Mistake can't stop Quel Senor

FAR HILLS, N.J. - Quel Senor, who failed to complete his last race over jumps at Saratoga two months ago, overcame a bad jump on the final circuit to win Saturday's $250,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase at Far Hills Racecourse.

Ridden by Cyril Murphy, Quel Senor led for the second half of the race, run over two miles and five furlongs. Considered an outsider because of his erratic recent form, Quel Senor clipped the 10th of 13 fences, but recovered quickly. He maintained a lead in the final half-mile, through an uphill finish, and pulled away after the final fence to win by 5 3/4 lengths over Lord Zada. Praise the Prince finished third.

Murphy kept Quel Senor near the front for the first circuit and they took the lead from It's a Giggle at the start of the second lap. "He jumped his way to the front," Murphy said. "They left me alone and we were able to save something."

Murphy said Quel Senor's mistake was not a serious setback.

"He got to the other side and he gathered himself," Murphy said.

Seven of the nine starters finished.

Defending champion All Gong unseated jockey Blythe Miller at the eighth fence and Yellowroad fell at the 11th. The race was supposed to be run over 14 fences, but the 13th fence, the last of three on the backstretch, was not used because Miller was receiving medical attention there. She later returned to the jockeys' room with her left arm in a sling.

Quel Senor has won 3 of 6 starts this year for Coppertree Farm, a partnership that includes Guy Torsilieri, the co-chairman of the Far Hills Race Meeting Association, which conducted Saturday's program at Moorland Farm.

Trainer Tom Voss said Quel Senor bled at Saratoga when he failed to finish the Smithwick Hurdle on Aug. 9. He recently won a flat race at a steeplechase meeting as a tune-up for Saturday's race.

A 6-year-old, Quel Senor was a stakes winner on the flat in France in 1998. Last year, he was trained by Neil Drysdale, but was winless in five starts.