October 8 Steeplechase Times

The Steeplechase

Complimentary

A Publication of ST Publishing, Inc.

The TrainerSheppard reaches 1,000 win mark

Times Vol. 17, No. 9Friday, October 8, 2010

INSIDE THIS EDITIONArcadius, Easy Red take stakes at Monmouth Park

He’s A Conniver soars in Virginia Fall timber stakes

2 • Steeplechase Times www.st-publishing.com•[email protected] Friday, October 8, 2010

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Steeplecahse times 2010 HIT.indd 1 05/10/2010 19:21

Friday, October 8, 2010 www.st-publishing.com•[email protected] SteeplechaseTimes • 3

News & Notes from around the circuit

By The Numbers4 The magnetic number square tossed up to second level of the stewards’ tower by ST’s Joe Clancy to help the results process at Shawan Downs.

1 Man (Douglas Lees) with a photo of the third fence – Tong leaping The Guinea Man – of the 1986 Maryland Hunt Cup on his mobile phone.

Worth Repeating“I feel like if you’re training these horses you should see them run if you can. A lot of trainers don’t make an attempt.”

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard about being at Presque Isle Downs for night racing and Saratoga for morning training

“My next goal is 3,000 total wins, I’m not quite sure where I am, I think a couple of hundred wins, that could be another five years, but this was the more present goal and I’m very surprised how quickly we’ve done it.”

Sheppard after winning his 1,000th jump race

“I left it up to Brian, he asked me a couple of questions, but he had it all figured out.”

Sheppard on jockey Brian Crowley’s choice between Arcadius and Sermon Of Love

“It’s great, I never dreamt of this, I knew I might do OK, but you only get one shot over here in America, if you don’t succeed . . . Everybody in the yard have been patient with me as I’m getting used to the system, the rou-tine. It’s just great, just great.”

Crowley on winning five of 10 races at Saratoga and Monmouth

“He’s 4 and he’s 18 hands high.”Jockey Danielle Hodsdon

about Monmouth maiden winner Port Morsbey’s potential

“Now, that was a monkey off my back.”Trainer Doug Fout after Ptarmigan

returned to win after falling at Fair Hill

“It would have been so good to have Mom here, all those years of breeding, at least Maggie got to enjoy it.”

Trainer Dout Fout, whose late mother bred Ptarmigan, now owned by Maggie Bryant

“I just wanted to get over the last, she popped it like she learned from her mistake.”

Jockey Jeff Murphy, after winning aboard Ptarmigan who had fallen in her most recent start

“The attaboy just went down the drain with that last one.”Jockey Jacob Roberts on the reaction of trainer Tom Voss

(who was at Monmouth) to Shawan Downs’ results; Roberts won aboard Sharps Island, but hit the ground when Canardly landed

awkwardly while leading over the second-last a race later

“I finally won a sanctioned race for Richard and it has to look like that?”Jockey Matt McCarron, on his Shawan victory (sans stirrups)

aboard Blue Rider for trainer Richard Valentine

“Good to be here – great to be here.”Exercise rider Ben Garner, who was injured at Saratoga,

on attending the races at Shawan Downs

“I started reducing a little late this fall.”Trainer and amateur jockey Todd McKenna, on why

he signed up Brooks Durkee to ride Mach Ten at Shawan

“Hey, Granddad.”Assistant trainer Laird George’s greeting to trainer Tom Voss

“What part of ‘Follow the horse in front of you’ is confusing?Starter Graham Alcock at Shawan Downs

“Well, we ration it.”Owner Diane Naylor, on how she makes the peach jam she buys

from the United Methodist Church at Virginia Fall last through the year

“Just sit still and say ‘go on boy, put your feet up there.’ ”Jockey Brian Crowley, on his timber riding strategy

“There’s nothing to do but wait for Santa, and half the time he doesn’t come.”Crowley, on December plans for jump jockeys

Hollywood SteeplechaseThe movie Secretariat has Thoroughbred racing abuzz and has a few

connections to steeplechasing as well. Jump jockey turned flat jockey Tom Foley has a part in the film, playing exercise rider Jimmy Gaffney. And flat jockey Keith Austin, who plays Sham’s jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in the movie, was at Shawan Downs Sept. 25 to ride in a training flat race.

Thank You NotesFrom ST to the guys at GW Sound: For taking the papers to Foxfield from Shawan Downs. The readers, and editors, appreciated the volunteer effort.

From trainer Lilith Boucher to Foxfield parking volunteers: For allowing breeders Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Sheppard in the gate (without credentials) to see Jot’s Jib run. “They drove up, told the people they were the breeders of the horse (who finished second in the non-sanctioned flat race) and they let them in. They’d never been to a steeplechase and now they’re excited about it.”

Summer VacationJump jockey/exercise rider Roddy Mackenzie spent the summer gallop-

ing horses for flat trainer Rick Dutrow and left impressed. “I was a bit skeptical the first week or two, because I didn’t know how to

take him, but I was impressed by the end. He’s a very good horseman – he likes to give them time, he thinks about everything.”

Mackenzie was lucky enough to ride 2-year-old star Boys Of Tosconova for a few gallops in the morning at Saratoga.

“I’m used to riding $5,000 and $10,000 claimers and he’s quite a bit nicer than they are,” he joked. “He’s the real deal – collected, strong, a great ride.”

Douglas LeesHang Ten. Timber horse Mach Ten and jockey Brooks Durkee show why steeplechasing is a contact sport while falling in the maiden timber at Shawan Downs. Horse and jockey walked away from the incident.

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EntriesHere’s your newspaper. Arcadius went from best man to groom with a Grade I triumph at Monmouth, which also played host to a stakes win by Easy Red. Timber horses got to work at Shawan, where Delta Park showed the way. Virginia Fall hosted its two-day celebration at Glenwood Park. And Jonathan Sheppard won his 1,000th race – amazing.

What’s Happening and Where To Find It

PageS 22-26

Monmouth MoversDumbarton Farm homebred Easy Red graduated to stakes winner with a novice score and Ptarmigan returned in style for Maggie Bryant on the undercard at Mon-mouth Park.

PageS 6-11

Looking good at GlenwoodThe historic Middleburg, Va. venue hosted the Virginia Fall Races over two days with He’s A Conniver showing why he’s in demand with a timber stakes win for EMO Stable and Jody Petty.

Page 12-13

Photo FinishRichard and Lilith Boucher teamed up for two wins, including a last-stride thriller by Class Tie in the filly/mare maiden hurdle.

PageS 18-20

Fencing FeatTrainer Jonathan Sheppard won the 1,000th American jump race of his long, stel-lar career as part of a double at Monmouth Park. Fittingly, the milestone came in a Grade I with Hudson River Farm’s Arcadius.

PageS 14-17

Back to Work The timber horses, jockeys, trainers and owners went after it at Shawan Downs, where Delta Park rallied late to take the feature for Arcadia Stable, Jack Fisher and Fritz Boniface.

TimesThe Steeplechase

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On the CoverAlready in the Hall of

Fame, already a legend, Jonathan Sheppard

added another chapter to his career by picking

up his 1,000th career steeplechase victory.

Photo by Tod Marks

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MIDDLEBURG, Va. – Ernie Oare wants to sell all of his horses – except the one everybody wants to buy.

And He’s A Conniver showed why at the Virginia Fall Races Oct. 2 at Glen-wood Park. The 8-year-old ran away with the $35,000 National Sporting Library/Chronicle Cup timber stakes, taking over on the final trip across the backside and sauntering in well clear of the rest.

“I’ve been trying to win the Virginia Gold Cup for 40 years, I really have,” Oare said. “I rode in it myself a few times, my goal is to win that thing. I want that one. I’d rather win that than any other race. If I sell him, I’m going to have to start over with another horse.”

In his first start for Oare, He’s A Con-niver was pulled up in the Gold Cup this spring after building a fast-paced, short-lived lead. This fall, Oare announced a dispersal sale set for Oct 19 and 20 at Ocala Breeders’ Sale in Florida. He also lined up Jody Petty to ride He’s A Con-niver. The goals this fall are harnessing the horse’s energy, winning a race or two and trying to keep him in the gold,

red and blue silks of EMO Stable.Of course, Oare’s phone won’t stop

ringing with questions about the rangy chestnut.

“I don’t want to sell him,” said Oare. “I’ve tried winning the Gold Cup, I know how hard it is. Fast Steppin Man was in front and fell at the last fence a few years ago. That was tough. Hope-fully, this horse can keep improving and we’ll get there. We’ll see.”

He’s A Conniver took step one with a training flat win at Colonial Downs Sept. 18. At Virginia Fall, Petty settled the son of Crafty Friend in second just off the pace of Incaseyouraminer. The jockey engineered a slower tempo and more conservative jumping out of his horse, then hit the go button in the final three-quarters of a mile. He’s A Con-niver passed Incaseyouraminer easily, dragged Westbound Road and Music To My Ears into contention – briefly – and drove clear at the third-last. With Petty gearing down, He’s A Conniver flew the Douglas Lees

He’s A Conniver controls the lead in the timber stakes at Virginia Fall.

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last two fences and won by 27 lengths in 6:49 2/5 for 3 1/4 miles. Westbound Road (Brian Crowley) finished second with Music To My Ears (Robbie Walsh) third.

“The only thing I messed up on was after we jumped the third to last,” said Petty. “He was still pretty relaxed but I could hear them behind me so I gave him a little smack down on the shoulder and he ran off with me over the last two fences. I didn’t need to do that.”

He’s A Conniver made his first 23 starts for owner/breeder Jonathan Sheppard, winning once on the flat (Kentucky Downs, 2006), losing four hurdle starts and switching to timber for good in 2007. Oare bought in this year, watched the Gold Cup defeat and moved the horse to the EMO training string with autumn on the agenda.

Once the calendar turned to Septem-ber, Oare called Petty.

“Jody loves to ride timber and a lot of jockeys don’t,” Oare said. “I know he loves it. Very few of those guys ever seek out a timber ride. He was excited about it. It’s worked out great.”

He’s A Conniver will step up to the International Gold Cup this fall and aim for the Virginia Gold Cup next spring.

“They want him to rate, they want him to try to get 4 miles next spring,” said Petty. “The only way he’s going to win both is if he settles, learns to go short (at his jumps), waits. This fall is all about getting him to go 4 miles in the spring and if he can win, great. So far, so good.”

• His horses Hold Your Fire and Im-perial Way bounded away from the field in the $15,000 maiden timber, trainer Tom Voss said five words.

“No, no, no, no, no.” OK, one word five times, but he

wasn’t happy. Hold Your Fire (Paddy Young) and Imperial Way (Matt Mc-Carron) kept each other company early. Imperial Way relaxed first, Hold Your Fire still hasn’t. The Fields Stable’s 6-year-old dragged Young along for 3 miles and refused to let anyone get close while winning by 4 1/4 lengths in 6:18. G’day G’day (Jeff Murphy) was second-best with Just Say Boo (Jacob Roberts) third.

