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L’Imperator goes for Grade 1 double in A.P. Smithwick Memorial

by Mary Eddy

Hudson River Farms’ newly-minted Grade 1-winner L’Imperator will look to earn his second consecutive top-level victory in Wednesday’s Grade 1, $150,000 A.P. Smithwick Memorial, a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase handicap for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course.

Trained by Arch Kingsley, Jr., L’Imperator contests the Smithwick in the first steeplechase event of the Saratoga meet, which will also feature the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard Memorial on August 14 and a pair of novice stakes in the Jonathan Kiser Memorial on July 31 and the Michael G. Walsh Memorial on August 28.

Kingsley, Jr. said it is special to display the best of steeplechase racing on Saratoga’s summer stage.

“I love that New York and Saratoga showcases the talent and skills of steeplechasers,” said Kingsley, Jr. “This is what the real warhorses of the game look like. Thank you to NYRA for giving us these opportunities.”

L’Imperator, a Grade 2-winner on the flat, became a Grade 1-winner last out with a strong showing in the inaugural 2 3/8-mile Beverly R. Steinman, which was originally slated for June 9 at Saratoga but was rescheduled to June 20 at Belmont at the Big A due to rain.

Ridden to victory by returning rider Jordan Gainford, the 7-year-old son of Holy Roman Emperor stalked in fourth behind the pace set by Rampoldi Plan through the first 1 1/2 miles. Heading onto the backstretch for the final time, Rampoldi Plan and Ziggle Pops were battling well ahead of a patient L’Imperator, who drew closer to the top pair with every stride to be within striking distance in the final turn. L’Imperator ranged up three-wide in the stretch to loom large outside his pair of rivals as they were well clear of the rest of the field, and inched clear in the final sixteenth to prevail by two lengths over a valiant Rampoldi Plan in a final time of 4:31.97.

“He’s so deserving of it,” Kingsley, Jr. said of the gelding’s first Grade 1 win. “He carries himself like a great champion, so I’m glad we got that officially inked on his resume. He certainly acts the part and looks the part and has the form to go with it. It’s very gratifying and when they make the transition from flat to jump, there’s no guarantee that form will translate. But he’s such a warrior and it translated like another extension of who he already was; more excellence in a different discipline.”

“He’s in fantastic order and had a little break at Burke Equine after the Steinman,” Kingsley, Jr. added. “He got turned out and freshened up and has been back at the Oklahoma track for 10 days.”

L'Imperator has done little wrong since moving to the jumps in April 2023 after spending three seasons with four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown on the flat. He holds a near-perfect 9-for-10 in-the-money jump record, including a dominant win at Saratoga last year in a 2 1/16-mile allowance by 8 3/4 lengths. He followed with his lone off-the-board effort over hurdles when fifth in the Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard, a race Kingsley, Jr. said L’Imperator had a clear excuse for.

“There was one sub-par race last summer, and he came back and had run down on both his front ankles,” said Kingsley, Jr. “That’s about as much of an excuse as he’s ever needed, because everything else he’s ever done has been pretty exemplary.”

One key to L’Imperator’s success over the jumps has been the addition of a special glue-on shoe that Kingsley, Jr. said he will wear again on Wednesday.

“He’s got tender feet and we’re always managing them, but I’ve found a good partner in [blacksmith] Ian McKinlay – he has a patented red and black glue-on shoe that really seems to agree with L’Imperator, and he runs his best races when wearing those shoes,” said Kingsley, Jr. “He won’t come out of those shoes. He’ll wear those from here on.”

Kingsley, Jr. added he is grateful for a horse like L’Imperator, whose heart and tenacity have allowed him to reach the highest level of competition.

“I couldn’t be happier. A horse like him is such an incredible athlete,” Kingsley, Jr. said. “Thoroughbreds are so tough, brave, strong and resilient, and it takes so much heart to be good at the game of steeplechasing.”

L’Imperator, weighted the second-highest in the field of seven at 154 pounds, will square off with the streaking Abaan, who he has finished third to twice in his last four outings.

Kingsley, Jr. said he welcomes a rematch with the formidable 158-pound highweight.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Kingsley, Jr. said. “That’s what makes good theater and good sport in this game is the best horses locking horns in a situation like this, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Daigneault Thoroughbreds’ Abaan makes his return to the races for the first time since May 11. He was entered in the Steinman for its original date of June 9, but did not re-enter when the race was redrawn for June 20.

Trained by Kate Dalton, the talented 7-year-old son of Will Take Charge has won his last four starts, led by a three-length coup of the Foxbrook Champion in October going 2 1/2 miles over yielding footing at Far Hills. L’Imperator finished a distant third.

Abaan is near-perfect since switching to the jumps last August, going 4-for-5 with his lone loss coming with a second in his hurdle debut. He was a graded stakes-winner going long on the flat, capturing the 1 1/2-mile Grade 3 William L. McKnight in 2022 at Gulfstream Park when in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher.

Abaan, who enters from a 2 3/4-length win in the 2 1/4-mile Green Pastures at Percy Warner, will be ridden by Bernard Dalton, who has been aboard for all five of his hurdle starts.

Leipers Fork Steeplechasers’ Pickanumber [Jamie Bargary, 152 pounds] makes his American debut for trainer Leslie Young on the heels of a tremendous 15-length victory at odds of 22-1 in the 1 15/16-mile Swinton Handicap on May 11 at Haydock Park in Great Britain. The 6-year-old son of Shantou has won four of his last five outings, including a nine-length graduation over hurdles in February.

Bruton Street-US’s Ziggle Pops [Graham Watters, 148 pounds] seeks to turn the tables on L’Imperator after a last-out third in the Steinman. Trained by Hall of Famer Jack Fisher, the 7-year-old Zoffany gelding raced prominently in the Steinman under returning rider Graham Watters and fought on strongly in the lane to be defeated just two lengths. He is in search of his first stakes victory and boasts a 10 1/2-length handicap victory two starts back going 2 3/4 miles on May 11 at Percy Warner.

Completing the field are the Grade 1-placed pair of Freddy Flintshire [Stephen Mulqueen, 146 pounds] and Going Country [Parker Hendriks, 140 pounds, blinkers on, cheek pieces off] for conditioner Keri Brion; and graded stakes-placed West Newton [Harrison Beswick, 144 pounds] for trainer Richard Hendriks.

The A.P. Smithwick is slated as the first of nine races on Wednesday’s program, which includes the $150,000 NYSSS Statue of Liberty in Race 8. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.

Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

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