McTigue Wins Inaugural O'Brien Steeplechase Handicap

Irvin S. Naylor's McTigue did not get the chance to show his best last out when losing his rider early in the Grade 1 Beverly R. Steinman, but rebounded with aplomb on Sunday at Saratoga Race Course to take the inaugural 2 3/8-mile Grade 1, $150,000 Leo O'Brien steeplechase handicap in track record time. The final time of 4:30.45 was more than a full second faster than the previous mark of 4:31.57 set in 2014 by subsequent Grade 1-winner All the Way Jose in a 14 1/4-length allowance romp. Trained by Cyril Murphy, the 7-year-old Fracas gelding did not make it far into the Steinman on June 3 here, unseating jockey Harrison Beswick at the first fence and running riderless. One month later, the result was much different as he stormed from far off a runaway pace set by Take Your Seats to make his bid on the outside under Graham Watters and edge the favored Rocket One in the final sixteenth. "He ran great," Murphy said. "He got a lovely ride from Graham and had a nice position. I mean, initially we talked about that it would be nice to sit forward, but Graham was going to have the freedom to do what the race said he should. He took his time, jumped great, traveled strong, and filled them up all the way around that last bend. It was a case of: if he got out what would happen?" Take Your Seats skipped clear at the start under Evan Dwan and was a freewheeling pacesetter with Fil Dor in second and another large gap to St James the Great and the rest of the field. The complexion of the race remained largely the same through the first lap, with Take Your Seats extending his lead onto the backstretch for the final time. McTigue was still near the rear of the field jumping the ninth and final fence, but advanced into fourth entering the far turn as Fil Dor faded from second and Take Your Seats still had a monstrous lead. With Rocket One on the outside and McTigue on the inside, the pair began their sustained runs with their sights set on the stalking St James the Great and the tiring pacesetter. Entering the stretch, McTigue ran up on a stalling St James the Great, and Watters made a quick move to angle his charge around him and Rocket One to continue his run. Rocket One, a last-out second in the Steinman, assumed command with an eighth of a mile to run as he and McTigue charged up both sides of a spent Take Your Seats, but McTigue continued to find more on the outside and swept past gamely to win by one length. It was 12 1/2 lengths back to St James the Great in third with Take Your Seats finishing fourth. Sweet Will and Fil Dor completed the order of finish while Merry Maker, who bobbled badly on the last fence and nearly unseated Freddie Procter, was eased. Watters said the patient ride was key with McTigue. "You ride them like that, with confidence, and he either finishes or he doesn't," he said. "There is not much you can do about it; all you can do is hope for the best. He went down inside, saved ground, saved energy, and I gave 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, but it just never opened up, so it cost me a length or two, but in the end Rocket One got to the front at the furlong pole and actually idled, so that helped me." In the Steinman, Rocket One carried 146 pounds while McTigue carried 144. Today, the weight discrepancy was even greater, with the former at 152 pounds and the latter at 144. Murphy said those eight pounds mattered in the heat of the race. "I think what was a big advantage to us today with regards to the second horse was we had an eight-pound pull in the weights from the last day," he said. "We only carried two pounds less the last day, we carried eight pounds today, and it was the difference in the end." The O'Brien was the second consecutive runner-up effort in a Grade 1 for Rocket One. Jockey Jamie Bargary said the pupil of Hall of Famer Jack Fisher gave another winning effort. "It's tough for the horse, he didn't deserve to lose," Bargary said. "We've done everything right through the race and I was hoping the leader would take me a little further up the straight and he didn't. I hit the front between wings of the last and it was still probably half a furlong too soon. He's a horse that needs to come with a run on the line and unfortunately the one in front stopped really quick. He's ran his heart out, though. Bred in Ireland by Mrs. M. Joyce, McTigue earned his first graded stakes victory after landing third in the 2023 Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard Handicap here. That effort was his last ahead of a nearly three-year layoff, which ended in April when he returned at Foxfield. Murphy said McTigue could come under consideration for the next Grade 1s at the Spa, including the A.P. Smithwick Memorial on August 5 and the Jonathan Sheppard Memorial on September 2, both with a $150,000 purse and at this same distance. "It's always a possibility, timing wise," Murphy said. "We'll bring him home, we'll see. The last day, we weren't sure what would happen after the last day with the hiccup [lost jockey], but he came out of it in good form. We'll give him the opportunity to do the same, and when we go home now, he's had that significant time off in the past, so it's always something we've got to be guarded about is how he comes out of it. And that determines if we don't make the Smithwick, maybe we'd be back for the Sheppard. So, there are opportunities." The Leo O'Brien was inaugurated this year and named for the legendary trainer of New York-bred millionaires Fourstardave, Fourstars Allstar and Irish Linnet. O'Brien, a steeplechase jockey from 1964-76, passed away in January following a lengthy battle with Lewy Body Dementia at the age of 85.