“Just like we drew it up,” Voss said while shaking his head. “He’d never been there before, I wasn’t sure what he’d do in front and the other horse was right there with him. This horse is only about half-fit, he could probably run like that all day looking at him.”Young agreed.“I was strangling him, if I let go of

his head I don’t know what he would be like,” the jockey said. “I just had to sit and suffer in front. You don’t know what to expect in these timber races; today we had a bunch of maidens, he’s run a couple of times, the last thing I wanted to do was get him in trouble. I figured I’d break him off handy and drop him in a bit, but then Matt and I were stuck in front on our own.”

A half-brother to two-time champi-on mare Guelph, Hold Your Fire won back-to-back starts in 2008 – on the flat at Colonial Downs and over jumps at Great Meadow – but missed last year. He resurfaced as a timber horse this

Va. Fall Saturday – Continued from page 6

Doug LeesHold Your Fire (right) outjumps G’Day G’Day in the maiden timber at Virginia Fall.

See Va. Fall Saturday page 9

Alexandra Hundt, Beasie Patterson, Frances Raffetto, Laura T. Shull, Adair B. Stifel, Susan Strittmatter, Guy J. Torsilieri, Richard Valentine, James H. Whitner IV

400 Fair Hill Drive, Elkton, MD 21921 • Phone: (410) 392-0700 • Fax: (410) 392-0706 • www.nsfdn.org

Sam SlaterPresident

Sally Jeffords RadcliffeVice President

Gail B. ThayerSecretary/Treasurer

NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

October 8, 2010Dear Steeplechase Community,

Many thanks for your involvement in our Jump to the Challenge II ball and fundraising ef-forts. Because of you, we have raised more than $170,000 to date. Because of you, we are able to continue our support of the course inspections, drug testing, the amateur racing program, photo finish systems and more.

Special thanks to auction item donors Breyer Animal Creations, Steeplechase Times, Chris Cancelli, Richard Hutchinson, Sam Slater, and Sally Jeffords Radcliffe. In addition, we are very, very grateful to the attendees, auction buyers, supporters and donors for the Jump to the Challenge II, held Saturday, September 11 at Winterthur Museum and Gardens.

And now a glance at the future, the Foundation can continue its mission of serving the sport of steeplechasing only with your continued support. The 2010 Annual Campaign is still active and we welcome your contributions. Our impact is only as great as our ability to rally support, raise funds and focus the community’s collected energy. We want to do more, we want to get involved – we want to be your foundation – but we can’t do it alone.

Thank You,

Beasie Patterson, Sam Slater, Gail Thayer

P.S.: Suggestions for improvement are as welcome as contributions with the goal being 100 percent participation.


[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

spring, finishing second at Winterthur and Fair Hill.“He’s a nice horse,” said Young. “I never moved a

muscle on him. The way he jumped the last it was go-ing to take Seabiscuit to come and get him. He never stopped.”

• Making just his second start outside of the stakes ranks in a year, veteran hurdler Chess Board appreci-ated some class relief in the optional claiming hurdle. The English import finished second twice – in the 2009 Noel Laing and the 2010 Temple Gwathmey – but also struggled through four double-digit defeats and a lost rider.

This time, Chess Board (Darren Nagle) rolled to the front with a circuit remaining and turned aside Twist-er Crossing (Petty) and One Sea (Roddy Mackenzie) in the stretch. Now trained by Kristin Close for Irv

Naylor, the well-traveled English import scored by a neck in 4:07 2/5 for 2 1/8 miles while showing some new energy early in the race.

“I was just fighting him so much that he was fighting back and I started to think that wasn’t going to work as far as getting home so I let him stride on,” Nagle said. “I thought he’d settle in front, but he didn’t do that either. He got stronger and stronger. I sat on him for the first time (the day before). He seemed like a lovely little athletic horse, a little buzzy but nice. I was glad I got a little feel of him because it helped out today.”

Chess Board won two English hurdle starts in 2006 and joined the Doug Fout barn for owner Eldon Farm. Health problems kept the son of Vettori off the track until 2008, and he didn’t win until last fall – in the same race – at Virginia Fall. He moved to David Bourke’s barn late last year and sold to Naylor after placing sixth behind Lead Us Not at Saratoga in mid-August.

“Tom (Foley) and Kristin have gotten him fresh and back to his peak form,” said Nagle. “He’s won around here, he was second in the Temple Gwathmey here so I knew he liked this type of track.”

• Paddy Young fell off Dispute This twice while schooling – before the fence – so naturally couldn’t wait to ride the 4-year-old in Virginia Fall’s maiden claiming hurdle.

Racing for Christ Is King Stable and trainer Ricky Hendriks, Dispute This sat off the pace of Sir Dyna-mite early, glided into contention approaching the backside the final time, took control coming to the last fence and won by a neck despite coming off the rail on the stretch run.

Last Noble (McCarron) finished second with Sir Dynamite (Crowley) third. The winner covered 2 1/8 miles in 4:19 4/5 while making his jump debut.

“The schooling at home has been great, but he’s been a little cheeky,” the jockey said. “On this course, I’d rather be closer to the inside coming around that (final) bend, but with him I wanted to stay off the in-side, I wanted to be off the beacons. I didn’t hit him because I didn’t want to take my hand off the reins. The second circuit he jumped better and better. He’s only going to improve.”

Va. Fall Saturday – Continued from page 8


Richard Valentine wrote himself a note on Lot 575’s catalogue page at the Tattersalls Newmarket Sale in July.

“Love. Love.”Valentine pledged his allegiance to

the son of Elusive Quality, putting up 25,000 guineas for Jacqueline Ohr-strom. Consider the love fest going strong.

Demonstrative proved demonstra-tive in the Nelson C. Noland Memorial maiden, Virginia Fall’s annual 3-year-old maiden hurdle which unveils the class of 2010. It offered typical demo-graphics; Jack Fisher ex-flat horses, Lilith Boucher/Mede Cahaba home-bred, Ricky Hendriks transferee. And then there was Demonstrative – a gor-geous, placid, dark bay gelding with a soldier’s step.

Matt McCarron gave Demonstrative a definitive ride, rating comfortably in third well off New Mambo and Class Moon, while staying out of the usual traffic trouble in a 3-year-old race. De-monstrative jumped smoothly, delib-erately picking the right takeoff spots, and won easily over Peace Fire (Xavier Aizpuru) who made up ground to be second. Dance Faster (Paddy Young) finished third. Demonstrative finished 2 1/8 miles in 4:06 2/5 over ground that had firmed up after weekday rain.

“I didn’t do anything, I just steered,” McCarron said. “We liked the way he schooled and felt like we’d put him in a

position where he stayed out of trouble and if he could win, then go on and win. He jumps and runs like an old horse. I’m impressed.”

Valentine’s been impressed from the first time he looked at Demonstrative.

“I looked at the book, there were two numbers. I put ‘love’ on Book Of Num-bers and I put ‘love, love’ on Demon-strative,” Valentine said. “I go around and look at what I like then Hyphen Bloodstock points me in the right direc-tion. I have a certain type. He’s it.”

Book Of Numbers went for 75,000 guineas at the sale. Selected by Valen-tine and Hyphen (the same team that selected Maryland Hunt Cup winner Michele Marieschi), Demonstrative was bought and delivered to America for roughly $50,000.

“I think he’s the quickest learner I’ve ever been around, jumping-wise, we didn’t think about running him over jumps until we got all that rain. If you spent five minutes with him, you’ll see why,” Valentine said. “We bought him in July, he came over in August and he started jumping at the end of Au-gust. He’s a 10-year-old in a 3-year-old body.”

Bred in America by Gainsborough Farm, Demonstrative won one race from 11 starts in England while com-peting for trainer Mark Johnston and

owner Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum. He was bred by Gains-borough Farm.

• One race later, another debut hur-

dler won impressively when Mede Ca-haba Stable’s Complete Zen (Richard Boucher) held off experienced maiden Mischief (Young) to take the maiden hurdle. First-time starter One Giant Step (Danielle Hodsdon) finished third.

Boucher tried to rate Complete Zen, one of eight first-time starters in the field, but wound up on the lead after jumping four hurdles. Steadied once there, the 4-year-old jumped fluidly and used his flat form to outrun Mischief by a half-length. Complete Zen finished 2 1/8 miles in 4:08 2/5.

Bred and owned by Mignon Smith’s Mede Cahaba Stable and trained by Lilith Boucher, Complete Zen won three

of 11 starts on the flat including a first-level allowance at Colonial earlier this summer.

Asked if she expected a win, Boucher was blunt.

“Well, yes. He’s a two-other-than on the flat, wouldn’t you?” Boucher said. “We probably won’t run him over jumps again, we’ll probably put the blinkers back on and try to win that two other than condition on the flat. He’s a little erratic when he schools because he’s so keen, but he jumped great today. I’m glad it was here because Mignon could be here. You would like him to rate and be nice, it’s a shame he’s so free, but he’s just galloping along.”

• Jimmy Day secured the Virginia owned-and-trained maiden hurdle when Mask And Wig scampered to a

Douglas LeesDemonstrative leads Peace Fire in the 3-year-old maiden hurdle at Virginia Fall.

At 1st SightEnglish purchase Demonstrative scores in jump debut for Valentine

By SEaN cLaNcy ViRgiNiA fAll RAceSSunday, October 3

See Va. Fall Sunday page 11

Virginia Fall RacesMiddleburg, Va. Saturday, Oct. 2. Turf Firm.

1st. $10,000. Optional claiming hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles.

NW $9,100 once or $15,000 claiming price.1. Chess Board (GB) ...........L ............150 ............Nagle *-2. Twister Crossing ...........L .............145 ...........Petty 3. One Sea ............................L .............141 ...........Mackenzie 4. The Manner Born .............L .............144 ...........Hodsdon5. Farndale ...........................L .............154 ............Young6. Chivite (Ire) ......................L .............136 ............Dahl7. Final Straw .......................L .............154 ............McVicar8. Fogcutter ..........................L .............148 ............Roberts9. Baron Von Ruckus ...........L .............155 ............SwopePU. Waracha ........................L .............138 ............StettiniusMgn: Neck. Time: 4:07 2/5. O: Irv Naylor. T: Kristin Close. B. g. 7, Vettori (Ire)-Cruinn A Bhord (GB), Inchinor. Bred by Stanley Estate & Stud. Co. (GB).*-Claimed by Irv Naylor (Brianne Slater, trainer) for $15,000.

