Saluter Meets Saluter

By: Catherine French

On May 3, 2008 at Great Meadow The Plains, Virginia, Saluter,owned by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Stern and trained by Jack Fisher, was honored for his accomplishments. He retired the Virginia Gold Cup trophy in 1998 after winning his fifth consecutive Gold Cup. Saluter returned the following year to win his sixth Gold Cup. Jack Fisher rode Saluter in all of his Gold Cup victories. In 1997 he won the Gold Cup and the Marlboro Cup in England.

He further staked his claim to the course at Great Meadow by winning the International Gold Cup two times and was three times Timber Horse of the Year. In his career he achieved more wins than any other timber horse in history.

On May 3, 2008 Saluter was led into the paddock, at the Virginia Gold Cup, by Juliet McGuirk who took care of Saluter when he was running. Jack Fisher was given a leg up on the big bay and took a slow gallop around the Gold Cup course. Jack then rode Saluter through the winners circle to the enclosure where a wonderful statue of Saluter stands. The statue was unveiled last year after it was given to the Gold Cup by the Fishers and the Sterns. Saluter seemed to know that this had something to do with him and he really enjoyed the opportunity to ham it up for the photographers.

"I can honestly say having witnessed all of Saluter's victories at the Gold Cup was one of my highest highs as a steeplechase photographer. I can remember standing in the stretch for his sixth win and even though you could not see him jump the second last, you could hear the crowd from that end of the racecourse. It was like a wave of sound coming through the stretch. It was awesome! What a thrill it was to see him looking so grand at the age of nineteen. I feel honored to have been a part of this steeplechasing history."