Maryland Dominates U.S. Steeplechase Titles, continued
Undaunted, Naylor became one of the most competitive owners on the circuit, increas- ing his winning odds by sprinkling his stock with many trainers. He won the Maryland Hunt Cup twice as an owner, with Make Me A Champ in 2005 with trainer Bruce Miller (PA) and Askim in 2008 with Maryland trainer Ann Stewart. With one more win, he can retire the trophy.
In the 2011 season, Naylor transitioned from being one of the most successful timber own- ers into the leading hurdle owner with the four top horses: Black Jack Blues, Tax Ruling, De- coy Daddy and Lake Placid.
His horses won him a whopping $719,725 in earnings for the year.
Consequently,
Naylor broke the Au- gustin Stable/George Strawbridge record of the most money won in a season, which was $596,991 set back in 2001. “Irv Naylor is prob-
ably one of the most competitive owners we have. [He has] a great business mind and supports the game in many diff er- ent ways,” said Na- tional Steeplechase Association racing director Bill Gallo. “He made the tran- sition from timber to hurdles in a very
short time, breaking records along the way and proving he is a serious player with deep pockets. At the same time he improved the quality of the racing and showed that it is not luck, but eff ort that you gets you to this level.” Not satisfi ed with American wins,
Naylor is going global. “Black Jack Blues won the big race
at Far Hills,” Naylor said of the jour- neyman horse. “I’m looking forward to running him in Japan.” Since 1999, Japan has hosted the most expensive steeplechase race in the world, T e Nakayama Grand Jump held each year in April.
the season to take on such a race is very dif- fi cult. Plus an Ameri- can horse has to qual- ify which means they need to be in country by March or earlier. Naylor and Delozier
have nominated Black Jack Blues for the race and qualifi er. But he’s not stopping
It
is a 2 5/8 mile race worth more than $1.5 million. However, American hors- es have failed to make a good showing there since its inception. Almost all the winning horses are Japanese racers or have Japanese connections. Part of the problem is that the footing can be deep, and unlike Ameri- can steeplechasing,
the
Tax Ruling, trained by Brianne Slater, may have come in second place in the Eclipse Steeplechase Horse of the Year, but his two Grade 1 wins (the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes and the $100,000 Colonial Cup) helped ensure owner Naylor ended up on top in the money for the year!
horses must break from a start gate. In addition, the travel takes its toll on the horses. American steeple- chasers traditionally run on fi rmer conditions and to ask a horse that early in
With $719,725 in earnings, Maryland native son Irv Naylor not only earned the National Steeplechase Asso- ciation’s Owner of the Year but broke the Augustin Sta- ble/George Strawbridge 2001 record of the most money won in a season ($596,991).
there; he has plans in England too. “I have a horse,
Alfa Beat,” Naylor said. “He’s in training for the 2012 English Grand National and is being trained by John Hanlon.” For Naylor and De-
lozier, the 2012 steeplechase season should be a busy one.
Voss 2011 Leading U.S. Steeple- chase Trainer
Atlanta Hall’s Tom Voss (Monkton, MD) was the nation’s leading steeplechase trainer for 2011, the fi fth time he has earned the title (the most recent in 2002). Ironically, it was not nec- essarily one his best seasons, with only 16 wins earning $384,070. In fact, according to the Steeplechase Times, it is the lowest victory total in almost 40 years, since Jonathan Sheppard earn the title with only 15 jump race wins. Sheppard and Voss seem to frequently trade the title back and forth, and this year they were certainly running neck and neck over the line.
continued...
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MARCH 2012 | THE EQUIERY | 15
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Ryan Lasek
Isabel J Kurek
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