Hirapour received two standing ovations from the Saratoga, N.Y., crowd after winning the A.P. Smithwick Memorial grade II hurdle stakes, Aug. 10, and he deserved every bit of that acknowledgement.

Despite being the 2004 Steeplechase Eclipse Award winner and one of the best hurdle horses in the United States for the past three years, the odds were stacked fairly impressively against Eldon Farm Racing Stable’s Hirapour to win the A.P.

This was the first race back for the 10-year-old, Irish-bred gelding after an eight-month layoff. After a second-placed finish in the Colonial Cup (S.C.) grade I hurdle stakes last November, Hirapour pulled up three-legged lame. A bone chip in his left front ankle had pulled loose and lodged in the ankle joint, leaving the horse in a critical situation. Surgery, careful flushing of the joint and months of intense post-operative care and physical therapy allowed Hirapour to resume training in May. That left 31�2 months to get him fit and ready to win a hurdle race.

“Ten is a bit long in the tooth for a hurdle horse, and we knew this was his last year of racing,” said Doug Fout, Hirapour’s trainer. “We are going to retire him at the end of this year no matter what happens, but we really want to try and win one more Eclipse Award. Because we missed all the spring stakes races, we have to win every big one between now and the end of the year in order to be in the running.”

Another factor not to Hirapour’s favor was the length of the A.P. At 21�16 miles, the A.P. is the shortest stakes race on the National Steeplechase Association’s racing calendar. Hirapour’s come-from-behind style does not work well at such short distance. He tried to win the A.P. last year and could only manage third. Running against a list of speed-loving competitors in a field of eight, Hirapour was no shoo-in this year, especially carrying high weight of 158 pounds and a handicap of 16 pounds.

But he is Hirapour, a horse who has never finished worse than third in all 13 of his U.S. races. He is Hirapour, a horse that jockey Matt McCarron said, “Leaves me speechless every time I ride him. All I can say is that he never ceases to amaze me.”

McCarron was especially impressed with how Hirapour won the A.P. because he was forced to launch a long, “sustained bid for the front from the time the race began,” said McCarron. “Mark The Shark [William Dowling] and Mauritania [Robert Massey] took off [they were ahead by 15 to 20 lengths at times], so I gauged my speed off Malagash [Cyril Murphy], who led the second group of horses.”

McCarron most needed to keep an eye on Good Night Shirt (Xavier Aizpuru). The Fisher-trained horse was coming off a win in the Zeke Ferguson stakes (Va.) in July and has his own lethal turn of foot at the end of a race. So Hirapour ran in sixth place for 11�2 miles, with Malagash setting his pace and Good Night Shirt in his sights, running fourth.

“We were moving at a really good clip from the beginning, running most of the race at the kind of pace Hirapour uses when he starts to come from behind,” said McCarron.

The pace was quick enough that McCarron got a good scare when they turned down the backside for the last time. Mark The Shark and Mauritania were now only 6 to 8 lengths ahead. Aizpuru had Good Night Shirt in poaching position, and McCarron had Hirapour right on their tail. Right before they turned the corner and approached the first fence on the backside, McCarron saw Aizpuru give his horse a slap on the shoulder, shaking him up a little.

“I was glad to see that because usually that means his horse may be tiring a little,” he said. “But as soon as we turned down the backside, Good Night Shirt saw his fence, filled the bridle and took off. Hirapour started to come off the bridle and I had to drop my hands and smooch to him to tell him we had to keep going. This is the point in the race where usually I am relieved I don’t have to hold him anymore, and here I was riding him just a little.”

But it’s Hirapour, remember? McCarron said Hirapour was off the bridle all the way down the backside, while Good Night Shirt was reeling in the frontrunners. But Hirapour swept into contention turning for home, taking the outside track to avoid traffic. He leapt to the front at the final fence and drew away much the best, still finding some of that blazing speed. Good Night Shirt produced his own rally, taking the inside track of the final turn, but was no match for Hirapour. Mark The Shark faded to fourth, while Whitewood Stable’s Mauritania finished a game third.

“That he got the first standing ovation was pretty cool,” said Fout. “As Matt jogged him back to the winner’s circle and we were unsaddling him, the whole crowd was on their feet, clapping and cheering. But then when it was all over and he was being led back to the barn, they all stood up and did it again. That was an awesome thing to do for the horse because he is simply amazing.”

For Fout to get his horse back in such winning form in such short time was an amazing feat unto itself. But with the troublesome chip gone from his ankle, Fout said Hirapour was actually in better shape than ever.

“He’s lighter on his feet this year; there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “We knew his ankle was bothering him all last year, and I think he was striking the ground much harder because of it. After the surgery he’s just floating a little more. Training is easier on him now.”

With the chip gone, and a deadline of sorts to beat, Fout put his horse on an accelerated work program. Instead of logging up countless training miles, Fout said he pushed his horse’s works closer together.

“We had seven works before the [Saratoga Open House flat-race prep, which he won],” said Fout. “Usually I might have had only four or five before that race. Basically we were on such a tight schedule that we could only afford to miss one work and still get there.”