Still buzzing by the performance of 2014 champion Demonstrative in the Grade 1 Iroquois, steeplechase fans could be excused for missing a Grade 3 win by Bob Le Beau a week later. By the summer, however, everybody knew Bob. The Irish import bounded into the championship picture with back-to-back Grade 1 victories at Saratoga in August and Belmont Park in September for The Fields Stable. The victories were at first surprising and ultimately impressive. They also made the 9-year-old an Eclipse finalist and the year’s second-leading earner among steeplechasers. The son of Big Bad Bob opened 2015 with a Grade 3 score at Pennsylvania’s Radnor meet in May, getting the measure of hard-hitting veteran Decoy Daddy. Trainer Elizabeth Voss aimed for Saratoga and dialed up a flat prep at Parx Racing. Bob Le Beau sprinted clear late and won by three lengths after 1 1/2 miles on the turf in 2:43.37. He earned a 78 Beyer Speed Figure while carrying 150 pounds. Sharp, in form, and saddled with just 142 pounds, Bob Le Beau looked like a player in Saratoga’s Grade 1 A.P. Smithwick Memorial on Aug. 6 but flattened out late and settled for fourth at 4-1. Three weeks later, at better than 6-1, he was anything but flat in the Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup. Bob Le Beau rated deep in a field of 10, advanced into contention inside of horses on the final turn, and flew home to win by 7 1/4 lengths going 2 3/8 miles. Voss credited the added distance and the use of a hood over the horse’s ears and head. “His Smithwick wasn’t very good, but we thought he’d like the longer distance [of the Turf Writers],” said Voss. “I know he’s little, and you think he should be sharper, but I think the longer, the better for him. He’s always been a nervous horse, and he doesn’t like you anywhere near his ears, so you can’t stick earplugs in him.” Bob Le Beau and his hood returned to New York for the Grade 1 Lonesome Glory at Belmont on Sept. 24. Going 2 1/2 miles (a furlong more than the Turf Writers), Bob Le Beau outsprinted everyone in the stretch to win by a half-length over Hinterland and fellow championship contender Dawalan. Already a believer, the second Grade 1 win convinced jockey Jack Doyle of the horse’s quality. “Getting him to settle is the biggest thing, and switch off and conserve his energy,” said the Irish rider. “He has so much speed off the flat that all you need is half a gap, and he’ll be gone. I think he’s a very good horse.” After a brief freshening, Bob Le Beau couldn’t quicken in November’s Colonial Cup and settled for fifth behind Dawalan. Bob Le Beau’s $220,250 earned in 2015 trailed only Dawalan among U.S. steeplechasers. The success in the U.S. is the latest chapter in a well-traveled career that began on the flat in Ireland with trainer Jessica Harrington. Bob Le Beau won five times, including a stakes at Limerick in 2011, and made four starts in Dubai. After two Irish hurdle wins, Bob Le Beau came to the U.S. in 2014 and promptly lost his first four starts before the 2015 campaign.