It can take one week (literally - I know of some hurdle horses that, literally, have a couple schools and off they go) to forever and a day (there are others - athletic, fast, willing) that just never get it. I think Alumni Hall ran already, didn’t he? Over fences, I mean. I’ll check.
For those going to Saratoga Springs this summer you can catch NSA chasing as follows:
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Thursday, July 26: $68,000 optional claiming hurdle; 2 1/16 miles
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Thursday, Aug. 2: Steeplechase Jockeys Challenge Cup; $70,000 novice hurdle. For horses which have not won over hurdles before Jan. 1, 2007; 2 1/16 miles.
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Thursday, Aug. 9: A.P. Smithwick Memorial. $80,000 Grade II hurdle stakes;
2 1/16 miles. -
Thursday, Aug. 16: $68,000 optional claiming hurdle; 2 3/8 miles
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Thursday, Aug. 23: Michael G. Walsh Memorial. $70,000 novice hurdle. For horses which have not won over hurdles before Jan. 1, 2007; 2 3/8 miles
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Wednesday, Aug. 29: $70,000 optional claiming hurdle; 2 3/8 miles
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Thursday, Aug. 30: The New York Turf Writers Cup. $150,000 Grade I hurdle
stakes; 2 3/8 miles.
[Today, July 22nd, was the 27th Annnual Open House of which there were three NSA races: a pair of $25,000 Sport of Kings maiden hurdles and then a 1 1/2-mile training flat on the turf, which was restricted to Saratoga-eligible steeplechasers]
For those with TVG you should be able to see live the 1st race at Saratoga today - 2 1/16 Miles (Hurdle) for 4 Year Olds And Up; Optional Claiming ($30,000) | Purse: $68,000
A-Coupled: Gryffindor and Jazzitupgeorge
B-Coupled: Sermon of Love and Divine Fortune
Two entries by Jonathan Sheppard and also Tom Voss; Doug Fout has Pukka (NZ) with Matt McCarron up … interesting this is one of the $30k claimers
Betting suggestions from the Steeplechase Times - and who would know better in this race? 
RACE 1: DIVINE FORTUNE won a strong maiden back in May and followed that up by trouncing straight maidens on the flat at Colonial Downs for a trainer who points to this meeting – in like Flynn. Coupled with SERMON OF LOVE. Tom Voss’ entry is headed by GRYFFINDOR, who drops down in class and has run some of his best races at the Spa; he’s reunited with the excellent Chip Miller, who piloted him to his maiden hurdle win. PUKKA is another who, like the top pick, goes back to his win rider and takes a drop; I’d feel even better if the horse had a little more racetrack form but I’ll still be using.
Today is the A.P. Smithwick (Grade II) as the first race at Saratoga; Jonathan Sheppard wasn’t going to run Mixed Up in this race (it was supposed to be a Philadelphia Park) but changes forced him to do the entry. We’ll see what happens …
TVG and youbet.net will carry the race live
Thursday, Aug. 9 at Saratoga
Post Time 1 p.m.
The A. P. Smithwick Memorial Steplechase (Gr. II)
2 1/16 Miles. Hurdle. 4&Up. Purse $80,000.
PP HORSE – Jockey - (Trainer) - ML ODDS
1 The Looper – Murphy, Cyril – (Voss, Tom) 10-1
2 Orsay – Massey, R – (Voss, Tom) 5-1
3 Sweet Shani (NZ) – Aizpuru, X – (Sheppard, Jonathan) 15-1
4 Preemptive Strike – Young, P J – (Hendriks, Sanna) 5-1
5 Chess Board (GB) – Dowling, W – (Fout, Doug) 8-1
6 Mixed Up – Hodsdon, D – (Sheppard, Jonathan) 3-1
7 Orison --McCarron, M O – (Fout, Doug) 4-1
8 Best Attack --Miller, Chip – (Miller, Bruce) 7-2
Mixed Up takes it by a neck over Preemptive Strike. Dani Hodson rode a great race and took the lead about 20 lengths from the finish. PS ran on the front most of the race.
6- Mixed Up
4- Preemptive Strike
3- Sweet Shani
A fine race in the A.P. Smithwick - Mixed Up gets up and nips Preemptive Strike by about a 1/2 a length before the wire!
