LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Hirapour rallied in the final half-mile
and passed Sur La Tete and McDynamo to win the Royal Chase for the
Sport of Kings for the second straight year at Keeneland on Friday.
Hirapour, a 9-year-old Irish-bred son of Kahyasi, ran near the
back of the eight-horse field for much of the Grade 1, 2½-mile
steeplechase. The 2004 Eclipse Award winner as top steeplechase
horse made his move just before the next-to-last of 13 jumps.
Hirapour, ridden by Matthew McCarron, led McDynamo and Sur La
Tete over the final jump. Hirapour bobbled slightly on his landing,
but pulled away in the stretch, beating Sur La Tete by 1\ lengths.
McDynamo finished third, another 3½ lengths back.
Hirapour, trained by Doug Fout, won in 4:42.08 on firm turf.
"The penultimate fence came up a little long for him but he
gave me every ounce of courage to beat one of the most stellar
fields of horses I have ever seen," McCarron said.
Last year, Hirapour won the race in 4:41.48. Hirapour became the
first repeat champion in the eight-year history of the race.
Cherokeeinthehills, an 8-year-old gelding who didn't finish,
collapsed on Keeneland's main track from apparent heat exhaustion.
Track workers poured dozens of buckets of water, ice and rubbing
alcohol on the horse in an effort to revive it. But for 6 minutes,
the horse was motionless.
Cherokeeinthehills then popped to his feet to the cheers of the
crowd of 13,533 and was taken off the track by ambulance.
Mulahen finished fourth, followed by Tres Touche and Il
Capitano. Airolo also did not finish.
Tres Touche led from the start, and McDynamo, the 2003 Royal
Chase winner who sat out last year's race while recovering from
hock surgery, moved into second by the end of the first mile.
At the 2-mile mark, McDynamo, the 3-2 favorite despite carrying
a race-high 162 pounds, seized the lead and opened a three-length
advantage on the final turn before Sur La Tete, then Hirapour,
rallied.
Hirapour "was a little keener than I wanted early on, but he
settled down eventually," McCarron said. "We had a clear run at
McDynamo, and Sur La Tete made a clear run at us, but we turned the
tables. Luck was on our side today."
Hirapour paid $6.80, $3.40 and $2.40. Sur La Tete, which beat
Hirapour on April 2 in the Grade 3 Carolina Cup, returned $4.40 and
$2.80. McDynamo, the winner of the 2003 steeplechase Eclipse Award,
paid $2.60.
"He ran a good race," said McDynamo jockey Craig Thornton.
"He's getting older now, and it takes him a little longer to get
fit, but he still ran hard. The weight handicap was going to catch
up to us eventually as well."
The $150,000 Royal Chase is the second-richest on the National
Steeplechase Association calendar.