Post-Race Analysis:
Far Hills, New Jersey - October 20, 2007: McDynamo romped to an
easy 6-length victory in the $300,000 Grade I Breeders' Cup Grand
National Steeplechase, winning North America's richest steeplechase
for an incredible fifth consecutive year. Sweet Shani rallied for
second with Best Attack edging Good Night Shirt for third. The winner
covered the 2 5/8 miles and 14 jumps in 5:30 3/5 while earning $180,000.
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McDynamo won the Grade I Breeders' Cup
Grand National Steeplechase for an incredible fifth consecutive
year.
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Owned by Michael Moran and trained by Sanna Hendriks, McDynamo
found an easy spot in second behind longshot Luongo early and took
the lead for good on the final run down the backstretch. Heading
into the final turn, Good Night Shirt and Best Attack both launched
bids to overtake McDynamo, but each time one of them got close McDynamo
spurted away to increase his lead. The 10-year-old son of Dynaformer
jumped the last fence in front by eight lengths and was never threatened
through the stretch.
“When he walks out of the paddock here, he walks out like he’s
home. I don’t know why, but I can feel it. He knows where he is,
he knows what he’s doing,” winning jockey Jody Petty told the NSA.
“I was keeping him in check early on and made him jump a couple
short to stay in behind. On the backside, I told him we could go
jump his way and he just pinged all three of those fences and ran
away from them.”
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McDynamo, jockey Jody Petty and Brianne
Slater in the paddock before the Breeders' Cup Grand National
Steeplechase.
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Petty, who won three on the day including the 100th of his career,
felt the others range up leaving the backside but saw no challengers
at the top of the stretch.
“I felt like I gave him a breather before the turn, just sort of
let him work his way around there but the other horses never came
to him,” said the jockey. “I looked back before the last fence and
they weren’t getting there.”
At 10 and winless in one start this year, McDynamo came into the
race with a few question marks. Was he ready? Did he still have
it? Could he defy age and younger rivals once again? Fourth behind
Good Night Shirt in the Iroquois (Gr. I) in May, McDynamo came to
Far Hills off workouts alone and a public workout/training flat
race Oct. 1. Hendriks used a 5-furlong workout at Fair Hill Training
Center last week as a final tightener, but still was concerned about
her horse’s readiness.
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Early pace setter Luongo leads (right-to-left)
McDynamo, Good Night Shirt, Sweet Shani and Best Attack at
the 4th fence of the Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase.
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“I didn’t come here anticipating the win, but I guess I was cautiously
optimistic,” she said. “I just didn’t want to let him down and I
didn’t. He got here in great shape, on top of his game and he showed
it. It’s a pretty special win.”
No other horse has won the Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase more than
twice, so McDynamo made history long ago. Now, it’s simply addition.
He’s covered 13 1/8 miles and 70 fences in the race over the five
years, and never finished behind another horse. He’s won by as many
as 22 lengths and as few as 1 1/2. The Kentucky-bred son of Dynaformer
holds the record for career earnings by an American steeplechaser
at $1,305,604 and has won 15 of 24 lifetime starts over jumps.
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Luongo leads McDynamo (obscured), Good
Night Shirt, Underbidder, Sweet Shani and Best Attack at the
9th fence of the Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase.
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“He gives you chills riding him and people tell me he gives them
chills when they’re watching him,” said Petty. “He’s a horse of
a lifetime, there’s no denying that.”
Champion steeplechaser in 2003, 2005 and 2006, McDynamo jumped
back into the picture for 2007. He has split two meetings with Good
Night Shirt, the 2007 earnings leader. Those two could meet next
in the $150,000 Grade I Colonial Cup on November 18th.
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McDynamo is undefeated in seven career
starts over the Far Hills course.
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JUMPING AROUND: McDynamo won for the seventh consecutive time (including
the five Breeders’ Cups) over the Far Hills course.....Hendriks
and Petty won two other races on the day: a $50,000 filly/mare hurdle
stakes with Imagina and a $50,000 timber stakes with Irish Prince,
both for Augustin Stable . . . In other action, Brigadoon Stable’s
Gliding (Matt McCarron) won the $100,000 Foxbrook novice stakes
for trainer Doug Fout. Ken Ramsey’s Party Airs repeated his tally
in the $50,000 Appleton Memorial Stakes for trainer Tom Voss and
jockey Chip Miller and Miller steered home Barracuda Stable’s CR’s
Deputy in the $50,000 Gladstone for 3-year-olds . . . Another sellout
crowd of 50,000 attended the races, run for the 87th time, to benefit
the Somerset Medical Center.
