McTigue rallies from far back to take Leo O'Brien Steeplechase
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The last time McTique raced in Saratoga his race was over before it truly began, as he fell over the first jump in the Beverly Steinman Steeplechase here last month. In Sunday’s inaugural Grade 1, $150,000 Leo O’Brien Steeplechase Handicap, the race wasn’t over until McTigue was in front.
At one point, McTigue trailed the ambitious pacesetting Take Your Seats by 27 1/2 lengths. But when that horse folded at the top of the lane, it was McTique and favored Rocket One racing near the back of the field who were going to decide the outcome. Benefitting from an eight-pound weight concession from Rocket One, McTigue outfinished Rocket One in the stretch to win the O’Brien by one length. It was 12 1/2 lengths back to St James the Great who got third by a neck over Take Your Seats. Sweet Will, Dil Dor, and Merry Maker completed the order of finish. Lynches Knock scratched.
Jockey Graham Watters, riding McTique for the first time, said Take Your seats had tried these front-running tactics against lesser company and was quite confident that he would not see out his pace. Though far back, Watters had McTigue in a ground-saving position following the 2023 Eclipse Award-winning jumper Merry Maker. Though he planned to continue an inside rally, Watters said he had to go outside when nothing opened up.
“You ride him like that with confidence and he either finishes or he doesn’t, there’s not much you can do about it,” Watters said. “All you can do is hope for the best, that he has saved plenty down to the inside, saved ground, saved energy and that I’ve given him every opportunity to finish like he did. I met a bit of traffic turning in and I had to switch wide - my initial plan was to go down to the inside, it never opened up, and it cost me a length or two. Rocket One got to the front at the furlong pole and he actually idled, so that helped me.”
Trainer Cyril Murphy said he put his faith in Watters to ride the race the way he felt it needed to be ridden.
“Graham has been champion jockey five times, he knows what he’s doing,” Murphy said. “If he was happy with where he was ... I’d rather he was back there and come up a little short than be up behind the leader and backing out of it.”
McTigue, a 7-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Fracas owned by Irvin Naylor, won for the sixth time from 23 starts. He covered 2 3/8 miles over nine fences in 4:30.45, establishing a course record previously set by All the Way Jose (4:31.57) in 2014. McTigue returned $13.24 as the fifth choice.
Murphy said McTigue would be considered for either the Grade 1 A.P. Smithwick on Aug. 5 or the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard on Sept. 2.
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