The 2023 jump racing season was typical of recent years – Snap Decision was very much part of the discussion among the game’s best performers. Major stakes wins in the spring and fall have left Snap Decision among the finalists for the Eclipse Award as the nation’s outstanding steeplechaser for a remarkable fourth consecutive year. Owned by the Bruton Street-US partnership of Mike Hankin, Charlie Fenwick, and Charlie Noell and trained by Jack Fisher, Snap Decision won 2 of 5 starts in 2023, bookending the season with wins in Virginia. Along the way, the gelding, who raced as a 9-year-old in 2023, surpassed $1 million in earnings, which includes a successful time at the start of his career on the flat when trained by Shug McGaughey. :: Full list of 2023 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories Snap Decision, by Hard Spun and bred by Phipps Stable in Kentucky, had his debut over obstacles in spring 2019 and has won 12 of 23 such races. His two wins in 2023 were his fifth and sixth graded stakes wins over hurdles. The season began with a win in the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey Hurdle in Middleburg, Va., in April when Snap Decision led throughout the 2 1/2-mile race. Three weeks later, Snap Decision was second to the Irish import Scaramanga in the Grade 1 Calvin Houghland Iroquois Stakes at three miles outside of Nashville. Snap Decision underwent surgery for an entrapped epiglottis shortly thereafter. Snap Decision was held out of the Grade 1 handicap hurdles at Saratoga since he would have carried substantially more than his rivals. Instead, Snap Decision returned to action as the 1-2 favorite in the Lonesome Glory Hurdle at 2 1/2 miles at the Belmont at Aqueduct meeting in September, also a handicap. Carrying 162 pounds, at least 20 pounds more than any of the other runners, Snap Decision led to the turn before fading to finish fourth behind Merry Maker, who carried 142 pounds. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Snap Decision started in the Grand National Hurdle at Far Hills in New Jersey for the third consecutive year in October. While he was a game second by only a half-length in a thrilling running on firm ground in 2021, Snap Decision was sixth of nine on yielding turf in 2022. Conditions were not much better in 2023, another yielding course. Snap Decision was pulled up on the final circuit when trailing. He was none worse for the wear. Just a week later, Snap Decision was back on the track in the Grade 2 Zeke Ferguson Memorial Handicap Hurdle at 2 1/8 miles at Great Meadow in Virginia. Taking his customary position near the front, Snap Decision took the lead in the final half-mile and won by three lengths as the favorite. The winner’s share of the $75,000 race was worth $45,000 and gave Snap Decision career earnings of $1,000,834. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.