FAR HILLS, N.J.--The Irish contingent led by trainer Gordon Elliot was expected to dominate the all stakes racing at Far Hills on Saturday, Oct. 21, and it did, with Elliot winning three of the four races he had horses in.

Noah and the Ark, right, leads Seddon, center, and Merry Maker over last in Grand National Stakes (Photo by Tod Marks)"The soft going probably cost the U.S. horses," said Joe Clancy, one of the commentators at Far Hills.

Although the day of the races, the sun even came out at times, it had poured throughout the previous evening and it was clear the going left a number of horse very tired at the ends of their races.

After Elliot's first three winners, Salvador Ziggy (re), his entry in the feature, the $250,000, G1, 2 5/8 mile Grand National Stakes, was expected win as Elliot's strongest entry of all, but Salvador Ziggy failed dismally, finishing  last.

Another Irish entry, Seddon (Ire), trained by John McConnell, was the second choice, but he ended up third.

Noah and the Ark (Ire), owned by Keystone Thoroughbreds, trained by Todd McKenna and ridden by Harry Beswick was a long shot, but he was a dominant winner, finishing 5 1/4 lengths ahead of Merry Maker (Ire), trained by Arch Kingsley and ridden by Parker Hendriks, finishing in 5:41.28.

The win thrilled members of Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds, as all of Noah and the Ark's connections have close ties to Cheshire, according to former Master of Foxhounds Russell Jones..

 

BILL WYLIE, iwho has hores in training with NcKenna, s a previous chairman of the board of Cheshire, McKenna is a regular member of the Cheshire field and Beswick and even Noah and the Ark himself have hunted with Cheshire.

The most thrilled of all was Beswick, who is currently leading in NSA Jockey, Races won.

"Nothing has done more for my career than this horse," said Beswick. "I've partnered with him his whole career. I won on him in races in England. It's been quite a journey to come back today and win this. I'm very close with this horse as I ride him out every day."

Noah and the Ark, a 9-year-old, won three races in England before coming here in 2020, and he has had an up and down career since.

He won a handicap at Camden in 2021 and then won the G1 Lonesome Glory at Belmont followed by a second in the Grand National in 2022.

Then in three Grade 1races earlier this year, he ran badly, finishing fifth, fourth and eighth.

"At Nashville and then in Saratoga, the atmosphere got to him," said Beswick. "We earmarked him for this race. We trained him for this race."

"I didn't think we could win this race, but two fences out I began to think, `we could win this,'" he said.

"Todd McKenna has a dry cleaning business," said Clancy. "He trains horses on the side."

Noah and the Ark ran towards the back of the eight horse field, beginning to make a move on the backstretch on the final circuit, moved into the lead over the last fence and increased his lead in the stretch

Merry Maker finished 10 3/4 lengths in front of Seddon.

Snap Decision, who has had an illustrious career, has never run well on soft going, and one of his owners, Charlie Fenwick, a partner in Bruton Street-US, told The Horse after one race in deep going that if the going came up deep again in one of his races that they would probably scratch him.

But after skipping the G1 races in Saratoga and at Belmont due to the high weight he would have had to carry, Snap did run at Far Hills, but obviously laboring in the going, he was pulled up on the final circuit.

Kyogo Ire), owned by Ben Griswold's Meadow Run Farm, trained by Elliot and ridden by one of Ireland's top jockeys, Jack Kennedy, won the $50,000, 2 1/8 mile Gladstone 3-Year-Old Stakes by 3/4 length over Our Boy Wes (GB), trained by Keri Brion and ridden by Danny Mullins, finishing on 4:33/84..

Kyogo is probably the only one of the Irish invaders that will stay in this country.

In England and Ireland, 3 year olds begin racing over fences early in the year, while in the states they don't run over fences until much later., and Kyogo had run seven times overseas with one win, giving him the benefit of much experience.

Elliott's four came over about a week before Far Hilsl and stayed at Ricky Hendrik's farm in Unionville, where they got to school over this country's national fences.

Del Rio Racing and Goldman Racing Sydicate's Calico (Fr), trained by Elliott and ridden by Kennedy, won the $50,000 Harry E. Harris 4-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes by 8 lengths over Chosen Judge (Ire), trained by Leslie Young and ridden by Stephen Mulqueen, finishing in 4:33.56.

Calico is a filly, and she took over very successfully against the boys as the only filly in the race.

Kate Dalton saddled Eclipse Thoroughbreds and Daigneault Thoroughbreds' Abaan, ridden by Bernie Dalton, to win the $100,000, 2 1/2 mile Foxbrook Champion Novice Hurdle Stakes by 3 lengths over The Hero Next Door (re), trained by Young and ridden by Kennedy, finishing in 5:23.04.

Abaan, a 6-year-old gelding,ran in graded stakes on the flat before being switched to hurdles earlier this year, finishing second and thenwinning in Maiden Special Weights before Far Hills.

Abaan was the only American bred to win or even olace second over hurdles at Far Hills.

Elliot then saddled Robcour's Say Goodbye (Ire), ridden by Kennedy, to win the $75,000 Peapack Filly & Mare Hurdle Stakes by 3 1/4 lengths over Right Tempo (Fr), trained by Young and ridden by Mulqueen, finishing in 4:32.38.

Say Goodbye had run every race in Ireland in the top three in the last three years with three wins.

Jack Fisher saddled Martin Tedham and Wasdell Properties' Zabeel Champion (GB), ridden by Dalton, to win the $50,000, 2 5/8 Appleton Ratings Handicap by 3 1/2 lengths over Fast Vision (Fr), trained by Young and ridden by  Freddie Procter, finishing in 5:40.97.

This was Zabeel Champion's second race in this country after winning in handicap hurdles in England.

A flat trainer, Rodllphe Brisset, seeing the money on offer at Far Hills, saddled Team Valor International's McLovin to win the $100,000, 2 mile John Forbes Flat Stakes by 1 length over Who's Counting, trained and ridden by Sean McDermott, finishing in 3:53.57