This is something you don’t see very often, shipping to the US to race over Timber.
From the RP.
Newbury trainer takes team timber racing
by Rodney Masters
NEWBURY trainer Gary Brown is preparing a team of five horses to take timber racing for ten weeks in the US, and they include the 101-rated chaser Your A Gassman, a winner of five races for Ferdy Murphy.
“The prize-money is very good, and the big advantage is that they can compete as maidens in timber races,” said ex-jump jockey Brown, who will travel the horses to Virginia next month.
He added: “I feel rather like Christopher Columbus because I doubt trainers in Britain have previously taken quite this approach to autumn timber racing in the US, but it is worth an experiment.
“My owners Lucy Horner and Emma Whetton are both keen to give it a go, and hopefully we’ll have some winners out there.”
Other members of the team will include Profowens, who won two chases for Trevor Hemmings when trained by Peter Beaumont, most recently at Wetherby in April. He has an official rating of 106.
James Davies and Seamus Durack are schooling the team over timber-style fences at home, and Davies will travel out on a couple of weekends to race-ride.
Well, thank you Saratoga…for the races over jumps… although the distances are still relatively short by European standards (not so much for hurdles per se), I’m impressed. This is one way that “failed” flat horses can make their living - over the sticks. Maybe some day America more generally could embrace the idea that flat racehorses have some great second careers - in racing!
Anyone out here read Jenny Pitman’s autobiography? It’s a great tale of great 9 and 10 year old steeplechasers…
Re: British trainers ‘doing’ timber horses – It actually has been done, and rather recently, and repeatedly. Dai Williams, a Lambourn trainer, brought over 2 at a time 3 times in the past decade. One of them won a race at the International Go;d Cup about 6 years back; one won at Morven Park 2 years ago. All were sold once they were here. Not many of them went on to do much, though Bavario went on to be a point to point standout and a durable veteran who’s competitive on all levels.
And dont’ forget about the short-lived Marlborough Cup timber stakes they ran in England in 1997 and 98 (maybe one other year; can’t recall.) It was styled after – and tied to, with a $100,000 bonus, the Virginia Gold Cup. Virginia-bred and -owned Saluter (trained in Maryland by Jack Fisher) won the VGC and Marl. Cup in 1997. I was there. Timber racing did not catch in England, but it gave a few trainers, Dai Williams for instance, a taste of it so they can pick among their jumping stock and select those horses more adept and likely saleable for timber.
Very very cool that this guy’s bringing 5, and staying 10 weeks. Did it say which meets he’s aiming for? All those horses will be maidens over timber; there aren’t so many maiden races. He may find them slightly overfaced.
Just a little steeplechasing info: Chip Miller won his 200th race today at Saratoga!
Planet’s Aligned, trained by Tom Voss, owned by Fox Ridge Farm.
Saved ground off the pace, classic Chip ride.
The 8th race [off at 4:47 pm EST] at Saratoga today (8-30) is the final 'chase of the meet and is the “big one” the Grade 1 $150,000 NewYork Turf Writers Cup.
Heavy favorite - Mixed Up - if he should win will step closer to securing the Eclipse award at the end of the year. He took the Grade 2 A.P. Smithwick Memorial three weeks ago however that was then and today’s race will be tough largely due to weight.
The Jonathan Sheppard trained and Danielle Hodsdon ridden 8-yr old must carry the high weight of 162 pounds (4lbs more then he dd in the Smithwick) and compared to the rest of the field that ranges from between 10 to 29 more than his rivals!
As cited in the August 30th edition of the Saratoga Special (Steeplechase Times) there was mention of another dual Spa stakes champion who is now a showjumper:
With a win in today’s New York Turf Writers Cup, Mixed Up will become the first horse to sweep Saratoga’s two steeplechase stakes since Campanile turned two in 1999.
Owned by Greg Hawkins, Campanile began his career in Mike Freeman’s barn, winning once on the flat. Switched to Janet Elliot’s stable, the son of Lear Fan broke his maiden over hurdles in the fall of his 4-year-old year. The next season, he swept the Midsummer at Monmouth, the Smithwick and the Turf Writers. Retired after finishing fifth in the Nakayama Grand Jump in Japan, Campanile earned over $400,000 in his career, good enough to finish in the top 30 of career steeplechase earners.
