Thirty-six years ago Jim and Melinda Carter had one of their first dates right in the infield of the Carolina Cup races, Camden, S.C. As they watched the celebrations in the winner’s circle at the end of each race they wondered how it would feel to own a winning horse.

Now they know. Their Top Of The Bill stormed up the stretch of the $75,000 Carolina Cup grade II novice hurdle stakes, April 1, capturing the first leg of the steeplechase Triple Crown and improving his hurdle record to three starts, two wins.

Ridden by English veteran jockey Carl Rafter, Top Of The Bill made a late run, split horses at the last fence and accelerated away to win by 11�2 lengths over The Next Man (Rob Massey) and Good Night Shirt (Xavier Aizpuru). It was Rafter’s first American stakes.

This was the 74th running of the Carolina Cup but the first time it was installed as the first leg of the Steeplechase Triple Crown. Run over the standard National Steeplechase Association’s national synthetic hurdles at 2 1/8 miles, this year’s Carolina Cup attracted nine of the country’s most promising hurdlers.

Rafter dropped his horse in behind the strong early pace of Good Night Shirt and The Next Man. Even though in his last two hurdle races, “Billy” made most of the running, Rafter and Day thought there would be speed enough to keep their horse happy.

“He doesn’t have to run on the front end as long as there is enough pace to help him relax,” said Rafter. “We went a good pace from the flag fall, and I just dropped him in on the inside and waited.”

The Coolest Horse
With only two fences down the backside of the course, Rafter said the “big, long run between those fences” helped his horse find his galloping rhythm. When the field quickened as they approached the final turn to home, things got a “little tight” as jockeys vied for position.

“We ran tightly bunched almost the whole race,” Rafter said. “I was running into heels around the last turn and I almost thought about making my move to the inside then.” Rafter waited, however, and as they approached the last fence he saw a gap open up between The Next Man and Good Night Shirt and took advantage of the opportunity.

“I jumped up between them, and he met the last fence great,” said Rafter. “I landed in front of [Aizpuru] and maybe a length off [Massey]. My horse was all heart because it had been a quick race and he kicked on anyway. He was so relaxed throughout the race; he had conserved enough energy that he made it seem easy.”

Standing less than 16 hands, with three white socks and a big blaze, Billy’s “a cute little horse” but bred to be a winner. By Lear Fan out of a Saddler’s Wells mare, the 5-year-old gelding raced at the Group I level on the flat in France, then came to the States where his form dropped off. In need of a new job, Top Of The Bill came to trainer Jimmy Day almost a year ago and proved his worth right off the bat when he broke his maiden first time out at Montpelier (Va.) last fall.

Rafter said not only is Billy a star on the racecourse, he’s a joy to be around. “He’s the nicest horse ever. He’s the kind of horse who always has his head out of the stall. He’s always looking at you and smiling. It’s cool that he’s the favorite horse in the barn because he’s the star, but also because he’s the coolest horse in the barn too,” he said.

Perfect Timing
In Gill Johnston’s eyes, Mulahen is pretty cool too. She imported the gelding from England years ago and has had sporadic success with him in American stakes company. Now 11, the gelding appreciated a drop in class and the Carolina Cup course’s natural brush fences to win the $15,000 Woodward-Kirkover Sweepstakes starter hurdle.

Robbie Walsh gave the gelding the winning ride, and trainer Kathy McKenna heaped praise on what she called her jockey’s “good timing.” Mulahen likes to make his run from behind, and McKenna said he’s a tricky horse to ride because it’s easy to come on too late or go too early. Things have to be just right to make it her horse’s day.

“I liked the way Robbie rode him,” she said. “He made the horse happy throughout the race, got him to relax and then timed it just right. I give all the credit to his ride.”

With just six horses in the race, even though Mulahen was sixth most of the time, Walsh said he was never much more than 3 lengths off the pace, set by Sweeps Week (Shelley Houston) and Water Hunter (Richard Boucher).

“He’s a clever old horse. He knows his way around most of the courses by himself,” said Walsh, with a grin. “He was very comfortable with the pace. He was well within himself, and I think when that happens and it’s easy and comfortable for him, he swells up and thinks he’s a good horse. And he loved those fences. He jumped brilliantly, and I think because he kept landing upside horses his confidence just improved throughout the race.”

Mulahen didn’t turn on the jet engines until the last fence. Four horses met the last together–Mulahen, Sweeps Week, Just Murphy (Massey) and Water Hunter. Walsh had noticed that Water Hunter consistently jumped right, so as they approached the last fence, he slipped Mulahen up right behind Water Hunter and then jumped to his inside as he drifted right, over the hurdle. A brief battle for the lead ensued, but Mulahen drew clear late to win by 1 1/2 lengths.

“He’s a cool horse. Things have to go his way, and they did in Camden. Maybe he’s just a slow learner and he’s only now just getting acclimated to the United States,” McKenna said jokingly. “He really wants to be a foxhunter. He loves foxhunting, though I think others in the hunting field might wish he’d stay home. He’s a frightening double-barreled kicker, and he doesn’t just wait for someone to come near enough to kick–he backs up into them just so he can.”