The County Kilkenny trainer sent out Hewick, a horse he famously bought for just €850, to win the American Grand National at Far Hills last October. 

Hewick wins the Steeplechase Horse Eclipse Award.@NTRA pic.twitter.com/kjcPrIDDxm

— John Hanlon Racing (@jhanlonracing) January 27, 2023

Hanlon made the trip over to America for the awards ceremony where he struggled to hold back the tears.

“I don't know what to say. I can't believe that we came over here and won the American Grand National in Far Hills,” Hanlon said of his Grade I winner.

“He's been a very good horse for us, for the whole family. I bought him at my own local sales for 800 quid and he's after winning half a million. But tonight is definitely the biggest night of my life. Thank you everyone.”

Hewick has won eight times and recorded notable victories in Britain and Ireland, including the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and the Tote Galway Plate.

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The Forbes Memorial is among the highlights on a card that also includes the $250,000 GI Grand National Hurdle.

Forbes, the late husband of the TDN's Director of Customer Services Vicki Forbes, passed away Jan. 31, 2021 at the age of 73 after a battle with cancer.

“John was New Jersey racing,” said Dennis Drazin, chairman and CEO of Darby Development LLC, operators of Monmouth Park Racetrack, said at the time.

Forbes won 2,174 races before he stopped training in 2012 to focus on horsemen's issues, becoming the president of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association when the group took over the lease for Monmouth Park from The New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority. He was the leading trainer at Monmouth Park five times and won seven training titles at the Meadowlands. Forbes's best horse was GISW sire Tale of the Cat, and he helped launch the career of Hall of Fame rider Julie Krone.

The 3-1 morning line favorite is Cross Border (English Channel), a two-time winner of the GII Bowling Green S and an earner of $1,173,354. But he has not finished in the money in six tries this year and, at age 8, may not be what he once was. After racing for Mike Maker, he will be making his second start for Keri Brion, who has plans to convert him to a jumper. Like all 14 in the race, he has never won at the distance of two miles on the flat.

Trained by Michael Dickinson, Royne (Ghostzapper) should be in the mix. He was third in the Presious Passion S. last out at Monmouth and has done some of his best running in 11 and 12-furlong races. Then there's Agitare (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who will be making his first start in the U.S. after racing in Ireland for James Bolger. Fearsome (GB) (Makfi {GB}) will return to the flat after racing over the jumps at Colonial Downs.

The jockeys will no doubt play a major role in a race that pits flat riders versus steeplechase jockeys. Flat riders Isaac Castillo, Nik Juarez and Feargal Lynch have mounts and will go against 11 regulars on the jump circuit. With the horses in the race carrying between 140 and 148 pounds, the flat jockeys could be carrying as much as 30 pounds of “dead weight,” perhaps a disadvantage.

Trainer Jack Fisher, who will send out Mystical Man (Mucho Macho Man), has given the mount to jump rider Graham Watters.

“They had a flat race for jumpers at Colonial Downs and I used a flat rider and I thought he made a huge mistake, leaving the horse with too much to do,” Fisher said. “I think the jump riders are probably better simply because they are used to doing that trip, two miles.”

Fisher has what will be a solid favorite in the Grand National Hurdle in Snap Decision (Hard Spun). The leading contender in his division for an Eclipse Award, he was upset last time out at odds of 3-10 in the GI Lonesome Glory H. at Aqueduct. The winner was Noah And the Ark (Ire) (Vinnie Roe {Ire}), who will be seeking his third straight win in Saturday's $250,000 race. The difference this time could come down to the weights. Snap Decision carried 168 pounds in the Lonesome Glory, giving away 28 pounds to Noah And The Ark. The Grand National Hurdle is a weight-for-age race and all seven starters will carry 156 pounds.

The second choice in the race at 3-1 in the morning line is Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}), a seven-time winner over the jumps in Europe.

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Though steeplechase trainer Keri Brion is based in Virginia when in the U.S. and is currently scouting new racing prospects in Ireland, the 30-year-old conditioner enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2021, sweeping all three of NYRA's Grade 1 jump races and winning all but one of America's Grade 1 steeplechase events.

Brion, who worked for 11 years as an assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, has put together a quality stable in her first year on her own, becoming the first American-based trainer to win on the hurdle circuit in Ireland in April and conditioning Baltimore Bucko and The Mean Queen to Grade 1 wins in the second half of the year.

After picking up her first graded win with Galway Kid in the Grade 3 David Semmes Memorial in May, Brion won her first Grade 1 in the A.P. Smithwick Memorial at Saratoga Race Course in July, visiting the winner's circle with Baltimore Bucko.

Brion wrapped up 2021 with a record of 14-15-12 from 105 starts and earnings just shy of $800,000, thanks in part to a trio of Grade 1 wins by The Mean Queen in Saratoga's Jonathan Sheppard Memorial, Belmont Park's Lonesome Glory, and the Grand National at Far Hills.