Campanile retired to the good life on Iris and Mike Freeman’s Chime Bell Farm in Aiken, S.C., where he lived day and night with Freeman’s turf star Hodges Bay. Now 13, Campanile has begun a new career in the show ring with Aggie O’Brien. So far, he’s taken to it just like he took to steeplechasing. “He was reserve champion at his first show, it was just a small unrecognized show, he trotted all the jumps,” O’Brien said.
“Then we went to an A show where the jumps were considerably higher and wider, still some trotting but a fifth out of over 30 horses.” Tall and long like a hook and ladder, Campanile has been ridden by O’Brien, Joy Slater (the first woman to win the Maryland Hunt Cup) and Elizabeth Solter who rode Hall of Fame show hunter Rox Dene.
“Now, he’s jumping level three, three foot six inch jumps with big spreads,” O’Brien said. “He loves it.”
In a bit of an upset, Footlights, a 7yo mare beat up a nice group in the Turf Writers. Footlights won her most recent race for trainer Roger Horgan (a former jump jock) and rider Xavier Aizpuru.
Turf Writer’s
Another one for the Girlls! Is this the Year of the Mare?!!
Does anyone know how Class Vantage is?
Ann
Velka Pardubicka
For those that have never seen the Velka Pardubicka, a famous old race in the Czech Rep, this is last years edition. 4¼ miles, with lots of interesting X-country elements in it. Fence no 4, the one after the water, is the famous Taxis ditch.
Class Vantage was put down. See this week’s Fauquier Times-Democrat – I’m doing an obituary – he was Virginia-bred steeplechase champ last year.
Those wild Kiwi riders as spied by the equidaily folks
Photo: (Getty Images) James Gillies riding Hart in the Great Northern Steeplechase
Wha-hoo!
Here’s the replay of the Great Northern, a grand old race, check out the huge hill they climb on the back side, what an energy sapper.
If the link doesn’t work, then copy and paste this URL in the Windows Media Player… http://www.nzracing.co.nz/Images/Video/200709/20070908ELLS07_BB.asx
As an aside, 2 of the runners in the Great Northern were sired by the late Heroicity.
Goodnight Shirt makes it happen in the Grade 1 Lonesome Glory Hurdle run at Belmont Park! A odd race with added surprises plus when did you last see 'chasing at Belmont?
BloodHorse 9-22-07 “Good Night Shirt Wins Inaugural Lonesome Glory Hurdle”
(Video replay in the above link)
Despite only having 3 starts in 2007 Goodnight Shirt now has two Grade 1 victories. Will that be enough to take the Eclipse Award?
With the flat track Breeders’ Cup event at Monmouth Park it means this year both the Steeplechase and track BC will be held in New Jersey 
The 87th Running of the Far Hills Race Meet will be held Saturday October 20th at Moorland Farms, Far Hills.
What started as a benefit for the Essex Fox Hounds has grown in leaps and bounds. In the 1950s, the Far Hills Race Meeting drew about 2,000 to 3,000 people. This year, more than 50,000 spectators are expected to attend.
The race which benefits the Somerset Medical Center Foundation has nearly $17 million for the facility over the years. It’s not hard to see why - tix aren’t exactly cheap
General admission tickets are $50 in advance, $100 at the gate. Parking is $30 per vehicle.
Race card and entries found here - DRF - the 4th race, the Grade 1 Grand National Hurdle Stakes :
2 5/8 Miles (Hurdle) | 4 Year Olds And Up Stakes | Purse: $300,000
PP Horse (Jockey) Weight
1 Three Carat (Hodsdon D) 156
2 McDynamo (Petty J) 156
3 Best Attack (Miller F B Jr) 156
4 Good Night Shirt (Dowling W) 156
5 Chivite (IRE) (Young P J) 156
6 Underbidder (Slater J) 156
7 Orison (McCarron M O) 156
8 Sweet Shani (NZ) (Aizpuru X) 150
9 Luongo (Gillam Diana) 156
McDynamo pretty much has owned this race with 4 straight priors but will Good Night Shirt deny him of his 5th?
Did anyone go to the Genesee Valley Hunt races of last weekend? Good turnout?
