By Don Clippinger
Owner Robert Aplin and trainer Charlie Longsdon visited from England last fall, and third money from the G1 Grand National paid for their American excursion. Aplin and Longsdon are returning to the Far Hills Races in Central New Jersey Saturday with higher hopes for Hammersly Lake (Fr) (Kapgarde {Fr}) in the $400,000 Grand National, America's richest steeplechase race.
With a $240,000 first-place prize on the line, the Grand National has attracted considerable interest in England and Ireland, and three of the eight likely starters have made the trip in hopes of cashing a check in American dollars. Of the trio, Hammersly Lake probably stands the best chance of turning back a formidable American contingent. Bought specifically for a return trip to the Grand National, the French-bred 9-year-old has been running well in steeplechase handicaps over the summer and scored at Perth in September.
While the purse money is certainly a powerful incentive, Oxfordshire-based Longsdon said on his website that the allure of Far Hills on the third Saturday in October heavily influenced the decision.
“We are all excited to be going back, as the atmosphere was unlike anywhere else, it is similar to a combination of an English point-to-point and Royal Ascot with massive picnics and crowds and everyone enjoying their day out,” he said.
Mighty Acorn Stables' Casino Markets (Ire) (Fruits of Love) has been sampling America, specifically New York, with mixed results. Trained in Wiltshire by Emma Lavelle, Casino Markets finished a well-beaten eighth in the New York Turf Writers Cup Hurdle H. at Saratoga before a much-improved fourth in Belmont Park's Lonesome Glory Hurdle H. Sept. 21.
Representing Ireland is Katnap (Fr) (Sleeping Car {Fr}), trained by former Irish champion jockey Joseph O'Brien, who operates a stable with both flat and jumps competitors. At Aintree in April, Katnap finished second in the Randox Health Topham Handicap Steeplechase.
A member of the American contingent, Buttonwood Farm's All the Way Jose (Senor Swinger) enters the 2 5/8-mile Grand National from a sharp victory in the Lonesome Glory for his trainer and breeder, Hall of Fame member Jonathan Sheppard.
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