4 minute read
IN A SNAP
IN A SNAP
By Sean Clancy
Only a few cross the divide. Acceptance to admiration. Foe to friend. Rivalry to revelry.
Snap Decision has done it. One of the few in my lifetime, as a jockey and now an owner, to span the chasm. He joins Lonesome Glory, McDynamo and a couple of others who have gradually won me over. Like, really won me over.
Snap Decision began his steeplechase career in 2019. I respected him as he began winning, climbing out of the maiden ranks, dominating novice stakes and elbowing for room at the top table. Now I root for him, like Miles on the mound in the bottom of the seventh of one-run game, as the big bay hurdler continues to win.
On May 11, the 10-year-old joined Uncle Edwin as the only two horses in history to win the Iroquois Steeplechase three times. The Iroquois, in Nashville, is a 3-mile rubicon of speed and stamina. We finished third with Zabeel Champion. I wasn’t disappointed.
As our jockey, Bernie Dalton, said afterward, “he ran a great race. He ran a great race. I’m absolutely delighted with him. Man, you’re beaten a length by Snap Decision.”
Yeah, a length (or so) by Snap Decision. Success can be felt in a lot of ways, especially, with a measuring stick like Snap Decision. Graham Watters knows, he’s been aboard for each of Snap Decision’s Iroquois wins.
“I’ll never come across him again. No one will. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” Watters said. “Unbelievable stuff. He’s a great horse to be a part of. He’s American history. He’s the best steeplechase horse, or one of the best steeplechase horses there ever was in America. He’s an absolute hero.”
Bred to be a star by the legendary Phipps Stable, Snap Decision won twice on the flat, before joining Jack Fisher’s stable to try steeplechasing. With the Iroquois win, he increased his steeplechase earnings to $959,400. This year, he climbed past Divine Fortune and Demonstrative and into fourth on the all-time earnings list. Three-time champion McDynamo, two-time champion Good Night Shirt and five-time champion Lonesome Glory stand at the top.
Somewhere along the line of his 15-win, 25-start steeplechase career, I became a fan. A racing fan watching in awe. Maybe when he toted 164 pounds in a frontrunning gem in the Jonathan Sheppard. Or his, first, second or third Iroquois. Maybe when he pulled up in the mud at Far Hills and came back a week later to dominate in the Grade 2 Ferguson at the International Gold Cup. Or maybe the 10 losses, yeah, even a superhorse is human too.
Like a hitchhiker on the side of the road, I’ve gone on the Snap Decision ride.
Owned by Bruton Street US and trained by Jack Fisher, the 10-year-old son of Hard Spun added another leg of the trip in the Iroquois. He tracked French import Vae Patron, collared him with a gavel-slamming leap at the secondto-last, dug deep to and away from the last to wrestle a neck decision over the upstart novice. Five minutes and 32 seconds of brilliance.
Asked how this one compared to the others, Watters didn’t hesitate.
“Three times better,” Watters said. “Look, as you get older you know these things become more and more important.”
As a jockey and a fan, I guess.
Standing the test of time, reclaiming a crown, joining a club of one after 82 years.
Watters joined Fisher in 2021, mostly for the opportunity to ride Snap Decision. This year, they notched their fourth Grade 1 stakes win. In all, Snap Decision owns 15 wins (13 stakes) from 25 starts over hurdles. He’s missed two checks, both on soft ground at Far Hills.
“His enthusiasm,” Watters said. “Not that I get nervous, or jockeys get nervous going to the races, but I had serious butterflies today. It’s not like going out riding a no hoper and there’s no pressure. I’ve won it twice before and there’s a lot of pressure. I’m a bit nervous getting on him but as soon as I get a leg over him, he’s got his head in the air, his ears pricked, and it all goes away because it’s just you and me.”
And all of us.
