In Return, Zanjabeel Posts Another Top Steeplechase Win
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Photo: Coglianese Photos/Robert Mauhar
Zanjabeel (center, jumping) rallied from fourth to post a clear victory in the Lonesome Glory Handicap
On the road to the 2018 steeplechase award, Zanjabeel now is the horse to catch.
The 5-year-old solidified his position atop the National Steeplechase Association's championship ladder Sept. 20 with a gritty, hard-fought victory over a resurgent Hinterland in Belmont Park's $175,000 Lonesome Glory Handicap (NSA-1).
The 2 1/2-mile Lonesome Glory was Zanjabeel's second top-level steeplechase victory of the year, following his easy five-length score May 12 in the $200,000 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle Stakes (NSA-1) at Percy Warner Park in Nashville.
He has finished no worse than second in his six starts since reaching U.S. shores in October 2017 and increased his 2018 earnings to $265,500, best in National Steeplechase Association racing this year.
While the Iroquois may have been a relatively easy effort, the Lonesome Glory was a test of fortitude for Zanjabeel, who is owned by Rosbrian Farm and Meadow Run Farm. Off since the Iroquois, he was third in the weights at 156 pounds, two behind Clarcam, also owned by Rosbrian and Meadow Run, and Rosbrian's Optimus Prime, winner of Saratoga Race Course's $175,000 New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (NSA-1) Aug. 23.
Irish-based jockey Jack Kennedy, who rode Zanjabeel in his U.S. debut last fall in Far Hills' Foxbrook Champion Hurdle for novices, received the call from trainer Ricky Hendriks after Ross Geraghty remained on Optimus Prime.
Clarcam, trained by leading Irish horseman Gordon Elliott, went to the lead and set a moderate pace under Jack Doyle, with Optimus Prime close to his pace and Zanjabeel flowing easily over his fences in third or fourth position.
Clarcam retained his lead at the last fence, located on Belmont's backstretch, and briefly opened a daylight lead on the final turn. But Kennedy was moving Zanjabeel forward on the inside, and they seized the lead early in Belmont's stretch. Meanwhile, Ryan Colvin's Three Kingdoms launched a big move on the outside as Clarcam weakened.
Three Kingdoms' move fell short, but Sonny Via's Hinterland accelerated from the back of the field under Sean McDermott and was closing ground on Zanjabeel with a sixteenth-mile remaining. McDermott was getting everything from Hinterland, and Kennedy, sensing the challenge, went to work on Zanjabeel.
As the finish line approached, Zanjabeel kept his challenger at bay and won by 1 3/4 lengths as the 8-5 favorite. Jack Fisher-trained Hinterland finished second at 33-to-1, a neck ahead of Optimus Prime, the second favorite at 9-to-5. Three Kingdoms finished fourth.
Zanjabeel finished in 4:50.24 on yielding turf.