The Fair Hill Heavyweight race was won by Dr. K'eogh ridden by John Brophy. Credit: Marcella Peyre-Ferry
Easter Sunday, April 21, was filled with racing at Fair Hill Natural Resources Center, in Fair Hill, Maryland. The facility, which combines a well laid out racetrack with open fields, lends itself easily to the card that included flat, hurdle, and timber races.
Fair Hill was the final event of three on the Delaware Valley Point to Point Association calendar for 2019, with five timber races scheduled.
The featured Open Timber was won by Paul O’Neill on Carnival Carl, the entry of David Belt, Jr., trained by Mark Beecher. O’Neill let Sean McDermott set the pace on Beck’s Bad Boy, with Gerard Galligan on La Isabella bringing up the rear of the three horse field. By the time the trio had just four jumps to go, they were running together so that it looked like it could be anyone’s race.
They took the last jump off the final turn well bunched, going into Fair Hill’s long stretch run. Heading to the wire, La Isabella faded slightly to third while Carnival Carl managed to go to the front after a well fought run with Beck’s Bad Boy.
“He won the Potomac maiden, then we put him away and fox hunted him for the winter. David’s daughter Hannah won a foxhunter race (Warrenton) with him,” Beecher talked about the horse. “He’s pretty nice. I like him a lot and he’s a great jumper.”
Novice Timber
The largest field for the timber races was the Novice Timber with six horses going to the start. With the larger field, the lead changed several times during the course of the race. Sean McDermott on Expedient took the lead early on, to be surpassed by Forrest Kelly on Fletched, and by Pincer Movement with Archie MacAuley in the late running.
Pincer Movement, owned by Armata Stables and trained by Ricky Hendriks, kept the lead to the wire, with Fletched and Alert N Ready (McLane Hendriks riding) fighting for second place. An inquiry discovered Fletched had missed a flag on the last turn, putting him off course and out of the final standings.
Pincer Movement ran his first race over timber at Shawan Downs, finishing second. “He ran very well there jumped good, so we decided to jump him here at Fair Hill,” Hendriks said.
Due to low entries, the Roy Rector Memorial Heavyweight Timber and the Foxhunter Timber ran together with separate awards. There were just two entries in each section, with John Brophy going wire to wire on William Meister’s Dr. K’eogh, followed closely all the way by Mark Beecher with Rocket Star Red.
The Foxhunter’s Timber winner was sixteen-year-old Guts for Garters under fifteen-year-old Parker Hendriks. Guts for Garters, owned by Stewart Strawbridge, ran with the Heavyweight horses, well ahead of Julie Nafe on Forgotten Knot. Forgotten Knot closed fast in the stretch run, but Guts For Garters hung on to give Hendriks his first win over timber.
“The idea was to put him in the race and ride a proper race, then in the stretch don’t worry about trying to beat those other two. We had planned all along to tuck in behind Mark Beecher and get a good lead,” said trainer Sanna Neilson who is Parker Hendriks’ mother.
Hendriks also rode in the Junior Field Master’s Chase earlier in the day, winning the horse division on Lawn Ranger, owned and trained by Sanna Neilson.
Hendriks’ cousin Skyler McKenna also had a big win in the Ladies Timber on It’s Nothing. The sixteen-year-old had her first win over timber at Cheshire this spring and her second in the Ladies Race at Brandywine Hills two weeks earlier on Embarrased.
This time, McKenna was riding It’s Nothing, owned by Move Up Stable & Sally Reed, and trained by McKenna’s mother Katherine Neilson. It’s Nothing stayed well back until the late going where they took the lead, fighting off a challenge in the stretch by early leader Bethany Baumgardner on Costal Moon.
“He’s not too interested in the early speed. He’s so relaxed. He’s one of the best to gallop, he doesn’t even pick up the bridle at all. In the summer I like to start my mornings off with him for a nice quiet gallop, not too strong,” McKenna said of It’s Nothing. “He’s a very good jumper, he’s smart, smarter than I am probably.”
Hurdle Races
With national fences available at the course, the card included two hurdle races. The 1-¾ miles Amateur Apprentice Hurdle was won by Indigo Heart, ridden by Eve Ledyard and trained by Ricky Hendriks for Morningstar Farm.
A 1-7/8 mile Maiden Hurdle drew seven entries, with Hendriks again saddling the winner. This time it was That’s That, owned by Debra Kachel and ridden by Ross Geraghty in the winner’s circle.
“She did what she had to do for her first time start over hurdles and traveled easy. She did it really well,” Geraghty said. “She was a natural.”
The day of racing included a Maiden Training Flat Race, Amateur Open Flat race run in two divisions and The Mill of Belair Turf Prep Open Flat Race.
Flat Race winners were: Mill of Belair Turf Prep Open Flat 7/8 mile – Invocation, owned by Straylight Racing LLC, trainer William Santoro, rider Sean McDermott; Maiden Training Flat 1-¼ mile – Shoreline, owner Morningstar Farm, trainer Ricky Hendriks, rider Ross Geraghty; Amateur Open Flat Sec. A 1-½ miles– Brevard Place, owned and trained by Jonathan Sheppard, ridden by Keri Brion; Amateur Open Flat Section B 1-½ miles – Bapu, owned by High Note Stable, trained by Laura Brophy, ridden by John Brophy.
Junior Races
Young riders had a number of options for racing on the flat and over fences. Winners in the pony flat races were: Small Pony Flat ½ mile Lickity Split, owned by Elizabeth McCue, trained by Bernie Houghton, ridden by Thomas Houghton; Medium Pony Flat ½ mile- Roger That, owned by Gerry Brewster, trained by Mimi Schmitz, ridden by Taylor Kingsley; Large Pony Flat ¾ mile – Charmed, owned by EHM Stables, trained by Betty McCue, ridden by Teddy Davies. The Lead Line race was won by Carousel Anna, owned by Cindy Buchanan, trained by Jamie Bartholomew Aller, ridden by George Aller.
The Junior Field Masters Chase over a jumping course of about 2 miles presented awards to: Medium Pony – Count Chocula, owner Elizabeth McCue, trainer Ashton Williams, rider Teddy Davies; Large Pony – Class Day, owned by Mint Meadows Farm LLC, trained by Suzanne Stettinius, rider Austin Belt.