How would you summarize your 2021 campaign?

Brion: “It's still hard to put into words even now. It was some year. It started when I was in Ireland this time last year and took over for Jonathan when he retired. I made history there this year as the first [American based] jumper and hurdle winner. Then I went back to America and won my first graded stakes in May. Things were going well and then Saratoga happened. You couldn't write that again and it will probably never happen again as long as I live. Being first and second in both Grade 1's is something I would have never dreamed of. It really helped my career and also to gain the support in the big races. It was important for me to have those horses win at Saratoga. It's mind blowing.”

How does steeplechase racing in New York compare to other prestigious meets?

Brion: “NYRA is where you dream of racing. Flat racing, jump racing, it doesn't matter. It's the best of the sport in America in my opinion. Obviously you're running for good money and that's always a big plus. NYRA does an amazing job of supporting steeplechase and we have really good purses for allowances and stakes races which is brilliant. This is my first year training, but going forward, you train for Saratoga. You start in the spring and you know you're prepping horses for Saratoga. That's the big stage and where you want to win. To have won both big races there and the Lonesome Glory at Belmont is amazing. There's not a better place to win a race than in New York.”

What does it take to reach the top level in steeplechase?

Brion: “It's finding horses of that caliber. I have been lucky enough to have a trainer in Ireland who helps me source horses. It's helped me get them young and to mold them and bring them along in my own way. Working for Jonathan Sheppard for all those years was the biggest thing. Happy horses really do run the best. The Mean Queen, for instance, ran every month from April to October and stayed sound, healthy, and happy. Listening to the horse as an individual is key. You also can't be the best if you don't have the best staff and best owners. Good horses are good horses, but there's a lot that goes into it as well.”

What advice can you give other women looking to build a career in horse racing?

Brion: “I feel like at this stage now I have gained the respect of a lot of people. I've worked very hard to get here and I hope that other women who want to be trainers, exercise riders, jockeys, or anything else in his industry can look to me as an example that women can do it. You can be successful if you work hard.”

Which win this year was the most meaningful to you?

Brion: “It's a toss-up between the Grand National and the Jonathan Sheppard, but winning the Jonathan Sheppard is the stuff you can't script. They had renamed that race after Jonathan and I had four runners in it. Three of them were first, second, and third. I was very proud of that and of my horses. It was a summer I will never forget.”

What do you hope to accomplish in 2022 and beyond?

Brion: “I won four of the five American Grade 1's this year so I really hope to win the Iroquois [at Percy Warner Park] too. I don't know if that will happen this coming year, but it's on my list. The biggest thing is to continue at this level. I'm not saying I'm going to keep sweeping four or five Grade 1's every year, but I just want to be successful at the higher levels. I don't want this year to be a fluke and I want to continue to prove that I can do it – not just with The Mean Queen, but with other horses.

“When I set out training, I said I would be happy if I could win an Eclipse Award within 10 years of training. Now I'm probably going to be getting on a plane to California in February to get a trophy for the Eclipse Award.”

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Born June 28, 1938, in Old Westbury, New York, von Stade graduated from St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, and Harvard University, pursuing a passion for music while participating in and managing the choir at St. Paul's and the glee club at Harvard. After attending the Aspen School of Music and a stint in the Army Reserves, von State spent some time in the world of banking before opening the Essex Gallery of Sport in Far Hills, New Jersey.

Von Stade's father was a founder of the National Museum of Racing in 1950, president of the National Steeplechase Association and the final president of the Saratoga Association, which owned and operated Saratoga Race Course. In his youth, John von Stade drove a tractor at the track.

For a half-century, von Stade served as co-chair at Far Hills, helping to grow an event that early on attracted a few thousand spectators to the country's richest day of steeplechasing.

After serving more than a decade as a trustee of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, von Stade was elected as its president in 1989, succeeding Whitney Tower. During his tenure, von Stade oversaw an $18-million project that modernized the institution and increased the size of the facility to better than 45,000 square feet. In 1995, von Stade was the recipient of the F. Ambrose Clark Award, the highest honor in steeplechasing, given periodically to an individual who has done the most to promote, improve and encourage the growth and welfare of American steeplechasing.

Von Stade is survived by his wife, the former Phyllis Kaltenbach DuVal; his son, John von Stade Jr. and daughter-in-law Ann von Stade; Phyllis's daughters and son-in-law Anna DuVal, Olivia Duval and Joseph Cutrone; and six grandchildren. He was also the uncle to many nephews and nieces, including the opera singer Frederica von Stade.

Services will be held Sunday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in Ownings Mills, Maryland.