2nd. $15,000. Maiden Timber. 3 Miles.1. Hold Your Fire .................L ............165 ............Young 2. G’day G’day ......................L .............165 ...........Murphy 3. Just Say Boo ....................L .............160 ............Roberts4. Fond Of A Drop (GB) ........L .............167 ............Brown5. Imperial Way ....................L .............160 ............McCarron6. Sand Box Rules ................L .............166 ............Read7. Atrium ..............................L .............165 ............Walsh8. Reveillon ..........................L .............160 ............Beecher9. Rippin And Runnin ...........L .............165 ............Crowley10. Michael Over Easy ..........L .............165 ............Slater Mgn: 4-1/4. Time: 6:18. O: The Fields Stable. T: Tom Voss. Ch. g. 6, Waquoit-Distant Drumroll, Eastern Echo. Bred by Mimi Voss (Md.)

3rd. $35,000. Timber Stakes. 3 1/4 Miles.National Sporting Library/Chronicle Cup.

1. He’s A Conniver ................L .............165 ............Petty2. Westbound Road .............L .............160 ............Crowley3. Music To My Ears (Ire) .................L 150 ...........Walsh 4. Fieldview ..........................L .............165 ............Nagle5. Incaseyouraminer ............L .............155 ............SwopePU. Albert’s Crossing ...........L .............155 ............SlaterMgn: 27. Time: 6:49 2/5. O: EMO Stable. T: Ernie Oare. Ch. g. 8, Crafty Friend-Better To Be Lucky, Roberto. Bred by Jonathan Sheppard (Pa.)

5th. $6,500. Maiden claiming hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles. $10,000-$5,000 claiming price.

1. Dispute This .....................L .............152 ............Young 2. Last Noble ........................L .............152 ............McCarron3. Sir Dynamite ....................L .............156 ............Crowley4. Embarrassed ....................L .............156 ............Mackenzie5. Meshwaar ........................L .............156 ............McVicar6. Baylor Dude .....................L .............149 ............Merrigan7. Peace Proposal ................L .............142 ............Hodsdon8. Three Bridge Road ...........L .............147 ............RobertsMgn: Neck. Time: 4:19 4/5. O: Christ Is King Stable T: Ricky Hendriks. B. g. 4, Domestic Dispute-Heavens Belle, Pulpit. Bred by Teresa Beste (Del.).

Sunday, Oct. 3. Turf firm.1st. $10,000. 3YO Maiden Hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles. 1. Demonstrative ..................L .............150 ............McCarron2. Peace Fire ........................L .............150 ............Aizpuru 3. Dance Faster ....................L .............150 ............Young 4. Class Skip ........................L .............150 ............Boucher5. New Mambo .....................L .............150 ............Walsh6. Be Great ...........................L .............150 ............Mackenzie7. St of Circumstance ...........L .............150 ............Petty8. Union Army ......................L .............150 ............DowlingF. Class Moon .......................................145 ............Roberts

PU. Let’s Presume ................L .............150 ............MurphyPU. Theladycamehome ........L .............144 ............MerriganPU. Dr. Wheat ......................L .............150 ............CrowleyMgn: 4. Time: 4:06 2/5. O: Jacqueline Ohrstrom. T: Richard Valentine. B. g. 3, Elusive Quality-Loving Pride, Quiet American. Bred by Gainsborough Farm (Ky.).

2nd. $10,000. Maiden Hurdle. 2 1/8 Miles.1. Complete Zen ...................L .............150 ............Boucher 2. Mischief ...........................L .............154 ............Young 3. One Giant Step .................L .............150 ............Hodsdon4. Primero Peru ....................................154 ............Mackenzie5. Lake Placid .......................L .............154 ............McCarron6. Classic Bridges ................L .............145 ............Roberts7. Opera Heroine ..................L .............148 ............Dowling8. Knight In Armour .............L .............154 ............McVicar9. Siren’s Echo .....................L .............148 ............SlaterF. Hue Of Crimson ................L .............150 ............MurphyF. Cape Doctor ......................L .............150 ............Dalton Mgn: 1/2. Time: 4:08 2/5.O: Mede Cahaba Stable. T: Lilith Boucher. Gr./r. g. 4, Cozzene-Complete Number, Polish Numbers. Bred by Mede Cahaba Stable & Stud (Va.)

4th. $7,500. Maiden Hurdle. 2 1/8 Miles.Owned & trained in Virginia.

1. Mask And Wig ..................L .............154 ............McVicar2. Vine Hill ............................L .............154 ............Walsh3. Duck Hunt ........................L .............144 ............Hinchion 4. Distant Strike ...................L .............150 ............Murphy5. More To The Point ............L .............150 ............YoungPU. Chatuge .........................L .............148 ............SlaterPU. Different Drum ..............L .............150 ............MackenziePU. Rutledge Classic ............L .............149 ............RobertsMgn: 2-1/4. Time: 4:06. O: Michael Smith. T: Jimmy Day. Ch. g. 5, Distorted Humor-Star Nurse, Eastern Echo. Bred by Charles Nuckols Jr. & Sons (Ky.)


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commanding lead and made it stand over Vine Hill. Ridden by Liam McVic-ar for owner Michael Smith, the 5-year-old son of Distorted Humor rebounded from a disappointing spring when fail-ing to hitting the board in four starts over fences.

Mask And Wig has been busy this year with seconds in maiden hurdle races at Old Dominion and Blue Ridge Point-to-Points and lackluster hurdle efforts at Foxfield, Nashville, Fair Hill and Penn National. Switched to the flat, he hit the board twice at Colonial Downs before a loss at Saratoga in a 12-furlong maiden turf race. He made his fall debut, winning the open flat at Blue Ridge Point-to-Point in September. He made his 11th start of the year at Virginia Fall.

McVicar put Mask And Wig’s ex-perience to work, opening up a huge lead over his less-experienced rivals. He sliced boldly through his fences, extend-ing his lead for the first circuit and then holding and hoping it would stand up for the second circuit. It did – barely. Vine Hill (Robbie Walsh) whittled at the lead but ran out of ground, wind-ing up second with Duck Hunt (Muiris Hinchion) third. The winner completed 2 1/8 miles in 4:06.

Mask And Wig won three races on the flat for Roy and Gretchen Jackson but had drifted to the $16,000 claiming level for trainer Barclay Tagg. Day pur-chased him during the off season.

“I brought him home and he did ev-erything right, I thought he was going to be a good horse this spring but he lost his confidence,” Day said. “I told Liam to put him on the lead and slow it down to a walk, that was a fast walk, but you can get away with speed around tracks like this. That dude was reeling us in pretty fast, but we got there.”

The win completed a big day for Team Day. Emily (wife of Jimmy) won the Theodora Randolph Field Hunt-er Championship of North America aboard former hurdler Another Look.

Va. Fall Sunday – Continued from page 10

Douglas LeesMask And Wig flies a fence in his maiden hur-dle win at Virginia Fall Sunday.


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Lilith and Richard Boucher love the Foxfield Races.

The husband/wife, jockey/trainer duo swept half the card at the annual fall meet Sept. 26. Firm ground and competition from Shawan Downs and Monmouth Park caused many horse-men to scratch or not enter; just 16 horses started in the four NSA races.

The Bouchers won the opener when Marilyn Ketts’ Flight Movie took a maiden claiming hurdle and scored again when Mede Cahaba Stable’s Class Tie annexed the filly and mare maiden hurdle.

“The guys in the barn said they would both win,” Lilith Boucher said. “They were right.”

Class Tie nosed out Lonesome Nun (Brian Crowley) in the final stride of the $15,000 co-feature. Secret Style (Jacob Roberts) finished third.

Ironically, Boucher had trained Lonesome Nun for Lonesome Glory LLC and trainer Bruce Miller at Colo-nial Downs this summer. Making her first jump start since finishing seventh in the open maiden at Queen’s Cup

last spring, Class Tie won for the first time in her ninth career start (flat and jump). The daughter of Black Tie Af-fair finished third in a $25,000 maiden claimer on the flat at Colonial Downs in 2008 and finished the 2008 season with a third in a Palm Beach filly and mare maiden hurdle. She earned $9,000 for the Foxfield victory.

“She was coming off a long lay-off and she’s about 15 hands,” Lilith Boucher said. “Instead of being on the head bob, for four strides, she kept pok-ing her nose out like she knew. How do they know? I don’t know if she’s a stakes horse but the filly and mare races look like they’re falling apart. She’s not real scopy but she’s a good jumper. What I notice with the mares is if you can keep them knocking, they develop.”

• After 11 starts on the flat, Flight Movie won his jump debut, scoring by 9 lengths over Three Stepper (Paddy Young) and Meshwaar (Liam McVicar) in the maiden claimer.

Lilith Boucher took over the training on the Maryland-bred son of Touch ‘N’ Fly before the Colonial meet where he made four starts on the flat. His best fin-ish was a third in a $5,000 conditioned claimer in June. With dual-purpose Richard Boucher in the irons, Flight Movie finished seventh going a mile and a half on the turf in his final start at Co-lonial in July.

“Three days after he ran at Colo-nial, I called Marilyn and said he would win at Foxfield,” Lilith Boucher said. “We’ve had good horses for Marilyn, he’s a claimer but we like him, he won

nicely, he won by 9 in a double handful. He’s keen at the track but my kids could ride him at the farm. He might be one of those that surprise you.”

• Trainer Kathy McKenna shook off a hard-luck Saturday at Monmouth (novice Quiet Approval finished fourth in the Grade I Sampson and Saluda Sam unseated jockey Jody Petty in the novice stakes) by winning the maiden hurdle with Great Halo. Owned by McKenna’s Hamilton Farm, the 3-year-old first-time starter handled four rivals under

Betsy ParkerClass Tie (right) catches Lonesome Nun at the wire in the filly/mare maiden hurdle.

Doubling UpBouchers combine to capturetwo of three hurdle races on card

By SEaN cLaNcy foxfielD RAceSSunday, September 26

See FoxField page 13


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jockey Roddy Mackenzie. A $1,200 purchase at Timonium in December 2007,

Great Halo won two of five starts on the flat, breaking his maiden for a $10,000 claiming tag as a 2-year-old and taking a non-winners-of-two for $7,500 at Penn National in May. Given the summer off in preparation for his jump debut, Great Halo won by three quarters of a length over second-time starter Zulla Road (Rob-erts) and Belarion (Young).

The winner is a half-brother to P.C. Plod, who won multiple hurdle races for Kinross Farm, and fol-lowed a roundabout path to steeplechasing. Former jump jockey J.W. Delozier bought the bay gelding as a weanling at Fasig-Tipton, and received immediate positive feedback from McKenna’s husband Todd.

When Delozier needed to sell horses to make room for a new client, he called the McKennas and Kathy had a new horse. Billy Santoro did the early work and Kathy McKenna’s first 2-year-old starter broke his maiden at nearly 40-1 in December 2009. He went back to Penn this spring for a win in late May.

