Steeplechase Eclipse to Record-Breaking Snap Decision

In racing as a Phipps Stable homebred Snap Decision  enjoyed a level of success from 2016-18, posting a 2-2-6 record from 18 starts while earning a grade 3 placing in the 2017 Palm Beach Stakes (G3T) on the Gulfstream Park turf.

But after being sold to Bruton Street-US and transferred to trainer Jack Fisher for a try at jumps, Snap Decision would show his best, becoming one of the top steeplechase horses in the United States. Those talents reached new heights in 2024 when the 10-year-old son of classic-placed Hard Spun   would sweep two of the signature events in U.S. steeplechase racing.

Before a crowd of more than 30,000 on a spectacular spring day at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tenn., Snap Decision became only the second horse in history to win the Calvin Houghland Iroquois Stakes (NSA-1) for a third time. With regular rider Graham Watters aboard, they completed the three-mile test—longest on the U.S. steeplechase circuit—in a course record 5:32.40.

While Snap Decision continued his dominance in Nashville, this year he carried that top form into the fall to post a hard-fought victory over Galvin  in the American Grand National Stakes (NSA-1), winning that 2 5/8-mile test for the first time in four tries. The victory pushed Snap Decision's career steeplechase earnings past the million-dollar mark to $1,116,900—second only to McDynamo for U.S. steeplechasers.