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It also will be the most visible. For the first time, the races will be on national television as part of America's Day at the Races, a show produced by the New York Racing Association and broadcast on Fox Sports' FS2. Larry Collmus, the voice of the Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup, will be on hand to call the action. Live coverage on FS2 begins at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, and concludes at 3:30 p.m. For information on how to access FS2, which is part of a paid subscription service to Fox Sports Networks, click here. Once the FS2 broadcast ends, the rest of the card will be telecast via the America's Day at the Races program. (Note: As usual, you can watch the Far Hills Races via the live stream network on the National Steeplechase Association website.)

“This is one of the best things to happen to us since NBC Sports covered the Grand National when it was the Breeders' Cup Steeplechase,” said NSA Director of Racing Bill Gallo. “They're covering all six races. It's just the kind of industry recognition we need. And it all came about because of our strong working relationship with the NYRA management team.”

Gallo added that The Mean Queen's success in the Jonathan Sheppard Stakes at Saratoga played a significant role in piquing NYRA's interest, especially when trainer Keri Brion finished first, second, and third in the race named for her Hall of Fame mentor. And when the magnificent mare upset jump racing's brightest star, Snap Decision, in the Lonesome Glory at Belmont Park, it sparked further enthusiasm to broadcast the races from Far Hills.

A rare wagering opportunity

Outside of events held at the flat tracks, pari-mutuel wagering on steeplechasing is a rarity, but on Saturday, fans have the chance to bet on all their favorites through 4NJBets, which is partnered with TVG. To sign up, deposit, and wager, you'll need to download the 4NJBets app or visit tvg.com/farhills250. Fans are encouraged to sign up in advance and can use promo code FARHILLS250 to get a 50 percent deposit match up to $250 on their first deposit. Note that there will not be mutuels tellers onsite for wagering.

Anchoring the event is the race that has helped crown so many champions, the $150,000 Grand National, the fifth and final Grade 1 stake of the year, which will be run as race three. The day begins with the $50,000 Harry Harris for four-year-olds, followed by the $75,000 Foxbrook Champion, open to novice competitors in the early stages of their careers. After the Grand National comes the $50,000 Appleton, a top-class handicap for jumpers rated at 130 or less. The fifth race is the $30,000 Gladstone, restricted to three-year-olds. The day concludes with the $50,000 Peapack for fillies and mares. Here's a link to the complete list of entries.

A closer look at the National

What the Grand National field lacks in size — only four will go to the post in the 2 ⅝-mile classic — it makes up for in quality and sheer electricity. In past years, the race has had a pronounced international flavor. This year, there's only one European, but eight-year-old Chosen Mate, from trainer Gordon Elliott's powerhouse County Meath, Ireland-based stable, is a five-time winner whose crowning moment came at the prestigious 2020 Cheltenham Festival in England when he captured the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup. Champion jockey Davy Russell, who was aboard Chosen Mate that day, has made the trip across the Atlantic to ride him for the horse's new American owner, Meadow Run Farm. Russell has additional mounts on the card for both Elliott and other conditioners.

Irv Naylor's Amschel has acquitted himself well in the U.S., following a successful career in Ireland — three wins and a second in four starts — and he finished a solid third in his NSA debut, in the 2018 Foxbrook Champion Hurdle at Far Hills. He has chased Snap Decision three times this season (and The Mean Queen once), and the closest he's come to him is 3 ½ lengths, in the G1 Iroquois last spring. He was well beaten in the other two. As a weight-for-age contest, Amschel carries 156 pounds in the Grand National, the same as Snap Decision, but eight more than The Mean Queen. Barry Foley has the mount for trainer Cyril Murphy.

Of course, all eyes will be glued to the showdown between Bruton Street-US' Snap Decision and Buttonwood Farm's The Mean Queen, who stopped her rival's record-tying nine-race win streak in the G1 $150,000 Lonesome Glory at Belmont Park one month ago. Sent off as the odds-on favorite, the Jack Fisher-trainee rallied outside of The Mean Queen on the final turn of the 2 ½-mile race, and the pair drew clear of the field and dueled to the sixteenth pole, when the five-year-old Irish-bred mare pulled away by two lengths. For The Mean Queen, it was her sixth victory in eight starts in a career that began less than a year ago. Her record might very well have included a seventh win had she not thrown jockey Tom Garner with a big lead nearing the wire in the Jonathan Kiser novice stakes at Saratoga — a bizarre occurrence that only added to her mystique.

If Snap Decision has one advantage at Far Hills it's that he's raced over the Moorland Farm course successfully, scoring by 4 ¾ lengths in the 2019 Foxbrook Champion Hurdle. That's no small feat, as many horses either love the going or don't.

In the Grand National, regular rider Graham Watters pilots Snap Decision while Richie Condon, who was aboard The Mean Queen in the Lonesome Glory, has the return mount.

