Dawalan wins Marion duPont Scott Steeplechase

By foxsports
Published

CAMDEN, S.C. (AP) Irv Naylor's Dawalan drew away to a 5 1/4-length victory Saturday in the 46th running of the $100,000 Marion duPont Scott Steeplechase at the Springdale Race Course.

The 5-year-old Azamour gelding raced to his second straight victory after winning the $300,000 Grand National last month in Far Hills, New Jersey.

Trained by former steeplechase jockey Cyril Murphy and ridden by Ross Geraghty, Dawalan completed the 2 3/4-mile, 17-jump course over National Fences in 5:11.80 in the final Grade 1 event of the National Steeplechase Association season.

The Naylor-Murphy tandem also had the second-place finisher in Rawnaq, who was ridden by Sean McDermott. Demonstrative, the 2014 Eclipse Award winner and 2012 Colonial Cup winner was another quarter-length back in third for rider Darren Nagle.

Geraghty took Dawalan to the outside and past Demonstrative

''It was to sit fourth or fifth halfway through the race,'' Geraghty said of the prerace strategy. ''I just waited, was patient and it all came together. I just pulled him wide and once he got some daylight, he came up on the bit and started to run.''

The $60,000 payday gave Dawalan an NSA-best $255,000 in earnings as he captured the organization's Lonesome Glory Award as the circuit's leading-money winner for 2015.