The Grade 1 Grand National Hurdle Stakes will take place on Saturday 16th October at Far Hills in the United States.
The 100th celebration of the Far Hills race meeting will be the richest of the year on the National Steeplechase Association tour, with $400,000 in total for it’s six races, the highlight of which will be the $150,000 Grand National.
There are four contenders for the prestigious event all with strong connections to the Irish point-to-point circuit.
The Keri Brion trained The Mean Queen will be in search of her third Grade 1 victory, the five-year-old will once again be partnered by Richie Condon.
The Mean Queen started her career with Wexford handler Ellen Doyle when winning her maiden by six lengths at Loughanmore in October 2020.
She has now won two Grade 1 races for her trainer with her most recent victory coming last month in the Grade 1 Lonesome Hurdle at Belmont Park.
The second Irish pointer declared for the Grade 1 event is the Irish contender Chosen Mate from the Gordon Elliott stable, he will be partnered by Davy Russell.
The son of Well Chosen started his career between the flags when winning his maiden at Loughbrickland for handler and owner Colin McKeever.
The eight-year-old has since won five races under rules for the Northern Four Racing Partnership including the Grade 3 Grand Annual chase at the Cheltenham Festival in 2020.
Former Irish point-to-point rider Barry John Foley who is now based over in the states will take up the ride aboard the Cyril Murphy trained Amschel whilst another former Irish point-to-point rider Graham Watters will also be in action aboard the Jack Fisher trained Snap Decision.
There are plenty of other Irish pointers in action on the day, which include;
Race 1
Homerhayes
Race 2
French Light
Race 3
The Mean Queen
Chosen Mate
Race 4
Ya Boy Ya
Galway Kid
For a full list, click here.
