Iroquois.
Dowling and Good Night Shirt, trained in Maryland by Jack Fisher for Harold “Sonny” Via of Free Union, Va., set the pace for 2 3/4 miles of the 3-mile contest over 18 national hurdles. Long-shot Chivite finished third.
McDynamo, who was seeking to earn his fourth Eclipse Award as chaser of the year, was another 18 lengths back in fourth place.
Good Night Shirt, who was second in the Grade I Royal Steeplechase for the Sport of Kings at Keeneland Raced Course three weeks ago, earned $90,000 to raise his bankroll to $288,043. His finished in 5:50 2-5.
The first 4 finishers …
1 - Good Night Shirt; with Dowling up
2 - Sur La Tete; with Read C up
3 - Chivite (IRE); with Young P J up
4 - McDynamo; with Petty J up
Dumb chasing question.
You see the same five or six jockeys riding almost every horse in every race that isn’t owner up. Are they all there are, or are there just so very few chasing stables and trainers?
It is a small, insular sport. That said, look at any flat track program - its much the same. Every owner wants the ‘best’ riders - the best riders get their pick and most ride the card. The ‘beginner’ gets the leftovers with less chance to shine and make a name for himself (or her). The apprentice and amateur races are a pretty good way to boost participation – most of the owners rode races as amateurs and continue to pour money into the sport (for the pros - trainers, riders, grooms, breeders, feed man, etc.) just because they got a kick out of riding a few races.
The sport of steeplechasing is reallllllly lucky in that way.
But, yes, there are few jockeys at the top of the game. Note that many foreign riders were imported late this spring as several of America’s top riders have been injured (Jody Petty, Robbie Walsh to name two.)
There are definitely more than 5 or 6, but certain jockey’s are stable jockey’s for certain trainers. I believe Matt McCarron is the stable jockey for Doug Fout, Chris Read is jock/asst trainer for Kinross Farm/Neil Morris, Xavier Aizpuru also rides a lot for Kinross/Neil, Jack Fisher has a variety of jockey’s (Dowling rode the winner this week, but last week at the Gold Cup, Chip Millier rode the winner for Fisher), Jody Petty rides a lot for Sanna Hendricks, Dani Hodsdon is stable jock for Jonathan Shepperd, Cyril Murphy is stable jock for Tom Voss, Bob Massey rides for certain trainers, the Haynes brothers ride for their Dad/family (and others), Jeff Murphy rides for a variety of trainers…then you have others that ride around (or I just don’t know details of) like, Diana Gillam, Paddy Young, Carl Rafter, James Slater (I think he rides for Fisher too), Michael Taurig,…much smaller amount of jocks compared to flat racing…but the amount of races run is also a lot less!!
Jump jocks
Rafter used to ride for Jimmy Day til he (Rafter) got fired a year ago or so. Liam McVicar still rides for Jimmy. Yes, Matt is the stable jock for Doug Fout, and Vicki Laurence is riding a few flat races every now and again. She’s an assistant trainer for Dougie.
All you have to do to find out who’s riding for who, besides knowing the jump jocks, is go to Magpies (it will never be called Maxwell’s to those of us who knew Magpie’s) on a sunday night around eleven or midnight. All the jocks are there getting drunk and hitting on anything female!! There’s a reason they all call it Shagpie’s…
Kauto “super” Star
I guess it was a no-brainer, but Kauto Star cleaned up at the end of season Jump Racing awards (NH season ends on May 1st), including horse of the year.
He also picks up a check for around $400k, which brings his earnings close to the $4 million mark, not bad for a young 7yo with years ahead of him.
Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Kauto Star was hailed as one of the greatest chasers in recent times after claiming top honours at the second annual Anglo-Irish Jump Racing Awards in central London.
The seven-year-old, who is owned by Clive Smith and trained by Paul Nicholls, claimed no less than four awards, including the coveted Horse of the Year title.
Kauto Star was also crowned champion two-mile, two-and-a-half-mile and three-mile plus chaser.
He also bagged the Racing UK Order of Merit following a season that saw him record six straight victories, over a range of distances, at six different racecourses.
British Horseracing Board chairman Paul Roy said: 'This, like so many others over the 2006/07 season, was Kauto Star’s day.
‘Horses like him do not come along very often, and are to be cherished. To be top-rated in every distance category is an outstanding achievement, and he was a unanimous choice as horse of the year.’
Irish National Hunt Steeplechase Committee Senior Steward John Moloney said: 'It has been another wonderful year for National Hunt racing both in Ireland and in Britain. We are delighted to co-host this prestigious awards scheme which once again highlights the fact that when it comes to National Hunt racing in these islands there are no country barriers.
‘We are all partners in this wonderful sport of ours and that is perhaps the real secret of its success.’
[B]Full list of winners.
Award winners:[/B] ’
Champion novice hurdle, Katchit;
Champion novice chaser, Denman;
Champion two-mile hurdler, Hardy Eustace, Sublimity;
Champion two-mile chaser, Kauto Star;
Champion two-and-a-half-mile plus hurdler, Mighty Man;
Champion two-and-a-half-mile chaser, Kauto Star;
Champion three-mile plus chaser, Kauto Star;
British champion conditional, Tom O’Brien;
British champion jockey, Tony McCoy;
British champion trainer, Paul Nicholls;
British champion owner, JP McManus;
Horse of the year, Kauto Star.
That’s true this side of the Atlantic. In Europe, especially the UK and Ireland, it’s a top sport.
I am going to my first ever steeplechase this weekend. :yes:
Does anyone know how Alumni Hall is doing in his training? I have NO idea how long it takes for a flat track horse to become a steeplechaser.