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The New Zealand-bred mare Sweet Shani
finished second in the Breeders' Cup Grand National
Steeplechase.
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(Edited from NSA press release)
The complete order of finish for the Breeders' Cup Grand National
Steeplechase is set forth below.
Results:
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FP
|
Horse
|
lbs
|
Jockey
|
Trainer
|
Owner
|
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1
|
McDynamo |
156 |
Petty |
Sanna Hendriks |
Michael Moran |
|
2
|
Sweet Shani |
150 |
Aizpuru |
Jonathan Sheppard |
Calvin Houghland |
|
3
|
Best Attack |
156 |
C. Miller |
F. Bruce Miller |
Sarah J. Radcliffe |
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4
|
Good Night Shirt |
156 |
Dowling |
Jack Fisher |
Harold A. Via |
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5
|
Underbidder |
156 |
Slater |
Jonathan Sheppard |
Timber Bay Farm |
|
6
|
Orison |
156 |
McCarron |
Doug Fout |
EMO Stables |
|
F
|
Chivite (Ire) |
156 |
Young |
F. Bruce Miller |
Calvin Houghland |
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F
|
Three Carat |
156 |
Hodsdon |
Jonathan Sheppard |
Jonathan Sheppard |
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PU
|
Luongo |
156 |
Gillam |
Jonathan Sheppard |
Lucy M. Lindsay |
|
Scr
|
Your A Gassman (Ire) |
156 |
|
Gary Brown |
Lucy Horner |
back to top
Pedigree of Winner:
Click
here for McDynamo's 5-cross pedigree.
Pedigrees compliments of Pedigree
Query
Previous Winners:
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YEAR
|
FIRST (Age) |
JOCKEY |
lbs. |
SECOND (Age) |
lbs. |
THIRD (Age) |
lbs. |
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2006
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McDynamo (9) |
Petty |
156 |
Chivite (Ire) (7) |
156 |
Mixed Up (7) |
156 |
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2005
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McDynamo (8) |
Petty |
156 |
Three Carat (5) |
156 |
Hirapour (Ire) (9) |
156 |
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2004
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McDynamo (7) |
Thornton |
156 |
Hirapour (Ire) (8) |
156 |
Sur La Tete (6) |
156 |
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2003
|
McDynamo (6) |
Thornton |
156 |
Pelagos (FR) (8) |
156 |
Mullahen |
156 |
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2002
|
Flat Top (9) |
Massey |
156 |
Tres Touche (5) |
156 |
All Gong (GB) (8) |
156 |
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2001
|
Quel Senor (Fr) (6) |
Murphy |
156 |
Lord Zada (8) |
156 |
Praise The Prince (6) |
156 |
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2000
|
All Gong (GB) (6) |
B. Miller |
156 |
Popular Gigalo (6) |
156 |
Allgrit (5) |
156 |
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1993
|
Lonesome Glory (5) |
B. Miller |
156 |
Highland Bud (8) |
156 |
Mistico (7) |
156 |
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1992
|
Highland Bud (7) |
Dunwoody |
156 |
Mistico (6) |
156 |
Sassello (5) |
156 |
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1991
|
Morley Street (7) |
Frost |
156 |
Declare Your Wish (5) |
156 |
Cheering News (4) |
146 |
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1990
|
Morley Street (6) |
Frost |
156 |
Summer Colony (7) |
156 |
Moonstruck (7) |
156 |
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1989
|
Highland Bud (4) |
Dunwoody |
146 |
Polar Pleasure (7) |
156 |
Victorian Hill (4) |
146 |
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1988
|
Jimmy Lorenzo (6) |
McCourt |
156 |
Kalankoe (7) |
153 |
Polar Pleasure (6) |
156 |
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1987
|
Gacko (6) |
Duchene |
156 |
Inlander (6) |
156 |
Gateshead (8) |
156 |
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1986
|
Census (8) |
Teter |
156 |
Kesslin (6) |
156 |
Pont du Loup (6) |
156 |
Post-Race Analysis | Results
| Pedigree of Winner | Previous
Winners
