Civaci targets December return; Snap Decision retired

Jockey Sahin Civaci, who was thought to have fractured two vertebrae in his back in a spill at Aqueduct on Nov. 13 and was expected to be out a month, is targeting a Dec. 4 return, agent Mike Sellitto said Wednesday.

Sellitto said Civaci was cleared by doctors on Tuesday to resume riding, but Sellitto said he told Civaci to wait until Dec. 4, which is the start of the new condition book. Sellitto added that when a different doctor looked at recent X-rays of Civaci, he said, “It was probably an old injury.”

Sellitto said Civaci will start getting on horses during training hours next week. Earlier this year, Civaci missed 10 weeks of action due to a back injury he suffered in a spill at Aqueduct in February.

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Snap Decision retired

Snap Decision, the champion steeplechase horse of 2024 and second-leading money earner in U.S. steeplechase history, has been retired from racing by owner Bruton Street-US and trainer Jack Fisher.

Snap Decision, an 11-year-old son of Hard Spun who began his racing career over flats for the Phipps family and trainer Shug McGaughey, won 17 of 32 starts over jumps and earned $1,258,150. Only McDynamo, with $1,310,104, earned more.

Snap Decision, a four-time Eclipse finalist before winning the award in 2024, won 15 stakes, including five Grade 1s. In 2025, he went 1 for 4, his final victory coming in the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey Handicap in April.

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