McDynamo

McDynamo is a thoroughbred gelding (who was born in 1997) who is a five-time winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Grand National Steeplechase at the Far Hills Races and a three-time honoree with the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Steeplechase horse. McDynamo was sired by Dynaformer.

History

Owner Michael Moran bought McDynamo for $82,000 at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1998.

As a three-year-old, McDynamo came in seventh at the Pimlico Race Course in May 2000 in his debut race. He won his next start at Pimlico at 1½-miles, but had just two more starts before being sidelined for a year after surgery to remove a hind ankle chip. He won only one of five races as a four-year-old. After unsuccessful efforts at Saratoga Race Course (ridden by Pat Day) and Belmont Park, Moran turned McDynamo to Sanna Hendriks, who specializes in training steeplechasers. McDynamo won his first jump race by 4¼-lengths at Far Hills Races on October 20, 2001.

The 2004 running of the Grade 1 $175,000 Breeders' Cup Steeplechase saw McDynamo, then a 7-year-old gelding coming back for his first race in 11 months after recovering from hock surgery, win the race for a second consecutive year, defeating Hirapour by 1½ lengths in a finishing time of 5:06.8. The race covered a 2⅝-mile distance and jumps over 14 fences. The crowd was estimated at 45,000.