Experience Prevails in Star Studded 'Chase Season
By Laurel Scott-Duncan
Experience Prevails in Star Studded 'Chase Season
By Laurel Scott-Duncan
No doubt about it: fall, 1999 was "the season of the veteran" in American steeplechasing.
Hudson River Farm's 12-year-old Ninepins recorded a "personal best," outrunning far younger horses to win the season's last two Grade I stakes an astonishing seven years after his American debut. Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard - who conditioned not only Horse of the Year Ninepins, but 3-year-old champion Addinson and top novice Muscle Car - notched an unbelievable 22nd trainer's championship.
Ann and Henry Sterns' Saluter, who won his sixth Virginia Gold Cup last summer, followed that up with his second International Gold Cup score in October. And Kay Jeffords' Lonesome Glory won two more Grade I stakes last spring; though retired in November, the superhorse was later honored with an unprecedented fifth Eclipse Award.
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Horse of the Year: Ninepins (on the right)
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Summer had been the season of Campanile, a young upstart who streaked through the major track stops with dazzling speed. An upset winner both at Monmouth Park and Saratoga, the Janet Elliot trainee looked like the horse to beat going into the fall season.
Indeed, it wasn't until October that Ninepins hit his stride.
Foaled in Britain but raised in Ireland, the bay gelding began his American career with a narrow win at Monmouth Park, taking Far Hills' rich Grand National by disqualification shortly thereafter. An attractive 16-hander of medium build, he'd already tasted success in both Ireland and England. And, as his new Hall of Fame trainer reflected, he "…was probably an ideal type for steeplechasing in this country."
But that was back in 1992. Somewhere along the way, Ninepins' record became erratic and he was written off by many as "over the hill" or past his form. Nor did it help when his 1998 season ended with tendon problems.
But return he did, to wage a grueling 10-race campaign that started in the spring, continued through the summer, and lasted into the fall. For several months, he was "knocking at the door" with good seconds and thirds to horses like Campanile (in the A.P. Smithwick); stablemate Romantic (in the Belmont Autumn Steeplechase); and Pinkie Swear (in the Ferguson Memorial).
But the top money kept eluding him; as both trainer Sheppard and rider Arch Kingsley Jr. said, there was "…something missing." Hoping for a miracle, they tried working the veteran with blinkers -- and the result was a sharper, more competitive animal.
Case in point: the Grade I, $150,000 Breeders' Cup Grand National on Oct. 23. Held at Moorland Farms in Far Hills, New Jersey, this venerable meet was characterized by blustery cold, the threat of rain and some of the deepest mud in memory. It was American steeplechasing's richest day, but finishers in every race were coming home dead-legged except for Ninepins.
Equipped with both blinkers and his old pal Kingsley, he tracked pace-setters Master McGrath, Romantic and Pinkie Swear through some unbelievably rapid fractions. By the sixth of 14 fences, Campanile had surged into contention, with Romantic also looming large. Before long, Pinkie Swear and Ninepins had jumped into the picture, with Clearance Code also on the move.
"When we turned down the back the last time, I pulled (Ninepins) out onto better ground," Kingsley said. "And, as the horses around him started to fall apart, he was just holding his own and starting to make up ground on them."
Ninepins drew away to an incredible 22-length score over his nearest rival, Pinkie Swear, becoming the oldest horse ever to win the prestigious Grand National. As if to honor him, a rainbow pierced the clouds just in time for the trophy presentation.
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Trainer: Jonathon Sheppard
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Trainer Sheppard went on to win four of the day's seven races, remarking, "I guess if you just keep at it long enough, things will all come together on the same day, eventually!" Three of his winners were steered by Kingsley, who had injured his back just weeks before but was coming back stronger than ever.
As it turned out, Ninepins had still more up his sleeve. His next outing -- the $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Colonial Cup Nov. 21 -- came on Camden, South Carolina's sweeping, sand-based Springdale Race Course. Unlike Far Hills, this was a definite "speed" layout, and the distance of 2 3/4 miles was sure to defeat all but the fittest animals.
Rider Kingsley was on a "high," having gotten engaged the night before to longtime companion Wendy Fletcher. He also had supreme faith in Ninepins, whom he positioned in third behind pacesetter Al Skywalker.
Four fences from home, stablemate Muscle Car -- the year's top novice -- drew alongside Ninepins, just as frontrunner Al Skywalker unseated his rider. The Sheppard-trained 5 year-old assumed control, but not for long.
Kingsley stepped on the accelerator and Ninepins flew to the front, meeting Muscle Car at the last fence. The two stablemates battled through the stretch, with Ninepins edging Muscle Car by a neck.
Not only was Ninepins the oldest horse to win the Colonial Cup, he'd done so in record time. "Today was his day," Kingsley said. "Everybody thought it was the ground at Far Hills, and that we'd gotten lucky for this and that. But I had a ton of confidence in this horse today, and things just really fell into place."
His respect for the veteran knew no bounds. And small wonder: since coming "across the pond," Ninepins had defeated such horses as Eclipse Award winner Highland Bud, multiple Grade I stakes winner Rowdy Irishman and former all-time leading moneyearner Victorian Hill. "He's been around longer than any horse or rider, and is still going well, to boot!" Kingsley remarked.
The team of Kingsley and Sheppard notched three wins on the day, Kingsley landing one more for trainer Charlie Fenwick Jr. in the timber feature.
At year's end, Ninepins had recorded two wins, two seconds and two thirds from 10 starts, with $199,029 in earnings. It was enough to clinch Horse of the Year (money-won) honors, as well as merit an invitation to Japan's $1.5 million Nakayama Grand Jump on April 15. But it wasn't quite enough to wheedle an Eclipse Award out of the National Turf Writers Association, the Daily Racing Form and the NTRA.
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Lonesome Glory: Five Times a Champion
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That honor went once more to Kay Jeffords' homebred Lonesome Glory. Though he'd already won four such championships, "Lonesome" was unanimously voted the 1999 Eclipse Steeplechaser of the Year -- catapulting him past the legendary Flatterer for most Eclipse Awards won by a jumper.
Under perennial partner Blythe Miller, "Lonesome" had ushered in the season with a decisive victory in the Grade I, $98,000 Carolina Cup last March, followed by another Grade I score in Keeneland's $188,000 Royal Chase in April. At 11 years old, he had proven that age was no barrier to success. As Blythe Miller said, "You can never lose faith."
Fans who expected to see "Lonesome" try for a fourth Colonial Cup victory were disappointed to learn of the champion's retirement several days before that race. As trainer F. Bruce Miller explained, he'd discovered a small tear in the horse's left front tendon. The injury would not have been career-ending had the horse been younger, but as Miller explained, it was time.
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