Vintage Vinnie had the fastest time of the day at Brandywine Hills, leading the entire race at times by 20 lengths. Photo by Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Easter Sunday, April 1, was a holiday for racing fans, with the 76th running of the Brandywine Hills Point to Point races in Chester County, PA. It was followed two weeks later on April 15 with the Fair Hill Point to Point Races, wrapping up the Delaware Valley Point to Point three race series that had begun at Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds in March.
The Open Timber Race at Brandywine Hills continued a pattern, being won for the third year in a row by Armata Stables’ Grand Manan. Trained by William Meister, the rider this year was Willie McCarthy.
“I rode him one time, two years maybe three years ago, when he was just beginning his career. I’m going to ride him this spring and today was just us getting reacquainted with each other. It was a nice way to start it off,” McCarthy said.
Grand Manan started well and ran on top for almost all of the three-mile course.
“That’s his running style. He breaks in front,” McCarthy said. “It was very easy for me. He was a smooth run. It’s like driving a Ferrari, it’s an amazing feeling.”
At Brandywine Hills, the Novice Timber Race had enough entries that it was split into two heats. The first heat was won by Gerard Gilligan on Irvin S. Naylor’s Takepointandrun, trained by William Meister.
The second heat was taken by Armata Stables’ Going For Broke, ridden by Eric Poretz and trained by Stephanie Moore. This was Poretz’s first time on the horse, who was racing for the first time in America. It turned out to be one of the most exciting races of the day, with Going For Broke and Pocket Talk with Chris Gracie jumping the last fence side by side to finish with an exciting stretch run to the wire.
”He went really well - jumping well. He just started getting better and better. He chipped in a couple, but he’s still a little green and he’ll improve off that. I didn’t want to overdo with him. He just did great. He dug in for the last and it set him up perfect for the stretch,” Poretz said.
Going For Broke was behind pace setter Pac Yer Tack for roughly the first two miles of the Novice race, until a fall left Pac Yer Tack running the rest of the race without jockey Gerard Galligan. “I pushed past him so he couldn’t come into me.” Poretz said about dealing with a loose horse on course. “You have to deal with it. There’s nothing you can do about it when you’re on top of another one. You just kind of ignore it and focus on yourself.”
The fastest time of the day at Brandywine Hills was turned in by Armata Stables’ Vintage Vinnie, running the three-mile course for the Heavyweight Timber race in 5:51 with jockey Chris Gracie. After taking the lead early on, Vintage Vinnie stayed on top with a lead of as much as twenty lengths at times, and galloping home alone.
“Chris Gracie was sort of a secret weapon too. I’ve been trying to talk him into coming back for at least five years,” trainer Joseph G. Davies said. “He was the right match for this horse, who is not an easy horse. He has lovely soft hands and relaxed him and did a great job.”
The Lady Rider Timber at Brandywine Hills was won by Romancing, with Anne Finney aboard for owner Fancy Hill Farm and trainer Nancy Knox.
“He’s lovely. He’s kind of strong, he’s a big horse,” Finney said after the race. “He took me around there nicely. I forgot how much fun it is to run and jump after flat tracking it for the last 20 years.”
Romancing was at the head of the three-horse race, setting the pace and taking a comfortable win. “He has a pretty big cruising speed, and he’s strong, so we figured to be pretty much making the pace. It was nice, he was able to get a few breathers,” Finney said. “I just had to remember where I was going and make the turns. He had everything else pretty well covered. The course rode really, really nicely so it was a whole lot of fun.”
The final race at Brandywine, the Foxhunter Timber, was won by McCrady’s, owned and trained by Lauren Schock and ridden by Julie Nafe. That combination returned for another win at Fair Hill Point to Point, this time winning the Lady Rider Timber.
Fair Hill Races
Fair Hill Point to Point Races finished up the season with cold wet weather keeping spectators under cover but the turnout of horses was good. Winners included Flying Horse Farm’s Jesse O. ridden by Matthew Martinez in the Heavyweight Timber and Western Exchange, owned by Caves Farm and ridden by Eric Poretz in the Novice Timber.
The featured Open Timber race drew four starters with Kings Apollo, owned by Stewart Strawbridge and trained by Sanna Neilson, winning with jockey Gerard Galligan in a time of 6:08.
Pony races are always a part of the Delaware Valley Point to Point series, with flat races and a field master’s chase included on each of the timber race cards.
For the very young riders, Brandywine Hills and Fair Hill also include Lead Line Pony Races, where the handlers must be at least as fast as the ponies. Both Lead Line Pony races in the series were won by Spicy, ridden by William Slater.
In the Small Pony races, Lauren Schock’s Chewy was a winner at Brandywine with Anna Farber aboard, and had a win at Cheshire with Courtney Bellwoar riding.
A standout among the Medium ponies this year was Count Chocula, owned by EHM Stables, with Teddy Davies aboard. The pair won the flat race at Brandywine with several lengths in hand over Nina McKenna on Fionna.
“Fiona and I got a start, and I stayed up next to Fiona until we went down the hill. Then I didn’t see her anymore, so I held him back. I didn’t hear anyone, so I just kept going. I didn’t push or anything until the very last time past the fence I started going right for the finish line,” Davies said after his win at Brandywine “He’s great to ride.”
Davies and Count Chocula were the winners of the Medium Pony division of the Field Master’s Chase at Fair Hill and second to Fiona in the Field Master’s Chase at Cheshire.
In the Large Pony Flat Races, Hot Chocolate with Joey Dipierro up was the winner at Brandywine Hills and finished on top two weeks later at Fair Hill for owner David Davies and trainer Michele Schofield Davies.
“You’ve got to hold her back. It’s better to save for the finish than waste it,” thirteen-year-old Dipierro said after his win at Brandywine Hills.