Summer Means Major Track 'Chasing - and Saratoga! cont...

Open House Maiden 'chasers took centre stage at the New York Racing Association's 18th annual Open House July 26 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A non-parimutuel "exhibition" day, Open House is the last chance for 'chasers to qualify for "regular season" racing at Saratoga , the classy "grande dame" of American racing and a popular resort spot since the 1860s.
The jumpers lined up for three $15,000 maiden hurdles, with Saratoga's red and white canopies forming a festive backdrop. Trainer Tom Voss stole the show here last year. But he only had one winner at Open House this summer - a rising star named Approaching Squall who went on to rack up two more jump wins (in an allowance and a starter handicap) during Saratoga's regular meet. A 4-year-old son of Summer Squall, Approaching Squall was ridden by Voss' stable jockey, Jonathan Kiser. "We knew he had the ability, but it's been a long time getting it out of him," Kiser explained. "He ran at a point-to-point early in the spring, and he acted like he just didn't want to do it. Then, right before he came up here, he broke his maiden on the flat by six. So we knew he could run; it was just a matter of getting his jumping in with his running."	Trainer Tom Voss
Approaching Squall was the only first-timer to claim an Open House 'chase this year. He is owned by The Fields Stables, of Brigade of Guards fame.
Kingsley Kiser	Other Open House winners were: Ann Stern's Darn Tipalarm, a Jack Fisher trainee ridden by Andy Wilson; Green Stripe Stables' Aggro Crag, trained by H. Brooks Durkee and ridden by Sean Clancy; and Nancy Gerry's Flat Top, a Janet Elliot charge who won the jumpers' training flat event under Bitsy Patterson. Even at Open House, there was magic in the air. "To win (at Saratoga) is a big thrill," said trainer H. Brooks Durkee. "I looked at the entries, the breeding and the connections of the horses up there, and they were very good races," he said.

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