“I got him with the idea he’d go jumping, but he’s been good enough to win twice on the flat,” Kathy

McKenna said. “He broke his maiden going 6 furlongs, coming out of my barn – off the farm. You wouldn’t think that would work. He’s been schooling over fenc-es since he was 2, so running over jumps really wasn’t a big deal for him. He’s been a lot of fun.”

• Lear Heights picked up a flat win for Indian Run Farm and Dot Smithwick. Chivite finished second in the field of three. A son of Lear Fan, the winner won two of 29 flat starts at the racetrack for trainers Helen Pitts, Tom Drury, Speedy Smithwick, Holly Robinson and Simon Hobson. The Kentucky-bred sharpened for Foxfield with two starts on the flat at Virginia point-to-points this fall.

Foxfield – Continued from page 12

Betsy ParkerGreat Halo (right) leads Sgt. Bart early in the maiden hurdle at Foxfield.

Foxfield Fall RacesCharlottesville, Va. Sunday, Sept. 26. Turf Firm. 1st. $10,000. Mdn. Clm. Hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles. $12,500-$10,000 Clm. price1. Flight Movie L 144 Boucher 2. Three Stepper L 148 Young 3. Meshwaar L 152 McVicar4. Duck Hunt L 138 Hinchion Mgn: 9 1/2. Time: 4:11 1/5. O: Marilyn Ketts. T: Lilith Boucher. Dr. b. or br. g. 4, Touch’n’Fly (Ire)-Fritzi’s Michelle, Skip Away. Bred by Heather Hayes (Md.)

2nd. Training Flat. 1-1/16th Miles.1. Lear Heights L 155 Roberts 2. Chivite (Ire) L 155 CrowleyF. Mariah’s Promise 152 Harris Mgn: 5. Time: 1:56 4/5. O: Indian Run Farm. T: Dot Smithwick. B. g. 7, Lear Fan-Respectability, His Majesty. Bred by Victory View Farm (Ky.)

4th. $15,000. F&M Mdn. Hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles.1. Class Tie 155 Boucher2. Lonesome Nun L 155 Crowley3. Secret Style L 151 Roberts 4. Cape Town Queen 151 YoungMgn: Nose. Time: 4:20 4/5. O: Mede Cahaba Stable. T: Lilith Boucher. Dr. b. or br. m. 5, Black Tie Affair (Ire)-Class Babe, Class Secret. Bred by Mede Cahaba Stable & Stud LLC (Va.)

5th. $15,000. Mdn. Hurdle. 2-1/8 Miles. 1. Great Halo L 138 Mackenzie 2. Zulla Road L 151 Roberts 3. Belarion L 154 Young 4. Sgt. Bart 154 Slater5. Class Indian 138 Boucher Mgn: 3/4. Time: 4:21 4/5. O: Hamilton Farm. T: Katherine McKenna. B. g. 3, Great Notion-Noddy’s Halo, Halo. Bred by Roland Farm (Md.)

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HUNT VALLEY, Md. – Jack Fisher went to Monmouth Park, not Shawan Downs, but he knew what happened.

“He was out the back, where he wasn’t supposed to be, and got lucky,” the trainer said. “I know it. I didn’t need to see it.”

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Fisher complained af-terward, but jockey Fritz

Boniface put Delta Park in the back of a nine-horse field early to engineer a win in the $25,000 Ski Roundtop timber stakes at Shawan Downs Sept. 25. Owned by Arcadia Stable, the winner drew off from Gather No Moss late to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 6:04.40 for 3 miles.

“He was brilliant, I was very im-pressed by him,” said Boniface. “I know the horse can close and I was very con-fident where we were.”

Run over a hard turf course, the Roundtop turned into survival of the fit-test. Major Price rocketed to the front, extended the margin to 60 lengths at Douglas Lees

Delta Park (left) catches Major Price in the Ski Roundtop timber stakes at Shawan Downs.

following his own ordersDelta Park rallieslate to win stakes

By jOE cLaNcy

SHAWAN DoWNSSaturday, Sept. 25

See Shawan page 15


one point, blasted fences, lost little momentum. On the final run up the backside, the other eight runners went to work on the cushion. Prospectors Strike led the parade, pulling Gather No Moss, Patriot’s Path and Delta Park along. Delta Park took over from Major Price in the stretch and outran Gather No Moss (Mark Watts) and Prospectors Strike (Justin Batoff) to the finish. Ma-jor Price stayed for fourth, despite the early workload.

“Major Price was going to stay there or he was going to come back to us,” said Boniface. “You have to ride like he’s not there. Prospectors Strike (also trained by Fisher) helped us by going when he did – I didn’t want any part of Major Price at that point.”

Delta Park won twice over timber in 2009, but lost his first three starts in 2010. Just 6 (at least three years younger than the others in the field), the son of Johannesburg could be on the improve.

“He’s still learning, we both are,” said Boniface, a Fisher employee who rode his first jump race in 2009. “They still call me boy at the barn. I wasn’t sure I’d have any rides this fall so to get a win the first day of the season is nice. There’s a little rust. We school and ev-erything at home, but the race helps you get back into it.”

• A race later, Irv Naylor’s Gorgeous Charger (James Slater) followed a simi-lar path to victory in the $15,000 maid-en timber. The 7-year-old homebred ad-vanced from last of seven early to catch Swagger Stick (Willie Dowling) on the final turn and win by a neck in 6:37.40 for 3 miles. Ordered To Listen (Jacob Roberts) finished third.

Trained by Billy Meister, the son of Awad used his experience edge over the final stages – taking aim at recent hurdle convert Swagger Stick leaving the back-side, building a lead early in the stretch and holding on in the final yards.

“I watched the timber stakes and the speed was almost getting there, but not quite,” said Slater. “I saw Fritz come from behind and I figured, chances are these maidens might just do a little bit too much early and come back to me. I was quite happy sitting there. I wanted to wait.”

Fresh off a third in the Grade I New York Turf Writers Cup at Saratoga in late August, Swagger Stick (Willie Dowling) set the pace for better than 2 miles. His jumping improved as he went along, but he made a key mistake at the last fence on the backside – open-ing a door. Gorgeous Charger, sixth at the Grand National in April and fifth in open company at Nashville in May, used those timber miles late.

“(Swagger Stick) made a pretty seri-ous mistake that allowed us to catch up without doing much work,” Slater said. “I waited until we got around the bend and went from there. He absolutely sailed the last and that definitely helped.”

• Sharps Island kicked off a big day for owner Dumbarton Farm when he won the opener, a $15,000 maiden hur-dle, for trainer Tom Voss. The 7-year-old sat fourth early as Bag Of Hammers built a 30-length lead and advanced to second just before the stretch. Sharps Island (Ja-cob Roberts) landed running over the fi-

Shawan – Continued from page 14

Douglas Lees

Gorgeous Charger leads Swagger Stick in the maiden timber.

See Shawan page 16

http://www.valleymotors.com


nal two fences, caught the leader in the final yards and won by three-quarters of a length in 3:43 for 2 miles.

“Tom said if somebody runs off on the front end, let them go,” said Roberts. “I wasn’t paying attention to that horse on the lead. My horse was in a really good cruising speed and I didn’t want to mess with him. I wasn’t going to ruin his chances by trying to keep up with that other horse. The only chance I had was to let it unfold late and it did.”

Sharps Island won seven races and earned more than $225,000 on the flat for Dumbarton and trainer Jimmy Murphy, who died last year. After three flat starts last year with Tim Keefe, the son of Deputy Minister followed stablemate Easy Red to Voss’ barn this year. Fifth at Penn National and pulled up at Saratoga Open House, Sharps Island finished third on the flat for Voss at Saratoga Sept. 1 in the start before Shawan.

Owner Joe Keelty, on hand to accept Sharps Island’s trophy, skipped the rest of the day to catch Easy Red winning a novice hurdle stakes at Monmouth a few hours later.

“I watched that one on television,” Keelty said. “I haven’t had many days like that as an owner. Both horses did very well on the flat and now they’re doing

very well over jumps too.”

• In the midst of a late rally that took him from last to first in the stretch of the second, a $10,000 conditioned claiming hurdle, Blue Rider skipped awkwardly through the last fence. Matt McCar-ron stayed in the tack, but his left foot parted company with its stirrup. For balance, the jockey kicked his right foot free and rode for the finish.

Whitewood Farm’s Blue Rider obliged, drawing off to win by 3 3/4 lengths over Sword Of Dubai (Rob-bie Walsh) with Expel (Liam McVicar) third. The winner, trained by Richard Valentine, covered 2 miles in 3:44.20 while winning for the second time in 10 jump starts.

McCarron fell/slid off while pulling up, but got back in time for the trophy presentation – tired, sore, a little embar-rassed.

“The second-last and the last both came up long and he was going so quick and the ground was so hard, he never got his landing gear down quickly enough,” McCarron said. “I went out the back door a little bit, and I lost an iron. The first two strides, I couldn’t get it back. The best scenario I had was to pull the other one too and at least I could egg him on as opposed to trying to hang on for dear life.”

Blue Rider nearly lost touch with the field on the backside and was still last at the top of the stretch. Canardly led into the second-last, but juked right at take-off, twisted on landing and lost Roberts. Expel and Harrys Crown battled briefly for the lead, until Blue Rider swooped to the front at the last.

“When they started running away from me down the back I could only do so much, we had a long way to go,” McCarron said. “Fortunately, they just started to come back to me by the turn. I got by one and as soon as I turned for home I pulled him out and got by a few more and all of the sudden his confidence swelled and he started really running.”

• Nick Arundel’s Union Army (Rob-erts) bested Dispute This (Brooks Dur-kee) by a neck with Our Diva (Paul Madden) third in the first training flat race. Jack Fisher bought the 3-year-old son of Dixie Union from WinStar Farm in the spring.

Maggie Bryant’s Dealer Beware (Alex Thomas) ran away with the finale, scor-ing by 12 lengths over Old Timer (Mark Beecher) and Dance Faster (Durkee). Dealer Beware hit the board over hur-dles in the spring.

Shawan – Continued from page 15

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Sharps Island (center) catches Bag Of Hammers (right) while loose horse Grinding Speed keeps pace near the wire of the maiden hurdle.

Douglas Lees


Shawan DownsHunt Valley, Md. Saturday, Sept. 25. Turf Firm. 1st. $15,000. Mdn. Hurdle. 2 Miles. 1. Sharps Island L 155 Roberts 2. Bag Of Hammers L 160 Slater 3. Straight To It L 156 Dowling 4. Red Ghost L 160 McVicar5. Fog Island L 151 Haynes 6. Houghton Regrets L 160 Durkee 7. Sumo Power L 156 Watts F. Grinding Speed L 151 Beecher Mgn: 3/4. Time: 3:43. O: Dumbarton Farm. T: Tom Voss. Dr. b. or br. g. 7, Deputy Minister-Regal Vic-tress, Diamond Prospect. Bred by Richard S. Kaster, Nathan Fox & Dep-uty Minister Syndicate (Ky.)

