Jury Duty Survives Inquiry to Win Grand National
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Photo: Skip Dickstein
Jury Duty clears the final hurdle in the Grand National at Far Hills
Although the jury was out for a while Oct. 20 as Far Hills' stewards examined the latter stages of the $450,000 Grand National (NSA-G1), Sideways Syndicate's heavily favored Jury Duty emerged with a favorable verdict in America's richest steeplechase race.
The 13-10 betting favorite rolled clear from a questionable lane switch at the top of the lane to win by 3 1/4 lengths over fellow Irish invader Tornado Watch. Two American contenders, Buttonwood Farm's All the Way Jose and Harold A. "Sonny" Via's Hinterland, finished a distant third and fourth.
Trained by prominent Irish horseman Gordon Elliott, 7-year-old Jury Duty was the vanguard of an unprecedented Irish invasion of American shores. The son of Well Chosen arrived with solid credentials, including a third behind Elliott-trained Clarcam in the €250,000 (US$292,275) Thetote.com Galway Plate Steeplechase in early August. Clarcam, now owned by Rosbrian Farm and Meadow Run Farm, also was in the Grand National field, but he has had difficulty adjusting to American racing.
Clarcam was on the early pace with Irish jump-racing phenom Jack Kennedy, while Robbie Power placed Jury Duty in the second flight on the outside. Clarcam was succeeded on the pace by Bruton Street-US's longshot Jaleo, but they offered little resistance when Power asked Jury Duty to deliver the verdict on the final turn.
On the lead, Jury Duty shifted to the inside as Tornado Watch began his move. Tornado Watch's jockey, David Mullins, took back briefly, but both jockeys continued to push their mounts forward over the last fence and through the stretch, with Jury Duty steadily drawing away. Mullins claimed foul, but the original order of finish was left unchanged.
Bred by T. Carroll out of the Broken Hearted mare Swan Heart, Jury Duty improved his earnings to $474,005, with a 5-6-6 record from 22 starts.