Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 6 · column 4 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
energy from each of the five starters.
“The ground was good,” Winants said, “but this is a tough course.”
Winants extended his lead slightly at the pivotal downhill fence, a steep dropoff from Mason Mountain at 12, of 15. McCormack urged Loughbeg Rambler to make up ground uphill to the final two fences, joining the leader at 13 and 14, but Sola Topee responded to strong urging from his rider to win by a long neck following a protracted stretch run. The winning time, 6:17 3/5, was fastest for the day over the distance.
“He’s really not a ‘two-anda-half miler,” said a breathless Cochran following the score. “He’s more the three-mile router. This will set him up well” for the upcoming National Steeplechase Association season calendar.
Sola Topee made his first start over timber a year ago at Thornton Hill, finishing third in the maiden timber. Now 8, he was a successful three-mile ‘chaser in his native England before moving to Palmyra along with owner Cochran and trainer Elizabeth Addison.
In his very next start last October, Sola Topee fell hard in his NSA debut at Virginia Fall, his only U.S. start without Winants (jockey Gus Brown broke his wrist). Addison insisted that Winants return for Sola Topee’s ‘04 campaign, a strategy that has worked per
95.8%