2nd. $10,000. Cond. Clm. Hurdle. 2 Miles. NW2 for $15,000-$10,000

1. Blue Rider L 154 McCarron 2. Sword Of Dubai L 162 Walsh3. Expel L 158 McVicar 4. Harrys Crown L 154 Slater5. Summersville L 140 Dahl6. Johann Star L 162 WattsLR. Canardly L 159 Roberts Mgn: 3-3/4. Time: 3:44 1/5. O: Whitewood Stable, Inc. T: Richard Valentine. Ch. g. 7, A.P. Indy-Bluemamba, Kingmambo. Bred by Skymarc Farm Inc. (Ky.)

3rd. $25,000. Timber stakes. 3 Miles.Ski Roundtop Trophy.

1. Delta Park L 165 Boniface 2. Gather No Moss 160 Watts 3. Prospectors Strike L 165 Batoff4. Major Price L 165 Beecher5. Patriot’s Path L 165 Dowling6. Brands Hatch L 160 McVicar7. Bon Caddo 168 ReadPU. Wazee Moto L 160 WilliamsPU. Incaseyouraminer L 160 SwopeMgn: 4-1/2. Time: 6:04 2/5. O: Arcadia Stable. T: Jack Fisher. B. g. 6, Johannesburg-Excedius, Seattle Dancer. Bred by Earl Silver & Michael Eiserman (Ky.)

4th. $15,000. Maiden Timber. 3 Miles.1. Gorgeous Charger L 165 Slater2. Swagger Stick L 165 Dowling3. Ordered To Listen L 165 Roberts4. Mr Tack 160 Boniface5. Glacial Sting (Ire) L 160 BeecherF. Mach Ten L 165 DurkeeLR. Just Say Boo L 168 ReadMgn: Neck. Time: 6:37 2/5. O: Irv Naylor. T: Billy Meister. B. g. 7, Awad-Gorgeous Gerty, Darn Than Alarm. Bred by Irv Naylor (Md.)

5th. Training Flat. 1-3/8 Miles.1. Union Army L 155 Roberts2. Dispute This L 160 Durkee3. Our Diva L 157 Madden 4. Orebanks L 160 Thomas5. Last Noble L 160 Slater6. Comanche Station L 160 Wyatt 7. Final Straw L 160 McVicar8. The Other Me L 160 Watts9. No Mesa With Me L 160 Haynes10. Pecan Tassie L 152 AustinMgn: Neck. Time: 2:26. O: Arthur W. Arundel. T: Jack Fisher. B. g. 3, Dixie Union-King’s Fancy, King of Kings.Bred by Dr. Jerry Bilinski, Marty Zaretsky and Harry Patton (N.Y.).

6th. Training Flat. 1-3/8 Miles.1. Dealer Beware L 160 Thomas2. Old Timer L 160 Beecher3. Dance Faster L 155 Durkee4. Chestermite L 160 Dahl5. Dynaway L 160 Wyatt6. Torino Luge (Aus) L 160 Merrigan7. Native Mark L 160 Watts8. Rawley L 160 Stettinius 9. The Editor L 160 McVicar10. Colonial Kid L 160 Slater11. Hiwasee Gem 152 WalshPU. Lion’s Double L 160 DowlingMgn: 12. Time: 2:25 1/5. O: Maggie Bryant. T: Doug Fout. Ch. g. 6, Stack-Beware Of The Ace, Caveat. Bred by Jim Carter (Fla.)

Tod MarksBlue Rider outruns loose horse Canardly (and the others) to the finish in the second.

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OCEANPORT, N.J. – Jonathan Sheppard leaned on a bottle recycling container, he checked his pro-gram, he looked through a pair of mini binoculars.

With a Sport of Kings tote bag hanging from his arm and a baseball hat pulled down to his brows, he paced on the apron and then walked inside the Mon-mouth Park grandstand and as quickly as he got to the TVs, he was back out front again. The Hall of Fame trainer loitered among a man drinking a bottle of Bud, a fat guy wearing a Rutgers T-shirt, a hunched man smoking a cigarette and rooting for the 3 horse.

Sheppard watched the Helen Haskell Sampson Hurdle, the $100,000 Grade I feature at Monmouth Park Sept. 25, in complete anonymity.

Hudson River Farm’s Arcadius traveled sweetly the whole way, collared Slip Away at the last and galloped away to a 1-length victory under summer phenom Brian Crowley. Jonathan Sheppard, the greatest of all

time, adjusted his baseball hat and walked toward the winner’s circle. He didn’t pump his fist, he didn’t high-five an owner, he didn’t hug a wife, he simply walked toward the winner’s circle for the 1,000th time after a jump race. Sheppard is the first trainer in the sport’s history to achieve the milestone. Most likely, the last.

Among active trainers, Jack Fisher is second with 369, followed by Janet Elliot and Tom Voss (345 each).

“I read Steeplechase Times last night and it said I had two to go,” said Sheppard, who won a maiden with Port Morsbey earlier in the card. “It was a nice race to do it in, he seemed to be always going well, in

a nice spot, he’s riding pretty well, this kid.”That’s Sheppard, deflecting the credit and changing

the subject (and, yes, Crowley is riding well, he won five of the 10 jump races at Saratoga and Monmouth).

Congratulated on the milestone, Sheppard again guarded it.

“I think this could be it,” Sheppard said. “I might hang it up right here.”

Doubtful. The 69-year-old engineered another Grade I tri-

umph by producing Arcadius to a facile win in the stakes. Arcadius put together two strong efforts at

1,000Tod Marks

Arcadius (left) challenges Slip Away at the last fence in the Helen Haskell Sampson Stakes.

Arcadius delivers win,training milestone for Sheppard in Gr. I

By SEaN cLaNcy

MoNMoUTH PARKSaturday, September 25

See arcadiuS page 19


Saratoga, finishing second in the A.P. Smithwick and New York Turf Writ-ers Cup, beaten both times by a stable-mate. Divine Fortune was sharper in the Smithwick and Sermon Of Love was sharper in the Turf Writers.

Divine Fortune went wrong after the Smithwick and Sermon Of Love was over the top, finishing last, in the Samp-son. The good soldier, Arcadius, was there to pick up the pieces for his fourth lifetime jump win and first Grade I vic-tory. It was his turn.Paddy Young put Slip Away on the

lead in the 2 1/2-mile stakes but Crow-ley kept Arcadius close, always in touch and always eyeing the pacesetter. Under the wire the first time, Slip Away led Red Letter Day with a gap to Sermon Of Love, Seer and Arcadius. Novice Quiet Approval and Iroquois winner Tax Ruling trailed.

After five fences, Arcadius jumped into third, outside Sermon Of Love, still 5 lengths off Slip Away. With a circuit to go, Slip Away led Red Letter Day who made a mistake at the eighth hurdle in front of the stands, Arcadius tracked to his outside. Into the final turn, Arcadius blew past Red Letter Day and took aim on Slip Away, finally reeling him with a big leap at the last and a resolute gallop to the wire. The official margin was a length.

Announcer Larry Collmus couldn’t have said it better, “It’s a milestone for a racing icon.”

Amen. “I was trying to do the math and I

figured you had to average 25 wins for 40 years, it’s hard to imagine anybody could have done it, let alone me,” Shep-pard said. “I guess back in the old days we used to win up in the 30s quite a bit, but that doesn’t happen that often any more. It’s mind-boggling. It’s amaz-ing. It’s hard to imagine it could happen again, the future is so uncertain.”

Sheppard began the march all the way back on April 16, 1966 when Red-mond Stewart Jr.’s Haffaday won at My Lady’s Manor. Yes, Sheppard used to be a timber trainer. From there, the ball quickly began to roll and now it’s rolled all the way to 1,000. He won 39 races, a single-season record, to lead the nation in 1988. He’s trained nine champions (steeplechase and flat) and two Hall of Famers. He’s won the Turf Writers 13 times, the Colonial Cup 14 times. And he’s on his way to his 24th races-won title and 26th money-won title.

But, still he doesn’t rest, waver or take it easy.

This summer, he was in the winner’s circle at Presque Isle Downs Tuesday night and at his Saratoga barn Wednes-day morning. The 740-mile roundtrip car ride, like it was nothing.Yeah, that’s how you get to a thou-

sand.“I figure if you’re going to do it, go

at it, otherwise do something differ-ent,” Sheppard said of his methodology. “I’m extremely grateful to all the own-ers and people who work for me and the nice horses, I’ve been along for the ride, basically. We’ve had a lot of good people with a lot of passion, hopefully I’ve instilled a little of that into them, but still they have to show up every day and work from 6 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon.”

Don’t think Sheppard wasn’t count-

ing to 1,000 or counting toward his next goal of 3,000 combined wins. He’s dog-gedly competitive, driven like he’s been jilted and focused like a rifle. Whether it’s on a homebred claimer at Presque Isle or a champion sprinter at Saratoga or a jumper at Monmouth or a veteran with two bows legging up in Camden, Shep-pard goes at it with everything he’s got.Years ago, he was offered a private job

training flat horses, he didn’t take it. He could have winnowed down his stable to a select group of flat horses, he stuck to his roots and kept his jump stable on the front burner. His commitment to steeple-chasing wavered for a few years but all in all Sheppard has plied his trade and dominated it for four decades.

“Back in the day when there was more steeplechasing, I wonder what the num-bers were. I tapered off for a few years, but 40 years is a long time. I had changed my focus, when what I call my sequence was over (he was beaten for leading trainer, after 18 consecutive earnings titles, in 1991), I went through the mo-tions a little bit and concentrated on the flat a bit more,” Sheppard said. “It’s the people who inspire you, the people who come along who are enthusiastic and want to ride. They have a passion, they love the horses, they want to see you do well. It’s the people you work with day in day out, who are enthusiastic and are willing to put in the time, you feel like you should reciprocate.”

At the end of the day at Monmouth, Sheppard grazed Arcadius on a sliver of grass on the backside. He took a call from jockey Clinton Potts at Penn Na-tional, talked about an Irish filly he was trying to buy and about a program on the rising middle class which he heard on NPR. All the while, Sheppard eyed his horse, walking in circles and dodg-ing buckets, holes and guywires before deciding Arcadius was content.

“He liked that,” Sheppard said as he put the 6-year-old gelding in his stall.

Assistant Anne Sinchak told Shep-pard about some filling in a runner’s leg.

“Boy, you take all the fun out of it,” Sheppard said, half serious. Sheppard handed out a $100 bill to Sinchak and got back in his Audi stationwagon for the two-hour drive to his Unionville, Pa. farm. Before he was out of the stable gate, he was back on the phone, checking on two runners at Presque Isle Downs (they finished first and second).

