Noble Bird gets his chance in Pegasus
Mark Casse watched the chestnut 2-year-old work out, and immediately picked up the phone to call owner John Oxley. “We’re going to win the Kentucky Derby with this horse,” Casse said.
Joe Clancy
Throwback Thursday: Northern Baby
Northern Baby died 10 years ago next month, and held the distinction of being the greatest sire in American steeplechase history (modern-day anyway). The success was somewhat accidental, because few – if any – North American Thoroughbred breeders aim for steeplechase success. But he had something, and passed it on to his sons and daughters. The following Throwback Thursday comes from the March 2007 edition of Steeplechase Times, which tumbled off a shelf around here recently.
Steeplechase schedule set for spring
In two months, actually less, the National Steeplechase Association season will have jumped into gear with the Aiken Spring Races in Aiken, S.C. The traditional opener, Saturday, March 25, starts a spring season with 18 individual stops in nine states.
So you want a new website…
Our first website was supposed to be a steeplechase portal, before anybody knew what a portal was. We called it horsesjump.com or some such thing. It was awful.
Jump champ Rawnaq eyes English trip
Rawnaq won the Eclipse Award as champion steeplechaser of 2016 Saturday night to elevate his trainer Cyril Murphy into a rare class.
Catching up with Eclipse winner Tod Marks
Tod Marks won an Eclipse Award. When the news came into the email inbox, everyone on the TIHR team smiled even though the winning photo did not appear in one of our projects. Marks, a vital piece of the equation at The Saratoga Special, this website and – back in the day – Steeplechase Times, is one of a kind. He works hard, captures noteworthy images, makes deadlines, exceeds expectations.
Saturday Special – December 17
The deep freeze arrived a tad early this year; a blast of seriously cold weather a little more than a week out from Christmas forced some cancellations this week as we gear up for the third to last Saturday of the year. Pegasus World Cup preps in California and Florida highlight the weekend and we’ve got those and many more races previewed in this week’s of Saturday Special presented by Pin Oak Stud.
Garrett Gomez through the years
Thoroughbred racing learned of the loss of one of its brightest stars Wednesday with the news of the sudden passing of champion jockey Garrett Gomez.
Celebrate the 2016 steeplechase champs
Like a good book, the National Steeplechase Association season comes to a conclusion, and the authors put the final chapter to bed at the Colonial Cup Races in Camden, S.C. Nov. 19. No more jump racing in the United States until March.
Willow U comes through for Norris
By the fourth race at Saturday’s Colonial Cup meet at Springdale Race Course in Camden, S.C., Kieran Norris needed a win. Really needed a win. He came into the day with a 13-12 lead in the battle for the National Steeplechase Association jockeys’ championship and watched five-time champion Paddy Young win the day’s third race to force a tie.
