THE PLAINS, Va.--Leslie Young won three races, including the G1 Hurdle Stakes and the 4-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes, while Jack Fisher saddled the Timber Stakes winner and Keri Brion had two winners on Saturday, May 4 at the Virginia Gold Cup.
Rampoldi Plan, ridden by Jamie Bargary, led over last in the Commonwealth Cup (Photo by Tod Marks)
Leipers Fork Steeplechasers' Rampoldi Plan, ridden by Jamie Bargary and trained by Young, won the $150,000, 2 1/8 mile G1 Commonwealth Cup by 2 1/2 lengths in 4:09 3/5 over Welshman, trained by Fisher.
"I was impressed with him," said Young. "We got a nice weight break."
Rampoldi Plan carried 144 pounds, two less than Welshman, but 14 pounds less than top weight Awakened, also trained by Fisher, who finished fourth behind third placed L'Imperator, trained by Arch Kingsley, who carried 148 pounds.
Rampoldi Plan is by Hard Spun out of a Tapit mare, but he'd been running in England, and Young said when she saw he was for sale, and she saw his breeding, she knew she had to buy him.
"JACK DOYLE rode him when he broke his maiden last year, and he said he'd be a grade 1 horse," said Young. "This was Jamie's first grade 1 win. Jamie has all the credentials. I'm happy to have him."
"This is my 10th season riding," said Bargary. "I just felt relief at winning a grade 1. Everyone at home had belief in this horse, He was tough over the last two fences."
The Commonwealth Cup was the first grade 1 race held at the Gold Cup, which offered nine races with three stakes and large purse money.
Young saddled Silverton Hill's Kelmscott (Ire), ridden by Paddy O'Hanlon, to win the first race on the card, the $40,000 Maiden Hurdle,by 1 1/4 lengths over Blue Nile, trained by Richard Valentine.
She also saddled Runnymoore Racing's Clifton Down (Ire), ridden by Bargary, to win the $50,000 Speedy Smithwick 4-Year-Old Hurdle Stakes by 10 1/4 lengths in 4:14 4/5 over Haint Blue, trained by Kate Dalton.
"My daughter and I went to the Tattersall sale, and when I saw him, I thought he looked very athletic," said Young. "He's a class bred horse."
Clifton Down is by Lope de Vega (Ire), out of a Speightstown mare, and when Young got him to this country she ran him immediately in a stakes at Far Hills, where he finished fourth, followed by a second in a stakes at Charleston.
"I knew going right to Far Hills as his first race was hard," said Young. "He''s come back this year a stronger, more mature horse with some experience."
Fisher saddled his mother, Mrs. John R.S. (Dolly) Fisher's Scoodiic, ridden by Graham Watters, to win the 99th running of the $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup Timber Stakes by 2 lengths is 8:57 3/5 over Awesome Adrian, trained by Kathy Neilson.
At 14, Schoodic has now won the Gold Cup three times and is running as well as ever.
He has 16 wins, 10 seconds and seven thirds from 48 starts over fences and earnings of $589,606.
"He thinks he's only a 2-year-old," sad Fisher.
"How wonderful for a horse this old," said Dolly Fisher. "We were going to retire him this year, but he wanted to go on. He loves this game."
"We were disappointed to see the rain," said Watters. "He's done his best work on hard going. He has big feet, so he's slipping and sliding. I was happy to have a lead with the soft going. We had a nice, easy gallop. He's an easy ride, just hold onto the neck strap and kick him."
Scoodic ran second most of the race and went to the lead to win in the stretch.
"We'll put him away for the summer, and run him at Middleburg and the Gold Cup in the fall," said Fisher.
Brion saddled both winners of the last two split $20,000 Maiden Claiming Hurdle, both ridden by Steve Mulqueen..
Upland Flats Racing's Kitten Around won the first section by 1/2 length in 4:37 4/5 over Giantsbane, trained by Laird George, and Christopher LaBarge's Juulstone won the second section by 1 3/4 lengths in 4:20 3/5 over Exuma, trained by Mark Beecher.
"I think Kitten Around will get better as he gets older," said Brion. "I stuck him in for a claim here, and I was nervous someone would claim him, but no one did. I think he'll be a nice horse for race tracks, so you'll see him next at Colonial Downs."
"I was worried I couldn't get Juulstone settled early," said Mulqueen."He was pulling my arms out. He had a nice turn of foot after the last fence."
"We're taking our time with him," said Brion. "He's an older horse just learning about jumping. He's a class horse, but he's still putting it all together."
Juulstone is 7 and ran on the flat through 2023 with three wins, one in an allowance race.
"I think he'll be a race track horse, where they take out the last fence," said Brion. "You saw his speed finishing."
Doug Fout saddled Rolling Tide's Hold Hard (Ire), ridden by Bernie Dalton, to win the $45,000 Allowance Hurdle by 3/4 length in 4:13 3/5 over Pure Courage, trained by Todd Wyatt.
"Hold Hard never ran on the flat," said Fout of the 4-year-old gelding. "He was very young last year when he won two races. I was hoping he'd have a big fence at the last, and he did. We were curious to see if he could handle the soft going. Bernie gave him a great ride. We're very happy with him."
Kate Dalton saddled Joseph F. Fowler Jr.'s Southpaw Mike, ridden by Dalton, to win the second race,a $20,000 Maiden Claiming Hurdle, by 4 lengths in 4:14 over Fingal, trained by Kingsley.
The $20,000 David Semmes Memorial Steeplethon turned into a walkover when two horses, Court Ruler (Ire) and Our Friend (Ire) went off course early in the race.
Storm Team, trained by Fisher was announced as the winner by 11 lengths over Crealion (Fr), trained by Thomas Garner, but then Storm Team was also disqualified for going off course, leaving Armata Stables' Crealon the winner.
