First Race, Open Hurdle, (l-r) Decisive Triumph (#4), (Jamie Bargary up) is the winner. Gerard Galligan on Bet The Pot finishes third. / Douglas Lees photo
Spectators and horses enjoyed a comfortable day of racing over the Airlie racecourse at the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point on Saturday, March 19, 2022. Entries were strong, especially in the hurdle races. There were just two, Open and Maiden, but the latter was broken into three divisions of seven to eight entries in each, making the eight-race card more like a ten-race day.
In the Open Hurdle Race, Decisive Triumph with Jamie Bargary aboard lived up to his name, leading all the way and winning by two lengths over the challenging Knockholt (Parker Hendriks up). It was a good start on the day for trainer Mark Beecher who also saddled the winner of Division 2, Maiden Hurdle, Hero’s Return with Brett Owings up. Jockey Owings kept his horse within striking distance of the pacesetter, Make a Stand, ridden and trained by Graham Watters, made his winning bid before the last fence, and won easily in the stretch.
Parish Delight, (Parker Hendriks up) and trainer Keri Brion after winning the Second Race, Maiden Hurdle, Division 1. / Douglas Lees photo
Keri Brion was trainer-of-the-day with three winning horses. In the first division of the Maiden Hurdle, Parker Hendriks booted home a four-year-old Irish-bred youngster, Parish Delight, first by a half-length for owners Molly and Paul Willis. The eight-horse field was the largest of the day. It was also the first of two wins for Hendriks, the second coming in the final race, Novice Rider Flat. In a field of five, Hendriks held Brion-trained Historic Heart, another Irish-bred, off the pace until the last quarter-mile, then urged the five-year-old chestnut gelding on to the lead and holding it to the wire a length ahead.
Undercover Rowdy (Barry Foley, up) wins Maiden Hurdle Race, Division 3. / Douglas Lees photo
Brion’s second of three firsts came in the third and last division of the Maiden Hurdle Race. Irish-bred Undercover Rowdy, Barry Foley up, led the seven-horse field all the way ’round and won easily. Foley had two wins this day, the second coming in the following race, Open Timber.
Last fence in the Open Timber Race, (l-r) Paddy’s Crown (Barry Foley up) finishes first; Flaming Sword (McLane Hendriks up) places second. / Douglas Lees photo
The Open Timber Race was the only two-horse match to run this day. For most of the three miles, Barry Foley aboard Paddy’s Crown stuck to the leader, Flaming Sword, ridden by McLane Hendriks, the former proving best in the stretch run by a half-length. Trained by Emily Hannum and owned by Adlestrop Hill, Paddy’s Crown appears to be jumping the Maryland Hunt Cup course. His great-grandfather is Alysheba, who won two legs of the Triple Crown in 1987 and produced eleven stakes winners as a sire.
Stretch run of the Open Flat Race nearing the finish: (l-r) Brave Deacon (Teddy Davies up) the winner; Old West Princess (Parker Hendriks up) fourth; Dothecantbedone (Barry Foley up) finishing second. / Douglas Lees photo
Teenager Teddy Davies was one of three jockeys who enjoyed two trips to the winner’s circle at Airlie this day. In the Fifth Race, Foxhunter Timber, Davies jumped right to the front of the four-horse field on So Sublime for trainer Todd McKenzie and was never seriously challenged. In the Seventh Race, Open Flat, Davies employed the same strategy riding the family-owned and trained Brave Deacon. The brown gelding went right to the lead for Davies and held it to the wire, successfully holding off second-placed but rallying Dothecantbedone, Barry Foley up, by a length. Brave Deacon is owned by Davies’ mother, Blythe Miller Davies, and trained by his father, Joe Davies, both parents winning jump jocks in their time.
A dead-heat for first in the Side Saddle Race: (l-r) Nova (Olivia Sitar up) and Soul Approval (Devon Zebrovious up) in the tie for first. / Douglas Lees photo
The Sixth Race, the Viola T. Winmill Side Saddle Chase Cup, ended in a dead-heat, with the placing judges unable to separate a winner at the wire. In the tie for first, it was Soul Approval, ridden as always by Devon Zebrovious and trained by George Kuk and Nova, owned, ridden, and trained by Olivia Sitar. Julia Nafe’s Sky Babe, Zebrovious’s usual nemesis, went off course. Nafe rode Gun Lobby, another of her winners in previous years, to third place.
Click for complete results of all races.
Posted March 23, 2022