Leo O’Brien recap

©Tod Marks

With win today, McTigue becomes one of four different Grade 1 winners on the season.

It’s beginning to look a lot like…2025. As was the case last year, no jumper this year has more than a single Grade 1 victory, meaning the race for Lonesome Glory (leading runner by earnings) and the Eclipse Award are still very much up for grabs.

But unlike last season, in which eight different runners captured the sport’s eight top-class events, we still have a long way to go. There are four G1s left on the calendar, including a pair, the A.P. Smithwick and Jonathan Sheppard, at Saratoga. So there’s a strong possibility a multiple G1 winner will emerge. The winners to date are Little Trilby (Commonwealth Cup), Zabeel Champion (Iroquois), Jimmy P (Beverly Steinman), and, now, Irv Naylor’s McTigue.

McTigue showed talent early on in his first NSA start, in 2023, when he won back-to-back stakes, the Speedy Smithwick at Great Meadow (when the first-place finisher was DQ’d for going off course) followed by a clear-cut score in the Jonathan Kiser novice stakes at the Spa. After a solid third in his following start, in the G1 Sheppard, he went on the sidelines for more than 2 1/2 years, emerging at Foxfield in April, where he finished sixth. tiring late. He encountered back luck next out in the G1 Steinman in June during the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Festival,

losing his rider at the first fence.

On Sunday, there was no stopping McTigue and his rider, Graham Watters. The race began with Leipers Fork Steeplchase’s Take Your Seats (Evan Dwan), spurting off to a huge lead, with Del Rio Racing’s Fil Dor (Conor Tierney) in closest pursuit and the rest of the field, led by St. James the Great, from 10 to 15 lengths farther in appears. At this point, McTigue was content to hang back in sixth, with only with Sweet Will behind him.

There was little change of order in the field of seven the first time around and well into the second lap. Heading up the backside the final time, Take Your Seats remained in command, running easily and continuing to lead by double digits. Meanwhile, the rest of the field was catching up to Fil Dor, as the pace quickened going around the far turn. Into the stretch Take Your Seats maintained his advantage, but the air started to come out of his tires as the challengers closed in with Riverdee Stable’s Rocket One (Jamie Bargary) and Serio Racing Stables, USA Steeplechase, R and K Racing, and Paul and Molly Willis’ St. James the Great moving fastest of all. But St. James the Great’s bid faded, and as favored Rocket One surged to the front, McTigue ($5.60-1) cut to the outside and unleashed a burst of his own, collaring the leader and drawing off by a length. St. James the Great held for third, about a dozen lengths behind the top two.

For Rocket One, who was giving away eight pounds to the winner, it was a second powerful showing in a row. He lost a heartbreaker by a neck to Jimmy P in the Steinman last month.

After the race, trainer Murphy told the NYRA press office that

McTigue could come under consideration for the Smithwick on August 5 and the Jonathan Sheppard on September 2.

This was the first running of the Leo O’Brien, named for the former steeplechase jockey and venerable trainer, who conditioned NY-bred stars Fourstardave, Fourstars Allstar and Irish Linnet. O’Brien passed away in January at 85.