Lake Placid and Matthew McCarron hold off Fantastic Foeand Jeff Murphy for the Open Hurdle win.Trainer Neil Morris scored a hat trick at the Old Dominion Point-to-Point races on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at Ben Venue Farm. Morris saddled three winners: Maiden Hurdle, Open Hurdle, and Open Timber.
Morris’s first two wins were the easy ones. In the Maiden Hurdle, Last Noble with Jacob Roberts aboard led the field all the way and won easily. In the Open Hurdle, Lake Placid with Matthew McCarron in the irons raced around the course on the lead, turned back a challenge by second place finisher Fantastic Foe, and won by four-and-a-half lengths.
Morris and trainer Richard Valentine went into the last race, Open Timber, with two wins each. Valentine-trained Professor Maxwell inherited the lead when front-runner Across the Sky lost his rider at the thirteenth fence. Morris’s horse, Sand Box Rules, hooked up with Professor Maxwell after the last fence and dueled down the stretch to win by a half length. Kinross Farm was the winning owner, Christopher Read the winning jockey.
Westbound Road inherits the lead when Scott’s Gold loses Sam Cockburn in the Owner Rider Timber
George Hundt, Jr. chalked up his third win of the season in the Owner Rider Timber division by repeating his success at Piedmont on Westbound Road. Owned by Lucy Stable, the Valentine-trained Westbound Road inherited the lead at the last fence when front-running Scott’s Gold lost jockey Sam Cockburn, as seen in some dramatic photographs of the mishap.
In the Junior Field Master’s Chase, Zoe Valvo and Questioning held off Isabella Eyles and Lone Arrow to repeat their winning performance at the Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point.
In the Lady Rider Timber race, Lucy Horner on her Katie’s Prince was the only horse to cross the wire in a field of four horses.
For complete results, click here.
Posted April 13, 2011
(l-r) Sandbox Rules, Christopher Read up, first; Freeboard, William Dowling up, third