After hitting the board at three of six graded starts, Irvin S. Naylor’s joke in Belfast passed the top with a smart score in the $150,000 AP Smithwick Memorial (NSA-G1) contest on July 19, a 2 1/16-mile obstacle test for older horses, at Racecourse Saratoga.
Coached by Cyril Murphy and driven to victory by Barry Foley, Jeremy’s 8-year-old son claimed third place in the David Semmes Memorial Handicap (NSA-G2) in May at Great Meadow and the Temple Handicap Gwathmey (NSA-G2) in April in Middleburg. He started his fourth grade at 1st grade, with three previous finishes in 2022 and visited the winners’ circle for the first time since 2021 at Aintree.
Belfast Banter tracks near the rear of the nine-horse field as West Newton rush to take command in the first turn. Gordon’s jet just sat down speed like historic heart race in third place against a strong opponent Welsh people with the order unchanged during the first time around the good pitch inside.
Crossing the stands for a second time, West Newton extended his range before going inside through the seventh barrier and losing to an oncoming Gordon’s Jet. Meanwhile, a patient Foley held his ground as he waited for the space to break through the three-round gap and unleashed his run in the lead.
Belfast Banter had plenty left in the tank and displayed an impressive spin to glide past the leaders with ease midway through, edging past the celebratory Foley to claim a six-and-a-half-minute lead in a final time of 3:53.69.
Heart of History overcame the tired front duo to take second place with Freddy Flintshire welcome the honorable program Noah And The Ark .
Belfast Banter finished third behind returning Jack Fisher-trained competitors Welshman and Gordon’s Jet in the final David Semmes, carrying 6 pounds more than the front man and 10 pounds more than the back man. Murphy said assigning weight more evenly to his familiar opponents helped him win their rematch.
“I believed here we were going to win, but I didn’t think he would,” Murphy said. “It gives you something to think about moving forward, but today is his day in my opinion.”
“Everything went according to plan. They galloped very well and we went very, very right on the track. Great jump and he made my life easy,” said Foley, who won his first No. 1 in his 18-year riding career.
Murphy said it is likely that Belfast Banter will retry the Jonathan Sheppard 2 1/2 Mile (NSA-G1) Handicap on August 16, but will wait and see how his newly minted 1st place winner pulls out of this race with the Lonesome Glory 2 3/8 Mile Handicap (NSA-G1) on September 14 at Belmont at Big A as another potential target.
Bred in Ireland by Seamus Cooney, the Belfast Banter raked in $90,000 in the win, bringing his total in his wallet to $324,103 and improving his lifetime record to 5-7-5 from 29 starts. He returned $35.60 for a $2 winning ticket.
Videotapes: AP Smithwick H. (G1) Memorial
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
