Scorpiancer
Earns an Eclipse
by Katherine O. Rizzo
When Charlie Noell and Mike Hankin walked into a racing stable in Wales, No- ell stopped at the fi rst stall and didn’t go any farther. “He was looking at a brilliant-looking horse on the right of the barn and we couldn’t get him to walk in any farther,” Hankin re- membered. T ere stood Scorpiancer, a 2009 bay gelding, and future Eclipse Steeplechase Horse of the Year. Hankin, Noell and Charlie Fenwick, Jr., pur- chased the horse in 2012 for Bruton Street-US, with the intent to keep him in England to race. “We bought him as a three-year-old to run over brush, called ‘fences’ in England,” Han- kin stated. “He was bred for that and was very gutsy.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t running as well as they hoped, so the Bruton Street-US owners decided to bring him to the states and see if champion trainer Jack Fisher could fi g- ure him out. “He was a bit of a men-
tal case,” Fisher said, adding, “he’s a nice horse, but I didn’t think he was that good at fi rst.” Fisher soon realized the horse had much
Trained by Jack Fisher, Scorpiancer went two-for-two in 2017 for Bruton Street-US to win both the Temple Gwathmey Handicap (G3) and $200,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle Stakes (G1), both times with Sean McDermott in the irons.
“I thought he should win. He was the only multiple winner in the group. Scorpiancer was the obvious choice.” - Trainer Jack Fisher on Scorpiancer’s 2017 Eclipse Award
back than fourth that season, and won the Lonesome Glory Handicap (G1) at Belmont Park in September of that year. His racing style was clicking into gear by this point and it was clear that he was a champion.
By this point in hais US rac-
more to off er than initially thought. “We start- ed turning him out, which he didn’t get much of in England, and that was a key in getting him to calm down,” Fisher explained. “And we also let him stay out in front in smaller sets of only two horses, which he seemed to like.”
Connor Hankin became Scorpiancer’s US
jockey and the pair soon started winning. “Connor was instrumental in turning this horse around,” Fisher said. After fi nishing fourth in the Jumpers Flat at Suff olk Downs in September of 2015, Connor and Scorpi- ancer won the Ratings Handicap Hurdle at the Races at Shawan Downs. Connor kept Scorpiancer at the back of the pack until the fi nal turn where he let him loose, easily taking the lead and winning with increasing speed at the wire. Next up was another win, this time in the
Foxbrook Champion Hurdle Stakes at Far Hills where he rallied on the fi nal turn to take over the lead over the last jump and again, fi nished with increasing speed. In 2016, Scorpiancer and Connor raced fi ve times before Connor enlisted in the US Ma- rine Corps, and Sean McDermott took over the ride. Scorpiancer never fi nished farther
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ing career, Scorpiancer had fi nished in the top three in four Grade 1 races and fi nished fourth in the $200,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle Stakes (G1) outside Nashville in 2016. He handily won this same race in 2017 by a
16-length victory. Scorpiancer only raced twice in 2017, but did so in such style, winning both races. “Nashville last year is the highlight of his career for sure,” Fisher said. “He was just starting to get really good.” Scorpiancer won the Temple Gwath- mey Handicap (G3) at the Middleburg Spring Races leading up to his Iroquois win. A ten- don injury sidelined the winner for the rest of the season, but according to Hankin, “all ten- don injuries are serious but this one was less serious.” Fisher said the horse is heeling well and added, “winning at Far Hills this fall is the goal.”
In addition to Scorpiancer, Fisher had Mr.
Hot Stuff in the running for this year’s Eclipse Awards, but Fisher knew Scorpiancer deserved the win. “I though he should win. He was the only multiple winner in the group,” he said. Fisher went on to explain that the Colonial Cup typically ended up as a tie breaker when it came to Eclipse fi nalist but without that race on the fall schedule, “Scorpiancer was the obvi- ous choice.”
Hankin was not as confi dent about the pos-
sibility of an Eclipse win as Fisher. “We all re- ally thought Mr. Hot Stuff was going to win and we went to the ceremony to support the sport.” When Scorpiancer’s name was read as the winner, Hankin and company were thrilled. “He beat some tremendous horses and tries so hard to win,” he said.
Trainer Jack Fisher credits jockey Connor Han- kin, pictured here in ar Far Hills after winning the Foxbrook Champion Hurdle Stakes, with be- ing intrumental in turning Scorpiancer from a bit of a headcase into a champion steeplechaser.
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