More miles on the clock and winners in the bank.

Arcadius – Continued from page 18

Tod MarksArcadius powers to the finish at Monmouh.

Jockeys (Races Won) Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Win%Paddy Young ......................... 77 16 13 12 $461,100 .21Danielle Hodsdon .................. 40 12 5 7 286,760 .30Carl Rafter ............................. 46 11 6 4 222,470 .24Richard Boucher ................... 26 9 2 6 135,300 .35Jeff Murphy ........................... 51 8 8 9 176,200 .16Matt McCarron ...................... 40 7 8 5 117,610 .18Jody Petty ............................. 51 7 4 6 140,450 .14Brian Crowley ......................... 24 7 4 2 296,590 .29Bernie Dalton ........................ 42 6 13 3 153,600 .14Darren Nagle ......................... 55 6 9 8 247,720 .11

Trainers (Races Won) Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Win%Jonathan Sheppard ............... 71 21 9 17 $641,630 .30Tom Voss .............................. 78 14 19 9 405,450 .18Jack Fisher ............................ 66 10 12 10 329,750 .15Kathy McKenna ..................... 43 8 3 3 114,445 .19Doug Fout ............................. 32 5 3 6 118,950 .16Sanna Hendriks ..................... 15 5 2 3 52,600 .33Julie Gomena ........................ 10 5 1 1 120,350 .50Richard Valentine ................... 32 4 6 4 72,140 .12Lilith Boucher ......................... 12 4 1 1 58,600 .33Dave Washer ........................... 8 3 3 1 34,850 .38

Owners (Money Won) Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Win%Bill Pape ................................ 27 6 3 6 $274,590 .22Irv Naylor .............................. 52 7 4 6 200,100 .14Arcadia Stable ....................... 21 5 3 0 164,600 .24Hudson River Farm ................ 13 3 4 5 161,790 .23Ken and Sarah Ramsey ......... 11 2 3 2 113,100 .18Dumbarton Farm .................... 10 3 2 1 97,950 .30Maggie Bryant ....................... 28 6 2 4 95,350 .21Mary Ann Houghland .............. 8 2 0 1 72,300 .25Oakwood Stable ...................... 5 3 1 0 69,600 .60Randleston Farm ..................... 7 1 2 0 59,450 .14

Horses (Money Won) Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Earnings Win%Arcadius .................................. 5 2 2 1 $124,500 .40Sermon Of Love ...................... 5 2 0 2 109,500 .40Tax Ruling ............................... 3 1 0 0 105,250 .33Bubble Economy ..................... 3 2 1 0 95,400 .67Easy Red ................................. 7 2 2 1 87,950 .29Slip Away ................................ 5 1 2 1 86,500 .20Divine Fortune ......................... 6 2 1 1 86,000 .33Lead Us Not ............................ 4 1 1 2 47,840 .25Spy In The Sky ........................ 2 1 0 0 47,500 .50Twill Do ................................... 2 1 0 0 46,750 .50

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Courtesy of National Steeplechase MuseumJonathan Sheppard (right) walks with Haffaday after the 1968 Maryland Hunt Cup.

Through The YearsMilestone Victoriesof Jonathan Sheppard

First winApril 16, 1966

My Lady’s ManorHaffaday

Owner: Redmond Stewart Jr.Jockey: Paddy Neilson

001100th win

August 18, 1972Saratoga Race Course

Speed KillsOwner: Mrs. C.M. LoftingJockey: Michael O’Brien

100200th win

September 10, 1977Fair Hill

Leaping FrogOwner: Chadds Ford Stable

Jockey: Jerry Fishback

200300th win

August 20, 1981Saratoga Race Course

Bright HighwayOwner: Augustin StableJockey: John Cushman

300400th win

March 30, 1985Carolina CupStar Billing

Owner: Masuth StableJockey: Jerry Fishback

400

500th winOctober 14, 1988

Royal ChaseFinal Try

Owner: Jim CromiakJockey: Jonathan Smart

500600th win

October 5, 1991Virginia Fall

AwrenceOwner: Marabue FarmJockey: Ben Guessford

600

700th winOctober 15, 1994

International Gold Cup Flying Frenchman

Owner: Timber Bay FarmJockey: Charlotte Brooks

700800th win

June 20, 1999Delaware ParkSky And Sea

Owner: R.D. Hubbard Jockey: Arch Kingsley

800900th win

March 5, 2006Little Everglades

BonfoOwner: Timber Bay FarmJockey: Danielle Hodsdon

9001000th win

Sept. 25, 2010Monmouth Park

ArcadiusOwner: Hudson River Farm

Jockey: Brian Crowley

1000

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The 26thR unning of the

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Sheppard career Scorecard

Trainer Jonathan Sheppard reached the career milestone of 1,000 steeplechase vic-tories with the win by Arcadius at Monmouth Park Sept. 25. His career record includes:

Jump CareerYear Wins Total2010*........................ 21 ...................1,0002009.......................... 17 ......................9792008.......................... 16 ......................962 2007.......................... 21 ......................9462006.......................... 26 ......................9252005.......................... 17 ......................8992004.......................... 18 ......................8822003............................ 7 ......................864 2002.......................... 15 ......................857 2001............................ 9 ......................842 2000.......................... 16 ......................833 1999.......................... 26 ......................817 1998.......................... 12 ......................791 1997.......................... 15 ......................779 1996.......................... 29 ......................764 1995.......................... 27 ......................735 1994.......................... 37 ......................708 1993.......................... 31 ......................671 1992.......................... 35 ......................640 1991.......................... 29 ......................605 1990.......................... 25 ......................576 1989.......................... 34 ......................551 1988.......................... 39 ......................517 1987.......................... 30 ......................478 1986.......................... 19 ......................448 1985.......................... 31 ......................429 1984.......................... 28 ......................398 1983.......................... 38 ......................370 1982.......................... 24 ......................332 1981.......................... 32 ......................308 1980.......................... 11 ......................276 1979.......................... 29 ......................265 1978.......................... 26 ......................236 1977.......................... 30 ......................210 1976.......................... 22 ......................1801975.......................... 18 ......................1581974.......................... 15 ......................140 1973.......................... 15 ......................125 1972.......................... 20 ......................110 1971.......................... 18 ........................90 1970.......................... 21 ........................72 1969.......................... 21 ........................51 1968.......................... 12 ........................301967.......................... 11 ........................181966........................... 7 ..........................7

*-Through Oct. 8

Tod Marks


OCEANPORT, N.J. – Jimmy Murphy won 185 races as a steeplechase jockey from 1948 to 1964, and is still 10th on the career victory list. He turned to training and built a reputation as one of the best on the Maryland circuit before passing away in 2009.

His legacy continues.Dumbarton Farm homebred Easy Red, one of the

last horses Murphy saddled, switched to steeplechas-ing last summer. Under Tom Voss’ care, the son of Charismatic won his debut at Monmouth Park in the fall. A year later (364 days to be exact), Easy Red won his first stakes when taking the Metcalf Memorial at Monmouth Sept. 25.

“Jimmy Murphy told me about that horse two years before I got him,” Voss said after the race. “He said he’d be a good horse over jumps, once he was through with him. He’s a tough horse, always tries.”

After winning his jump debut, Easy Red skidded through his next seven starts, hitting the board in most and then hitting his nadir when beaten 22 lengths in an average allowance race at Saratoga Open House and pulling up in an optional claimer at the real meet

Aug. 12. Voss sent the 8-year-old veteran (he made his 52nd start at Monmouth) to the farm and tried again at the end of the meet.

“We sent him home after the first two times he ran so bad, he didn’t want to go to the first fence,” Voss said. “He came back seven days before he ran and his back was still sore, something was pinching him or something. You ran your hand down his back, he’d sink, we injected it and he had a corn under his shoe, we three-quartered it. Nothing I’ve done. That’s the rest of the story, he’s won two races since.”

In the last jump race at Saratoga, Sept. 2, Easy Red rated in fourth before sweeping to a comfortable score over favorite Lead Us Not. Three weeks later, he re-turned against a tough group of novices that included undefeated Call You In Ten, the Voss-trained Ground Frost and Jonathan Kiser third Italian Wedding.

Birthday Beau reluctantly took the lead from Grant-or in the middle of the first turn and opened a 10-length lead after flying the second and third hurdles. Grantor

See monmouth page 24

Red Man

Tod MarksEasy Red (8) goes after Birthday Beau (right) and Ground Frost after the last fence in Monmouth’s novice hurdle stakes.

Dumbarton homebred rides Murphy’s call to novice stakes score

MoNMoUTH PARKSaturday, September 25

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Tod Marks

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found a spot in second, closer than usual, while Italian Wedding rated in third. Bri-an Crowley parked Easy Red in fourth, to the outside while Call You In Ten and Ground Frost trailed. Saluda Sam lost jockey Jody Petty with a circuit to go but the rest kept the same order until the final turn when Easy Red, Ground Frost and Italian Wedding rallied to Birthday Beau while Call You In Ten waited for room. The quintet jumped the last with the race in the balance, Easy Red rallied stoutly to win by three-quarters of a length over an unlucky Call You In Ten (Murphy). Ground Frost (Young) finished third with a head to a game Birthday Beau and a nose to Italian Wedding. The first five finished within a length and a quarter.

Crowley, aboard for the first time, was impressed.

“He won very nice, they didn’t go very quick early, it turned into a sprint,” Crowley said. “I thought I’d be done for toe turning in, but I pulled him wide and gave him a shove, he just took off, I knew coming to the last we’d win.”

• There were nervous trainers at Monmouth. And then there was Doug Fout. The Virginia-based trainer had to face the music with Maggie Bryant’s Ptarmigan.

The 4-year-old filly impressively won her first two starts of the year before pulling up after her saddle slipped at Nashville and falling at Fair Hill. The gray daughter of Unbridled Jet had the Valentine Memorial in her grasp when

she took a heavy fall at the last fence.Fout put her away for the summer,

hoping to clear her mind and his, and aimed at Monmouth’s Guelph Stakes. He gave her a flat spin at Colonial Downs where she dead-heated for third.

All is well again. Jeff Murphy rated Ptarmigan in the

back of the six-horse field, which was led by Green Velvet and her stablemate Farah T Salute. Moon Dolly sat third with Miss Crown, Dynaskill and Ptar-migan next. Under restraint, Ptarmigan jumped big and round when meeting her fences long and sticky when meeting them short. It was schoolwork.

After finally leveling off and jump-ing fluidly at the two fences down the backside the final time, Ptarmigan split horses to be fourth going into the turn as Miss Crown took over from Farah T Salute. Moon Dolly (Young) loomed as well before finishing third. Turning for home, Miss Crown (Bernie Dalton) and Ptarmigan had separated from their rivals, jumping the last in unison (both going short) and then battling to a pho-to finish which had viewers debating.

