Saturday’s Far Hills Races will have a strong international flavor

By Emma Cary | October 11, 2025

©Tod Marks

The stage is set for American steeplechasing’s richest showcase day. The 104th Far Hills Races in Somerset County, N.J., will feature a star-studded, six-race, all stakes lineup and $795,000 in prize money.  Post time is 12:50 p.m.

This year’s Far Hills Races will feature many of the best American jumpers, as well as an international contingent from the yard of champion Irish conditioner Gordon Elliott, who has nine wins over the Moorland Farms course including the 2018 Grand National with Jury Duty. There’s also a serious challenger for the day’s biggest prize from another multiple Grade 1-winning Irish trainer, Gavin Cromwell, who last weekend captured the renowned Velka Pardubicka in the Czech Republic. It will be Cromwell’s first trip to the NSA circuit.

Some top European jockeys will also be coming over to join the fray. Champion Jack Kennedy is a five-time winner at Far Hills, though the Grand National has eluded him. He came awfully close last year when Galvin (trained by Elliott) missed by a neck. Veteran Danny Mullins will be back, too. A frequent visitor to the NSA, Mullins has made 63 appearances since 2015 with nine wins and a combined 20 seconds and thirds. He took the G1 A.P. Smithwick at Saratoga in July with Historic Heart, and captured the Grand National in 2017 with Mr. Hot Stuff. Young Danny Gilligan makes his U.S. debut. Gilligan, 19, has had a meteoric rise. He started out as a flat rider, then soon switched to jumps, with Elliott behind him. In his brief career, he has racked up numerous group wins, and has the distinction of being the youngest jockey to win the Galway Plate – one of the richest races on the National Hunt calendar. Grade 1 winning veteran Keith Donoghue also makes his first NSA appearance. Donoghue was aboard Stumptown for Sunday’s win in the Velka Pardubicka for trainer Cromwell. The rider holds the record of five wins in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, one of which was aboard the great Tiger Roll, a two-time winner of the English Grand National.

The U.S. Grand National hopefuls are headed by defending race winner (and reigning Eclipse Award champion) Snap Decision, the second-richest jumper in NSA history, with 17 wins and earnings of more than $1 million. Now 11, the Bruton Street-US star – who is seeking to become the first repeat winner since McDynamo –  is three to five years older than his rivals, and comes into the Grand National with one win (the G2 Temple Gwathmey at Middleburg) in three outings this season. He is still seeking his first Grade 1, and enters the race off of an unplaced finish in the G3 Mariann De Tejada Memorial, his first race in more than four months. He similarly used the Tejada as a (losing) prep for the Grand National last year. Snap Decision is listed as the 8-5 morning line favorite. Graham Watters rides for trainer Jack Fisher.

On the plus side for Snap Decision, the Grand National is unlike all but one (the Iroquois) of the other NSA Grade 1s; it’s not a handicap, where the champ is forced to give away significant weight to his opponents; the race will be run at level weights at 2 ⅝ miles over 14 fences. All starters carry 156 pounds. 

Curiously, only one of the six different 2025 Grade 1 NSA winners has been entered in the Grand National, which will go off as race five on the card, with a post time of 3:50 p.m. Stone Farm and Upland Flats Racing’s Swore (10-1), recent winner of the G1, 2 ½-mile  Lonesome Glory at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet. A precocious up-and-comer, Swore faces a mighty challenge as the Keri Brion-trainee has only three NSA career starts since coming off of the flat. He began his career in the summer at Colonial Downs, breaking his maiden in his second try, before winning the Lonesome Glory, which came up a bit weak this year. This will be his first effort over an undulating, unconventional race course. Stephen Mulqueen rides.

Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s Vae Patron (3-1), trained by Leslie Young and ridden by Jamie Bargary, remains an intriguing foe. The French-bred seven-year-old ran 21 times in France before coming stateside for the 2024 G1 Iroquois, where he ran the race of his life to just miss by a neck to Snap Decision. He didn’t run again until this year’s Iroquois in May, where he rallied to finish a close third, beaten less than two lengths to winner Abaan (who is currently on the sidelines) and runner-up Snap Decision.

