Champion Steeplechaser Snap Decision Retired at Age 11

Snap Decision, champion steeplechase horse of 2024 and the second-leading earner in United States steeplechase history, has been retired by owner Bruton Street-US and trainer Jack Fisher. Bred in Kentucky by Phipps Stable, the 11-year-old gelding won 17 of 32 starts over hurdles, finished second eight times, and was third twice while racing from 2019-25. He earned $1,258,150 over jumps, second only to Hall of Famer McDynamo's $1,310,104 in North American history. The retirement decision came this week after a 2025 campaign that included four starts, a win in the Temple Gwathmey Hurdle Handicap (NSA-2) in April and a second in the Calvin Houghland Iroquois Steeplechase (NSA-1) in May. In his final start, he finished fourth behind Irish shippers Zanahiyr and Ballysax Hank in the American Grand National Hurdle Stakes (NSA-1) at Far Hills Oct. 18. "We would have loved to have seen him catch McDynamo, but that's OK," said Mike Hankin, co-owner with Charlie Fenwick and Charlie Noell. "Will we ever own another horse like him? We'll see. I don't know. He really embodied what Bruton Street was about, which is three friends getting together to own and enjoy racehorses. He's done everything we've asked of him." Prior to becoming a steeplechaser, Snap Decision made 18 starts on the flat for Phipps Stable and trainer Shug McGaughey—winning twice and placing in a grade 3 turf stakes. Hankin credited the early care from those connections, and their willingness to see their horse find a second racing career. The bay Hard Spun gelding hails from a deep Phipps family as a grandson of the great Personal Ensign, an undefeated champion, member of Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame, and multiple grade 1 producer. Snap Decision's dam, Salute, also produced grade 1 winner Mr Speaker and grade 3 winners Fire Away and Vigilantes Way. "A lot of people helped make him who he is, and we're grateful to them," Hankin said, mentioning jockeys Graham Watters, Sean McDermott, and Willie McCarthy, and Fisher staffers Ashley Randall, Jenna Elliott, and Sandra Webb. "The Phippses always followed him even though they didn't own him anymore. Darren Fox at Darley (home to sire Hard Spun) is very proud of him. He's got a lot of fans out there." Among his career highlights, Snap Decision won the Temple Gwathmey a record four times and the Iroquois a record-tying three times. His 2024 championship campaign included victories in the Gwathmey, Iroquois, and American Grand National in a three-way photo finish after getting passed in the stretch. In an era of foreign imports on the American steeplechase circuit, Snap Decision stood out as an American-bred former flat horse who excelled at a new challenge. His 2024 championship ended a string of nine consecutive Eclipse Awards earned by horses bred in Britain, Ireland, or France. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association honored him as its Kentucky-bred steeplechase champion five times. Snap Decision heads to a potential career as a foxhunter with Fenwick not far from Fisher's base in Maryland. "The hope is he will just become part of the community of horses we have on the farm," said Fenwick, a former trainer and amateur steeplechase jockey. "He will get ridden regularly and will see the hounds before the end of this hunting season. That's the goal, let him see the hounds, let him see what he thinks and how he wants to behave and hopefully that's a new life for him. If that's not something he wants to do, he'll hack around the farm."