Don’t ask Murphy. “I had to come back and see where

Bernie was sitting,” the jockey said. Dalton was going to the number 5

slot along the outside rail – not the win-ner’s circle.

Ptarmigan, bred by Fout’s mother Eve, had picked up her third victory and most importantly quelled Fout’s fears after the Fair Hill fall.“You don’t want to fry them, you

can fry a filly so quickly, especially in a jump race. She had such a bad fall, you don’t know, she was real tentative

when we first schooled her, once she got going, she was OK,” Fout said. “I was up all night, it’s always in the back of your mind, you don’t know if you broke her heart for good, it was a bad fall, I thought she was dead. It was terrible, you couldn’t have had a worse fall.”

Murphy, who’s ridden Ptarmigan in her last six starts, took the blame and then tried to put that mistake behind him as he got another chance on the long-striding filly.

“I’ve had enough disappointment in racing that I’m not going to let those things bother me,” he said. “It was one of those things; she was very rank, she was tired, it was a hot day, if she met it a stride earlier, she would have landed on the other side and won it. I was the

first to blame myself for that one, she’s a lovely filly, we always thought she was the best of the fillies and I won’t say she’s the best yet, but wait until next month.”

Fout plans to run Ptarmigan at Far Hills and call it a season.

“She needs to run one more time and be put away. She’s a real thinker, we need to be careful, I think we can have a serious horse next year,” Fout said. “I’ve been in the game enough, you know how fast things can turn. She’s a big strapping filly, you don’t get those kind of fillies very often. She’ll prove her point.”

Monmouth – Continued from page 22

See monmouth page 26

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Tod MarksPtarmigan (left) battles Miss Crown at the last fence in the filly/mare stakes.

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Show Hunter & Jumper Monmouth Park

Oceanport, NJ. Saturday, September 25. Turf Firm. 1st. $30,000. SOK F&M Hurdle. The Guelph Stakes. 2-1/4 Miles. 1. Ptarmigan L 150 Murphy 7.20 3.80 2.602. Miss Crown L 148 Dalton 3.20 2.603. Moon Dolly (GB) L 144 Young 3.00

$2 Exacta (3-5) Paid $26.60. $1 Trifecta (3-5-6) Paid $63.70$1 Superfecta (3-5-6-4) Paid $109.90

4. Farah T Salute L 152 Aizpuru5. Green Velvet 140 Hodsdon6. Dynaskill L 144 Crowley Mgn: Nose. Time: 4:31 1/5. O: Magalen O. Bryant. T: Doug Fout. Gr/ro. m. 4, Unbridled Jet-Flaine, Chenin Blanc. Bred by Eve Fout (Pa.)

3rd. $25,000. SOK Maiden Hurdle. 2-1/4 Miles. 1. Port Morsbey L 148 Hodsdon 12.20 4.40 2.802. Good Request L 154 Young 2.60 2.203. Salinja L 154 Petty 2.60


4. Camden Wood L 154 DaltonPU. Dynacast L 154 GeraghtyPU. Best Name (Gb) L 154 NaglePU. Power Game L 154 MackenziePU. Sergeant Karakorum L 148 CrowleyMgn: Head. Time: 4:28 3/5. O: Augustin Stables. T: Jonathan Sheppard. B. g. 4, Pleasantly Perfect-Rendezvous Point, Kingmambo. Bred by Augustin Stable (Pa.)

5th. $70,000. SOK Novice hurdle stakes. 2 1/4 Miles.NW prior to 6/1/09 or NW 3. Metcalf Memorial.

1. Easy Red L 153 Crowley 15.60 6.60 4.002. Call You In Ten L 147 Murphy 5.60 4.603. Ground Frost L 150 Young 3.40


4. Birthday Beau L 153 Geraghty5. Italian Wedding L 153 Hodsdon 6. Grantor L 150 Nagle 7. Ambersham L 150 AizpuruLR. Saluda Sam L 150 PettyMgn: 3/4. Time: 4:28 2/5. O: Dumbarton Farm. T: Tom Voss. B. g. 8, Charismatic-Dreams of Glory, Seattle Slew. Bred by Dumbarton Farm (Md.)

7th. $100,000. Open hurdle stakes, 2 1/2 Miles.Helen Haskell Sampson Stakes (Grade 1).

1. Arcadius L 142 Crowley 5.40 3.20 2.202. Slip Away L 146 Young 4.40 3.203. Seer L 150 Aizpuru 5.40


4. Quiet Approval L 134 Petty5. Red Letter Day L 154 Dalton6. Tax Ruling L 154 Nagle7. Sermon Of Love L 154 HodsdonMgn: 1. Time: 4:37 2/5. O: Hudson River Farms. T: Jonathan Sheppard. B. g. 6, Giant’s Causeway-Unify, Farma Way. Bred by Jayeff B Stables (Ky.)

10th. $25,000. NSA Allowance Flat. 1-1/2 Miles.1. All Together L 153 Aizpuru 11.20 4.80 3.002. Air Maggy L 148 Crowley 4.80 3.403. Twister Crossing L 148 Geraghty 3.40


4. Barnstorming L 143 Hodsdon5. Preemptive Strike L 143 Petty6. Dictina’s Boy 153 Young7. Boojwhacked L 148 Mackenzie8. Odds And Evens L 140 DaltonMgn: 2. Time: 2:35 4/5. O: Arcadia Stable. T: Jack Fisher. B. g. 5, Danzig-Unify, Farma Way. Bred by Jayeff B Stables (Ky.)

• Trainer Jonathan Sheppard picked up his 999th career jump win when Augustin Stable’s Port Morsbey turned away even money favorite Good Request (Young) to win the $25,000 maiden by a head.

Danielle Hodsdon settled the massive 4-year-old in second well off runaway leader Best Name. Port Morsbey drifted to sixth as he learned the art of run-ning and jumping. Once the education was provided, Hodsdon unleashed the homebred son of Pleasantly Perfect for a sweeping wide move on the final turn to reach the last with a solid lead over Good Request. Port Morsbey popped it, giving Good Request another chance, but then re-rallied to stave off the favor-ite. Salinja (Jody Petty) finished third, 29 lengths behind the first two finishers.

“I didn’t know what to expect from him, I expected that he would run well but there were a lot of first-timers in there, he lacks a little bit of confidence still with his jumping,” Hodsdon said. “He’s such a big horse, you’d think he should have a big, long one and I don’t know if he’s not strong enough or not confident enough so I’ve had to leave him alone, I think he’ll come into it on his own, I hope, at least he’s being careful about it. He’s figuring it out. I wasn’t sure what to expect, based on his flat form, he’s shown he can stay and he’s got a tremendous gallop to him.”

Port Morsbey made six starts on the flat, finishing third three times without breaking his maiden. Hodsdon rode him on the flat at Colonial Downs this summer where he finished third going a mile and a half. At Monmouth, he jumped de-liberately – adjusting to a short spot when in doubt – before gearing up on the final turn with an impressive kick.

“I don’t normally want to go that wide around the final turn, but with a big horse like him, you get him galloping,

you want to keep him galloping,” Hodsdon said. “I would have liked to seen a nice spot at the last, but all I saw was long, being by myself and not having asked any questions before, I didn’t think I should ask it then, he chipped in and that’s why it was as close as it was, at least he kept honest all the way to the wire.”

• Arcadia Stable’s All Together returned to his earlier form by winning the $25,000 flat race. Trained by Jack Fisher and ridden by Xavier Aizpuru, All Together broke his maiden im-pressively at Penn National earlier this summer but then failed to finish in two starts at Saratoga. All Together sat second off returning stakes veteran Preemptive Strike before cruising to a 2-length win over Air Maggy and Twister Crossing. The 4-year-old half-brother to Arcadius won three times on the flat, including an allowance race Monmouth last summer.

Monmouth – Continued from page 24

Tod MarksPort Morsbey (left) fights off Good Request in the maiden hurdle.

Tod MarksPtarmigan gets a pat from Jeff Murphy.


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Genesee Valley Racers .......... Gail McGuireArcadius ............................................. $124,500Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Meet At Eleven ..................................... $36,000Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Make Believe ........................................ $13,500............................................ $294,900Honey Locust .....................Winfield SappArcadius ............................................. $124,500Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Meet At Eleven ..................................... $36,000Class Century ....................................... $18,000Make Believe ........................................ $13,500............................................ $282,100Try Again Stable...................... Jim McVeyBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Torlundy ............................................... $27,000Make Believe ........................................ $13,500............................................ $256,800

Chinese Checkers Stable ...... Bill HutchinsonArcadius ............................................. $124,500Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Sweet Shani ......................................... $33,000Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Patriot’s Path ........................................ $11,500Air Maggy .............................................. $9,000............................................ $256,300Rolling Thunder Stable ..............Bob LunnyTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Patriot’s Path ........................................ $11,500Confined ................................................. $5,000............................................ $242,650Browntrout Stable ................. Douglas LeesTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Incomplete ............................................. $7,500Confined ................................................. $5,000............................................ $238,650

Carglen Stable .................. Joe Clancy Sr.Arcadius ............................................. $124,500Tax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Peace Proposal ...................................... $2,700Jack Twist .............................................. $2,250Shiny Emblem ........................................... $800Hi Flyin Indy .................................................. $0............................................ $235,500Cheltenham Invasion ......Richard HutchinsonBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Diva Maria ............................................ $28,000Prince Rahy .......................................... $17,500Left Unsaid ............................................. $9,000............................................ $228,200

Here’s The Plan Stable .......... Serelee HeflerTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Swagger Stick ...................................... $28,600Confined ................................................. $5,000Fleeting Thunder ........................................... $0............................................ $217,150Kim’s Kutie Kolts ......................Kim KoranTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800South Monarch .................................... $30,500Confined ................................................. $5,000Best Alibi ................................................ $3,000............................................ $217,150

6‘Pick Six’S t e e p l e c h a s e

F A N TA S Y S TA B L E G A M EPresented by the whip tavern

Douglas LeesThe Pick Six players missed Complete Zen, who sparkled in a maiden hurdle win at Virginia Fall Sunday for trainer Lilith Boucher.

A New LeaderIf it’s October, it’s time for Genesee. The race meet happens Oct. 9 and the stable

now tops the Pick Six standings. Gail McGuire’s team features recent Grade I winner Arcadius, who made quite an impact on the top 10. Longtime leader Jim McVey drops to third with Winfield Sapp jumping to the No. 2 spot. McGuire takes home the September prize – a $50 gift certificates to The Whip Tavern.

The top 22 are listed here. Check www.st-publishing.com for complete standings.

Arcadius (#1,000)

Congratulations Governor,

glad I could bea part of it.

