UPPERVILLE, Va.--Flaming Sword (Ire), a timber horse bought sight unseen by Joy Slater for her Fat Chance Farm, won the Maiden Timber at Piedmont Point-to-Point on March 23.

Joy Slater show jumpingTrained by Leslie Young, Flaming Sword was ridden by Aaron Simott for Simott's first win over timber.

"I haven't even see him," said Slater, who was in Ocala, Fla., showing jumpers at HITS. "Leslie, who is a neighbor, called me and said Flaming Sword's owner had had a heart attack and she needed to find a buyer for the horse. I'm looking forward to seeing him."

Slater was the first woman to win the Maryland Hunt Cup, and she won it twice on Cancottage, in 1980 and 1982,

Cancottage went on to retire the Hunt Cup trophy in 1983, ridden by Charlie Fenwick.

Slater retired from racing and began showing jumpers, but she recently got back into racing as an owner. and Flaming Sword is her second winner.

"I have a homebred, Shrew Meaning, in training with Eddie Graham," said Slater. "He broke his knee as a 2-year-old and missed his 3- and 4-year-old years. He's a grass horse, and he won at Laurel last year on Maryland Hunt Cup day."

 

"FLAMING SWORD was bought at the Doncaster Sales," said Slater. "He won a point-to-point in Ireland, and now he's won a point-to-point here. We're going to try to syndicate him. In theory, he's going to be a Maryland Hunt Cup horse, but that's a long way off because he's only 5. I'm going to keep a share in him because he's such a good jumper that he might be a show horse someday."

Flaming Sword raced on the pace in the Maiden Timber, pulled away after the last fence and won handily by 6 lengths.

Joe Davies saddled two winners at Piedmont, one for Kinross Farm and one for Armata Stables.

Armata Stables' Vintage Vinnie won the Rokeby Challnge Bowl Open Timber, ridden by Eric Poretz, beating Kinross Farm's Old timer, trained by Richard Valentine and ridden by Mark Beecher, by 12 lengths.

Kinross Farm's Pocket Talk (Ire), ridden by Annie Yeager, won the Lady Timber race.

Poretz also rode Blair Wyatt's Witor, trained by Todd Wyatt, to win the Amateur and Novice Rider Timber, and T & C Elite Sport Horses' Rocking Allen, trained and ridden by Sam Cockburn, won the Foxhunter Timber.