Champion Steeplechaser Rawnaq to Miss 2017 Season
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Rawnaq will miss the 2017 racing season because of a soft tissue injury
An injury will keep Irv Naylor's reigning Eclipse Award winner Rawnaq from taking a shot at a lucrative bonus in the Sun Bets Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Because of an injury sustained in a training incident Jan. 20 at Naylor's Butler, Md., farm. Rawnaq will not be able to pursue a $500,000 bonus he was eligible for as winner of the 2016 Calvin Houghland Iroquois. The bonus was to be paid to a horse that won the Iroquois and the Stayers' Hurdle within a 12-month period.
Named the Eclipse Award champion steeplechaser Jan. 21, Rawnaq had turned back two Irish invaders to win the 2016 Iroquois. He subsequently won Far Hills' Grand National to lock up his Eclipse Award. Both races are National Steeplechase Association grade 1 races.
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“Needless to say, Diane and I are devastated,” Naylor said. “We were so looking forward to traveling to England to compete in the Stayers' Hurdle in March. We are disappointed not only for ourselves and Rawnaq but also for our lead trainer, Cyril Murphy, and the staff members who care for Rawnaq every day and love him as much as we do.”
Murphy said Rawnaq sustained a soft-tissue injury that will keep him out of action this year.
“Our only priority now is making sure he's comfortable,” Murphy said.
NSA president Guy J. Torsilieri sent the sport's heartfelt best wishes to the Naylors and members of the Rawnaq team.
“We are disappointed for Irv, Diane, and Team Rawnaq,” he said. “Irv has done so much in such a short period of time to raise the profile of American Steeplechasing. He has raced horses who blossomed into champions, and he has helped to increase awareness of American jump racing internationally.”
With Rawnaq's $387,000 in 2016 purses leading the way, Naylor established a record for North American steeplechase owner earnings at $997,600. He shattered the record he had set only a year earlier. In addition to Rawnaq, he has raced Eclipse winners Dawalan (2015) and Black Jack Blues (2011).