Tod Marks photo


Baby Sister Stable ............... Saoirse YoungArcadius ............................................. $124,500Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Miss Crown .......................................... $22,200Prince Rahy .......................................... $17,500Relear ..................................................... $2,000Baylor Dude .............................................. $945............................................ $214,645Polish Power Stable ............. Eric DudzinskiArcadius ............................................. $124,500Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600South Monarch .................................... $30,500Mixed Up ................................................ $8,000Confined ................................................. $5,000Steppenwolfer ........................................ $2,000............................................ $212,600Pink Moon ......................Susan HaldemanBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800All Together .......................................... $17,000Make Believe ........................................ $13,500Mixed Up ................................................ $8,000............................................ $212,200

Prestbury Dreams Stables ......Pete FornataleBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Dictina’s Boy ........................................ $14,400Make Believe ........................................ $13,500Steppenwolfer ........................................ $2,000............................................ $203,600Mustangs .......................... Patrick MorssDivine Fortune ...................................... $86,000Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Ptarmigan ............................................ $42,000Class Century ....................................... $18,000Patriot’s Path ........................................ $11,500Your Sum Man .............................................. $0............................................ $200,100Mitch’s Mule Ranch ............ Edwin MitchellTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Mixed Up ................................................ $8,000Incomplete ............................................. $7,500Confined ................................................. $5,000............................................ $199,150

Pony Girl ......................Elizabeth WatrousBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Left Unsaid ............................................. $9,000Back To Mandalay .................................. $8,100Jellyberry ............................................... $4,500............................................ $195,300So Hard Being A Mets Fan ...... Brian NadeauTax Ruling .......................................... $105,250Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Erin Go Bragh ......................................... $5,750Confined ................................................. $5,000Best Name ..................................................... $0............................................ $194,300Dadofthree Farm ..................... Joe ClancyArcadIus ............................................. $124,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Hidden Trail .......................................... $16,000Make Believe ........................................ $13,500You The Man .......................................... $7,000Major Price ............................................ $1,250............................................ $193,050

Totally Random Stable ........... Bruce RodgerBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Spy In The Sky ..................................... $47,500Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Seer ..................................................... $10,000Confined ................................................. $5,000Lions Double ................................................. $0............................................ $188,700‘Bout Broke Farm .................... Lisa BeigeBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Slip Away ............................................. $86,500Dynaskill ................................................ $4,600Steppenwolfer ........................................ $2,000Old Man Buck ................................................ $0Your Sum Man .............................................. $0............................................ $188,500Geraldal Stable ................. Allison JanezicBubble Economy .................................. $95,400Virginia Minstrel ................................... $42,600Italian Wedding .................................... $30,800Mixed Up ................................................ $8,000Planets Aligned ...................................... $6,250Jellyberry ............................................... $4,500............................................ $187,550

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Villa Styeeplechase 2010 3/3/10 11:08 AM Page 1


The ast FenceEditorial • Opinion • Comments • Columns

TIMES EDITOrIaL

Monmouth’s daycan be improved

Did I miss a meeting?That was basically my response when told I was to

be a judge of the Theodora Randolph Field Hunter Championship of America Finals.

Without much discussion, I was driving Hotspur (remember him?) in Julie Gomena’s truck and trailer to Orange County’s Monday morning meet at Chilly Bleak Farm off of Zulla Road. It was raining, I was nervous, preoccupied with all the things I should be doing and wondering what it even meant to be a judge of a field hunter competition.

Then I got to the meet. As any good day of hunting will do – the weather,

the nerves, the to-do list faded with the first speaking of hounds and the first stone wall on the horizon.

This was a very big deal. Horses and riders from hunts I didn’t know existed

converged for a day – a week – of sport. Of course, members from Orange County, Keswick, Warrenton, Fairfax, Casanova and other Virginia hunts were on board (still don’t know where Piedmont and Cheshire were), but there were also participants from New Market-Middletown Valley, Belle Meade, Essex and

Princess Anne Hunt who traveled far and wide to take part.

It’s a simple premise. Hunt any or all days during the week and get selected by the judges.

I joined former amateur riders Mike Elmore, Mi-chele Rouse, Rob Banner and all around horsewoman Beth Fout as part of the five-person judging squad that tried to put objective reasoning to a subjective exer-cise.

What is a good foxhunter? I want smart and savvy, bold but thinking, taking just enough hold that I know we’re going but not too much to make it work. That’s what I want. As for the rest of the world, well, it comes in all shapes, sizes, demeanors and breeds.

Over five days of hunting with Orange County,

Blue Ribbon WeekTod Marks

The Winner. Brian Crowley heads to the jocks’ room after the finale at Monmouth, where he won two more stakes. In 11 jump rides between July 29 and Sept. 26, his horses had five wins, three seconds and $262,440 in purses earned.

Steeplechasing visited Monmouth Park for the biggest major track card of the year Sept. 25. Speaking for the horsemen – thank you Mon-mouth Park, Meridian Health and the National Steeplechase Association for the opportunity, the exposure and the lucrative purses.

Now for an evaluation:The handle is hard to defend. In the feature,

organizers put up $100,000 in purse money, at-tracting seven horses. The total mutuel pool was $228,000. In the day’s last race, a dozen $7,500 claimers ran for $18,000 in purses. The total mu-tuel pool reached $416,000. We believe strongly that racing days are about more than handle but keep the numbers in mind when you’re planning the event – and, to horsemen, make sure you thank your peers in New Jersey for the purse money.

Horses in the NSA flat race ran on the inside rail where horses had been running all summer. The course looked like Laytown, where horses run on the beach, in Ireland. The following day, Monmouth use a portable rail, because it’s better ground. There were two races in between the fi-nal jump races and the flat race; the hurdles could have been moved to ensure better ground.

Something (distance, timing system, etc.) is in-nacurate. Easy Red and Port Morsbey went 2 1/4 miles in 4:28 and change. Arcadius went 2 1/2 miles in 4:37.55. In the NSA flat race, jumpers ran 1 1/2 miles in 2:35.83 – a second faster than turf champion English Channel’s course record. Obviously, pace is different from race to race, but check it out. It’s disconcerting to expect bettors to bet, fans to watch and horsemen to support when simple things aren’t recorded correctly.

There should be stricter rules when it comes to pari-mutuel jump races. The sport is playing with fire when it takes entries for first-time starters (in stakes), horses ruled off the flat track and horses who have been unable to finish previous jump starts. Establish rules, taking judgment from the NSA and horsemen out of the equation, to im-prove the product.

Check the form. Ptarmigan prepped for Mon-mouth with a training flat race at Colonial Downs. The race does not appear on her form. Again, this is basically supplying incomplete public informa-tion. Other races are not identified accurately in the past performances: the 2009 maiden at Far Hills is listed as an open stakes and the 2009 Met-calf is considered an open stakes – to name a few. The sport is accountable for the information.

Have a party. A simple reception or gather-ing place for horsemen (flat and jump), racetrack management, sponsors, whomever, would help make it feel like an event. The likelihood of people betting a lot of money on steeplechasing is slim, especially on short fields with bad information, so the sport better do something to enhance its product. The tenet that handle will be less than on flat races makes it paramount to offer more.

On the Monmouth overnight, the NSA wrote, “For owners and trainers in need of box seats, please contact Lou Raffetto.” Perhaps Lou Raf-fetto (or somebody from the NSA office) could call owners and ask them what they need, give them thanks for participating. The NSA still thinks it’s not in customer service. Everyone is in customer service.

Again, thanks for the opportunity. But let’s make it better. See inSide page 31

Field hunter competition a thrill even for judge

The inside RailBy Sean Clancy


Farmington, Loudoun West, Snickersville and Fairfax, we selected an array of best foxhunters.

By Sunday’s final, we had narrowed our focus to about 25; we chose a 21-year-old mare, the smallest bay with the biggest man and one horse simply because he kept going for no good reason.

We fell for Emily Day and former Darley runner Another Look, whom you could take to a dinner party. We ogled over Jen Stewart on a former Scott Lake claimer who traveled every mile like he had been there before. We loved a draft paint horse who seemed to climb up one side and down the other of every fence, but never touched a rail. We nodded to a buckskin pony who raised his knees the same way at the same moment, no matter the ground, fence or company. We were slowly awed by Karen Murphy on her big bay from Essex who galloped like he was late for dinner and walked like he had just eaten. We were awed by Bobby Free-man and 13-year-old Buster who inserted the round peg into the round hole and the square peg into the square hole time after time. We were enamored by Bob and Leslie Hazel who read the manual for teamwork.

We wound up with eight finalists. The finals consisted of a four-jump

exhibition that included cantering to a post and rail fence, jumping a log, mak-ing a quick right turn to miss a “planted field,” dropping a rail, hopping over that fence, galloping to a coop and making a u-turn halt to finish the loop.

Best foxhunter wins.That was the hard part. There are a lot of good foxhunters

out there. Rouse, dressed in street clothes, threw

a curveball and decided that Mike and I should ride the finalists to decide the champion. We had come to the unani-mous decision to crown Emily Day and Another Look as champion. Mike and I rode Bob and Ambassador Z for the run-off of reserve champion.

I was so nervous I couldn’t buckle my chinstrap. Bob and Ambassador Z proved why they were battling for re-serve champion. I couldn’t miss, finding perfect spots on both horses (see how good they are) and enjoying every mo-ment of riding in front of a crowd for the first time since November 2000. At least, enjoying it once it was finished.

I’ve been to Virginia Fall Races off and on my whole life. It’s the first time I watched – let alone judged or rode – the Hunter Championship of America.

It was an honor and a pleasure.

Inside – Continued from page 30

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NSA Fall ScheduleSaturday, October 9

GENESEE VALLEY, Geneseo, N.Y. MORVEN PARK, Leesburg, Va.

Saturday, October 16INTERNATIONAL GOLD CUP,

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Saturday, October 23FAR HILLS, Far Hills, N.J.

Saturday, October 30AIKEN FALL, Aiken , S.C.

Saturday, November 6STEEPLECHASE AT CALLAWAY,

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Sunday, November 7PENNSYLVANIA HUNT CUP, Unionville, Pa.

Saturday, November 13COLONIAL CUP, Camden, S.C.

The Number One Source For Graded Stakes Winners.

THE WORLD’SPREMIEREBREEDING STOCK SALE.

Some things are just set in stone.This is Keeneland in November.

Horses of Racing Age from Darley, Shadwell Farm, Gary and Mary West, WinStar Farm and more.

Selling on Tuesday, November 16.

keeneland.comNOVNovember Breeding Stock Sale

Beginning Monday, November 8

KESL-10341 - Steeplechase Times NOV Sale.indd 1 9/29/10 11:01 AM

October 8 Steeplechase Times

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Transcript of October 8 Steeplechase Times