UPPERVILLE, Va.--Richard Valentine saddled two winners at the Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point on Saturday, March 20, including in the featured 3 1//2 mile Rokeby Challenge Bowl timber race with Just Wait and See, ridden by Chris Gracie for Kinross Farm.

Coastal Moon  ridden by Teddy Davies (Photo by Joanne Maisano)The seven races  carded at Piedmont enjoyed fairly good entries, with three horses entered in each of the four timber races and up to seven in the flat races.

With last year's Maryland Hunt Cup canceled due to Covid, this year's race, whether it will allow spectators or not still to e decided, is highly anticipated.

Just Wait and See made short work of his opposition, beating Hooded, owned by Irv Naylor, trained by Cyril Murphy and ridden by McLane Hendriks, by 1 furlong, with Flash Jackson third.

Hendriks rode Naylor's Indian Hawk (Ire) to win the first race, The George Robert Slater Memorial Maiden Timber, by a length over Chris Gracie on Include It.

 Two young, up-and-coming amateur riders had first wins over fences.

Teddy Davies had his first win over fences in the C. Reed Thomas, MFH Memorial Amateur and Novice Rider Timber on his mother Blythe Miller Davies' Coastal Moon, trained by Joe Davies.

 Davies, when he beat Chris Gracie on Hafajay (GB) by 2 1/2 lengths.

CHLOE HANNUM also had her first win over fences on Adlestrop Hill's Cocodimama in The Thomas M. Beach and Virginia A. Beach Memorial Lady Rider Timber.

It was close right to the finish with Erin Swope on Bridge Builder second by 1 1/4 lengths and Skylar McKenna on Aggressive (Ire) third.).

Valentine saddled his second winner in the Maiden Flat, with Paddy's Crown winning by 4 lengths.

Neil Morris trained the other two flat winners with Onarock and Vincent Van Gogo.

 

Elkridge-Harford Hunt, having won last year's FOXHALL FARM CUP TEAM CHASE, hosted this year 's race at the Andor Farm in Monkton, Md.

Full results will be available soon on Central Entry Office, but the winners this year were another team from Elkridge-Harford, Forever Bernardini, owned by Lucy A. Goelet and ridden by Colin Smith. Diamond Drive, owned by Lucy A. C. Howard and ridden by Sara Katz and Night Sounds, owned by Elizabeth McKnight and ridden by Willie White

Twenty four teams of three or four horses ran over the four mile course.

The Foxhall Farm Cup was won by the team of three riders who navigated the course the fastest and jumped all the larger fence options.

Many top timber horses ran over the course on Sunday, including Maryland Hunt Cup early nominees Le Chevalier, Mystic Strike, Drift Society and Grand Manan.

 

KERI BRION has suffered countless setbacks in her quest for a winner in Ireland's steeplechase races, from multiple races cancelled due to weather, to deep, holding going not suited to her string and minor injuries, and now French Light ran a disappoining fifth in a $19,500 Rated Hurdle at Downpatrick on March 21, and was found after the race to have scoped with mucus.

"So he's a bit sick, unfortunately," said Brion, whose second entry at Downpatriack, Scorpian's Revenge was an also eligible and was scratched.

Previously at Down Royal on March 19, Baltimore Bucko was making a huge move and was in the lead by 1/2 length, looking like he was going to win, when he fell at the last fence after standing back too far, and The Mean Queen was second in a flat race the same day.

Baltimore Bucko will run next April 4 or 5 at Fairyhouse, and The Mean Queen and Scorpian's Revenge wil run April 4 at Cork.

"Winston C has had a few minor setbacks, and Mr. Swyer and myself have decided to just freshen him up and aim him for Saratoga," said Brion.

RODNEY JENKINS saddled Hillwood stable LLC's Gold Finch to win a $41,712, 1 1/16 mile Waiver Maiden Claiming race at Laurel on March 21, winning by a nose.

On March 13, also at Laurel, Jenkins saddled another owned by Hillwood, Cordmaker, to win the $100,00, 1 1/8 mile Harrison E. Johnson Memorial Stakes by 1 length.

Cordmaker set an easy early pace and drew clear under pressure for the win.

MICHAEL MATZ saddled Helen K Groves Revokable Trust's homebred La Babia to win a $52,000, 1 mile Turf race at Gulfstream Park by 1 length on March 14.

RONNIE HOUGHTON had another rhomebred winner for this mother Betsy's Sylmar Farm when Amigos Tune won a $31,600, 6 furlong race at Penn National by a neck.