2018 Eclipse Awards: Zanjabeel

Four months apart, Zanjabeel showed why he was one of the best chasers in the United States in 2018 – and how he thrives in the longest races.

In May, in his third start of the year, Zanjabeel won the Grade 1 Iroquois Hurdle at three miles at Percy Warner Park, outside of Nashville. Zanjabeel did not race during the summer. When Belmont Park opened its fall meeting in September, Zanjabeel was the 8-5 favorite in the Lonesome Glory Hurdle at 2 1/2 miles, winning by 1 3/4 lengths against a strong field.

For his campaign, Zanjabeel has been honored as a finalist for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding steeplechaser of 2018.

Owned by Rosbrian Farm and Meadow Run Farm, Zanjabeel had his best season as a 5-year-old gelding in 2018. In 2017, Zanjabeel raced in Ireland, with mixed results. In his final two starts in that country, both on the flat, Zanjabeel refused at the start of a minor handicap at Bellewstown, and six days later was third in a seven-furlong race on the beach at Laytown.

The move to American steeplechasing later that season was an immediate success. Zanjabeel was unbeaten in his first two starts in this country, winning the Foxbrook Champion Hurdle at Far Hills in October 2017 and the Supreme Hurdle Stakes at Pine Mountain in Georgia in November.

:: 2018 Eclipse Finalists: Profiles and photos for all categories

To start the 2018 season, trainer Richard Hendriks and Zanjabeel’s owners began at the top of the game. The gelding had his seasonal debut in the Grade 1 Colonial Cup in Camden, S.C., a key early-season test, finishing second to Balance the Budget on March 31. Three weeks later, Zanjabeel was second, by 1 1/4 lengths to Lyonell, in the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle in Virginia.

The $200,000 Iroquois Hurdle drew a field of seven, including two finalists for the 2017 Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding steeplechaser – All the Way Jose and Mr. Hot Stuff. Zanjabeel, ridden by Ross Geraghty, closed from fifth to take command in the final half-mile. Zanjabeel was not threatened in the final quarter-mile, winning by five lengths to claim the biggest prize of his career.

Zanjabeel missed the lucrative races at Saratoga. His supporters were undeterred. Zanjabeel was the 8-5 favorite in the Lonesome Glory against seven rivals, including Optimus Prime, who won the New York Turf Writers Cup, and Show Court, who won the A.P. Smithwick Steeplechase, both at Saratoga.

In the Lonesome Glory, Zanjabeel was fourth of eight early under Jack Kennedy. Zanjabeel took the lead in the stretch and won by 1 3/4 lengths over Hinterland. Optimus Prime was third.

“You just never know how horses are going to run coming off a layoff,” Hendriks said that day of Zanjabeel. “We’ve only had him for about a year, so we don’t know him as well as some of the other horses, but he ran a super race.”