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The centennial running of the Far Hills Race Meeting will be featured on Saturday's edition of America's Day at the Races, the acclaimed national television show produced by NYRA, with live coverage on FS2 from 12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Saturday's sequence kicks off at Far Hills with the Grade 1, $150,000 Grand National Hurdle in Race 3 at 2:34 p.m., a 2 5/8-mile test for older horses that will feature a rematch between 5-year-old mare The Mean Queen and 7-year-old gelding Snap Decision, who ran one-two in last month's Grade 1 Lonesome Glory Handicap at Belmont.

Trained by Keri Brion, The Mean Queen ended Snap Decision's nine-race winning streak with a two-length score in the 2 1/2-mile Lonesome Glory, while carrying 154 pounds – seven pounds less than her returning rival.

Snap Decision, trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, won the Grade 1 Iroquois in June at Percy Warner and has been assigned 156 pounds for the Grant National, eight pounds more than The Mean Queen.

Action switches to Belmont for the next two legs, beginning with Race 5 at 2:43 p.m., which offers a field of 11 New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up sprinting seven furlongs on the turf.

The middle leg – the Grade 2, $200,000 Sands Point [Race 6, 3:15 p.m.] – will see a field of eight sophomore fillies contest at nine-furlongs on the inner turf led by a pair of top contenders for trainer Chad Brown in Fluffy Socks and Higher Truth.

Fluffy Socks, a Grade 3-winner, cuts back in distance after rallying to finish third last out in the nine-furlong Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.

The Grade 1-placed Higher Truth contested all three legs of NYRA's Turf Triple series for fillies, including a third in the 10-furlong Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in July; a second to Belmont Oaks runner-up Con Lima in the 1 3/16-mile Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational; and a prominent second last out in the 11-furlong Jockey Club Oaks Invitational. Steep opposition will be provided by group/graded stakes winners Plum Ali and Harajuku.

The sequence concludes with a pair of steeplechase stakes from Far Hills, including the $50,000 Appleton [Race 4, 3:22 p.m.], featuring a field of six older horses in a 2 5/8-mile event over national fences. Ya Boy Ya [158 pounds] ships in from his native Ireland as the field high weight for trainer Julie Gomena to battle with fellow Irish-bred Galway Kid, who won the Grade 3 David Semmes Memorial at Great Meadow in May for Brion.

Closing out the action is the $30,000 Gladstone [Race 5, 4:09 p.m.], a 2 1/8-mile event for sophomores that features the Leslie Young-trained French-bred shipper Fast Vision [151 pounds], by Vision d'Etat, who arrives from a two-length score in the Prix Soldat contested at the Gladstone distance in June at Dieppe.

Young will also saddle the Irish-bred Project Two [148], who adds blinkers following a runner-up effort in a maiden tilt in August at Ballinrobe in Ireland. Brion will send out Irish-bred maiden Parish Delight [148], while Elizabeth Voss will saddle maiden winner Circus [151] – a dark bay son of Runhappy.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

America's Day at the Races is presented by America's Best Racing, Runhappy, and Claiborne Farm. For the complete broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, October 16:
Leg A: Far Hills – Race 3, G1 Grand National (2:34 p.m.)
Leg B: Belmont – Race 5 (2:43 p.m.)
Leg C: Belmont – Race 6, G2 Sands Point (3:15 p.m.)
Leg D: Far Hills – Race 4, Appleton (3:22 p.m.)
Leg E: Far Hills – Race 5, Gladstone (4:09 p.m.)

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FS2 will present live coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. ET and concluding at 3:30 p.m. ET—marking the first time the event will be featured on FOX Sports.

“We're so excited to share the thrills and majesty of steeplechase with a national audience,” said Guy Torsilieri, chairman of the Far Hills Race Meeting. “While cancelling last year's race was disappointing, being able to celebrate our centennial with a nationwide audience is even more amazing than we could have ever hoped.”

Larry Collmus, the famed announcer for the Triple Crown and Breeder's Cup, will be calling the races for the running of the Far Hills Race Meeting. Collmus called for NBC on June 6, 2015, when American Pharoah won the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978.

The 100th celebration of the Far Hills Race Meeting will be the richest of the year on the National Steeplechase Association tour, with $400,000 in total purses for its six races, the highlight of which is the $150,000 Grand National, or race 3.

For more information on the Far Hills Race Meeting, visit farhillsrace.org.

About Far Hills Race Meeting
Far Hills Race Meeting is New Jersey's premier social and sporting event. For a century, the annual gathering has attracted a large fan base with audiences locally, nationally and globally who return, year after year, to watch the world's finest steeplechases, reconnect with family and friends, network, support worthy causes and make memories to last a lifetime. Over the years, Far Hills Race Meeting has given more than $18 million to support local health-care organizations. For more information, visit www.farhillsrace.org.

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