Snap Decision makes it seven straight in Michael G. Walsh Novice Steeplechase

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Snap Decision, who has become a rising star in the steeplechase division over the past 13 1/2 months, stretched his win streak to seven after cruising to a relatively easy victory in Wednesday’s opening race at Saratoga, the Michael G. Walsh Novice Steeplechase. Snap Decision won off by 5 1/4 lengths under confident handling by jockey Sean McDermott, despite carrying an imposing 165 pounds for 2 3/8 miles over the National fences.

“He can keep killing this group if I let him,” trainer Jack Fisher said after the race. “They keep putting on the weight, but I don’t think it makes too much difference with him. They could give him 175 and he’d be fine.”

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Snap Decision, a Phipps Stable homebred by Hard Spun, had a solid career on the flat, winning twice while Grade 3-placed as a 3-year-old over the turf. But after going winless in 11 consecutive starts following an entry-level allowance win at Belmont Park during summer 2017, the Phippses sold the horse to Bruton Street-US.

“There’s nothing specific to tell whether a flat horse will be good over the jumps,” Fisher said. “I go by pedigree, a horse’s record on the track, and who I’m buying from when looking to make a purchase. And everything about him was good.”

Fisher said it generally takes about two months to switch a flat horse over to the jumps.

“Obviously, I couldn’t tell he’d be this good when we first got him,” Fisher said. “He’s gotten better with every start and the fact they’ve taken the final jump away at Saratoga is a big advantage for him with such a long, flat run to the wire.

Fisher said he would have run Snap Decision in Thursday’s Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup if the horse’s owner didn’t already have three in the field, including favored Moscato.

Snap Decision will have to wait until 2021 before getting his first taste of serious stakes competition over hurdles.

“I’m going to turn him out after this,” Fisher said. “That’s what I normally do with my horses after Saratoga. When you run them spring, summer, and fall, that’s when they get hurt.”