Irv Naylor’s Howyabud (15-1), trained by Cyril Murphy and ridden by Harry Beswick, was a novice stakes winner at age five in 2022. But he hasn’t won a race since; he did, however, show signs of life in the Iroquois, when he ran close to the lead until he lost his rider at the 14th fence. 

Another longshot is Butler Hall Racing’s Boldog (20-1), a maiden hurdle winner in Ireland who has made three NSA starts, finishing fourth and fifth in novice states competition, and fourth in a non-winners of two allowance at Shawan Downs last month. Tom Garner trains and Evan Dwan rides.

The European runners pose a serious threat, and have the credentials to do well.

Elliott’s Zanahiyr (4-1) is a distance-loving eight-year-old Irish-bred chestnut, who has competed in both high-class hurdle and steeplechase events with seven wins and half-a-million dollars in earnings. He was third in the prestigious Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2022, but subsequently DQ’d for a medication violation. In August, Zanahiyr won the Ploughman Bar & Grill Handicap Hurdle at Bellewstown in Ireland. Jack Kennedy has the mount.

Zanahiyr’s stablemate Fil Dor (6-1) is a French-bred seven-year-old, who  has competed in classy competition and is a six-time winner (two Group 2s) over jumps. He competed in the world famous English Grand National at Aintree in April, where he was pulled up with three jumps to go. He was sold at a dispersal sale in 2024 for more than $700,000, and has only a single win since then. This gray was last seen running third to another 2025 Grand National runner – Ballysax Hank – at Gowran Park in September. Danny Gilligan will be aboard.

Trainer Cromwell, a former farrier, trains both flat and National Hunt runners. His nominee is six-year-old  Ballysax Hank (8-1), another Irish-bred, who captured the prestigious Summer Plate at Market Rason in July. He followed that up with a victory in his flat racing debut at Gowran Park in September. Keith Donoghue rides.

In a recent interview with Racing TV, Cromwell said, “Ballysax Hank will be suited by the good ground and race conditions. He has a bit to find on ratings with Gordon’s pair but he’s a young, progressive horse.”I think the race will suit.”

The rest of the card contains competitive, top-notch fields as well. Click here for full entries: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Far-Hills-Tuesday-Overnight.pdf

Here’s the race schedule:

1st race: 12:50 p.m. $75,000 Harry E. Harris Sport of Kings at 2 ⅛ miles for 4-year-olds.

2nd race: 1:35 p.m. $70,000 McDynamo maiden hurdle stakes at 2 ⅛ miles for 4-year-olds and up.

3rd race: 2:16 p.m.  $100,000 Peapack Sport of Kings filly & mare handicap hurdle stakes at 2 ⅛ miles for 4-year-olds and up.

4th race: 3:04 p.m. $150,000 Foxbrook Champion novice hurdle stakes at 2 ½ miles for 4-year-olds and up.

5th race: 3:42 p.m. $250,000 Grand National Sport of Kings hurdle stakes (Grade 1) at 2 ⅝ miles for 4-year-olds and up.

6th race: 4:40 p.m. $150,000 John Forbes Memorial flat stakes at 2 miles on the turf for 4-year-olds and up.

How to watch

The Grand National will be broadcast on America’s Day at the Races, produced by the New York Racing Association in partnership with Fox Sports. Check with your cable channel provider for Fox Sports Channel coverage information. You can also stream the event  at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=america%27s+day+at+the+races.

In addition, you can watch via live stream from the link on the NSA homepage, www.nationalsteeplechase.com.

How to wager

Wagering on this year’s Far Hills Races will be available only via a smart phone app through 4NJBets, Powered by TVG, or Monmouth Bets. To sign up, deposit, and wager, click on one of the following options:

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