A Good Day for Runners at Old Dominion Point-to-Point
In the Open Hurdle (l-r) is Prima Facie (Jeff Murphy up) and Kingofalldiamonds (Jacob Roberts up), the winner. / Douglas Lees photo
The turf was good, the day cloudy and cool, and, for a few moments of variety, a snow shower floated down upon the Old Dominion Point-to-Point Races at Ben Venue Farm, Virginia, on Saturday, April 9, 2016. The eight-race card included hurdle, timber, and flat races, most of them well-entered.
Noble Stables’ Kingofalldiamonds won the Open Hurdle race for the second consecutive year over the Old Dominion course. It was trainer Neil Morris’s second win of the day, and the horse’s second win in as many races this season. (Kingofalldiamonds won the Open Flat race at the Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point last month.) Jacob Roberts was in the irons for both outings this season as well as for last year’s hurdle win—this day substantially repeating his winning strategy from the earlier flat race. Roberts allowed Daybreak Stables’ Manacor to set the pace and, with three fences remaining, took over the race and won by four-and-a-half lengths going away.
Do You Recognize This Aging Rock Star?
Photo by Lili Wykle, MFH and huntsman, Stonewall Hounds (VA) In his day, this aged celebrity, now basking in retirement, had the judges (and the female foxhounds, many of whom he knew … intimately), swooning at the sight of him. Now weary of autograph seekers and those pesky selfie-photographers, he prefers to hang out incognito, as you see.
He was perhaps as strikingly handsome an American foxhound as this reporter has ever seen, and he passed his genes on to generations of grand champion foxhounds—both male and female—to follow.
How to Deer-Proof Hounds In a Wooded Country
Are hounds right? / Douglas Lees photoAn experienced foxhunter has become Master of a pack of foxhounds and recognizes that he has a deer problem. His hunting country is thickly wooded and accessible via trails. His staff is composed of an experienced amateur huntsman and honorary whippers-in. He whips-in himself, and has experienced first-hand the problems posed by the very nature of the country.
Or are they wrong? / Douglas Lees photoThere are no discreet coverts to draw that can be surrounded by staff to stop hounds if a deer goes out. In the event of riot, staff is unable to gallop through the thick woods to get ahead of hounds and rate them. Or to even see which hound led the miscreants astray. He understands that he must first teach puppies what the proper quarry is, but he has no access to fox pens to even help him establish good habits from the start.
Thinking outside the box, he came up with the idea of using commercially available deer scent and fox scent as a tool to train hounds.
How to Deer-Proof Hounds In a Wooded Country
Are hounds right? / Douglas Lees photoWith a new season approaching, and huntsman and staff seriously exercising hounds with the young entry, we thought this article on deer-proofing would be worth republishing.
An experienced foxhunter, recently appointed Master of a pack of foxhounds, recognizes that he has a deer problem. His hunting country is thickly wooded and accessible via trails. His staff is composed of an experienced amateur huntsman and honorary whippers-in. He whips-in himself, and has experienced first-hand the problems posed by the very nature of the country.
Or are they wrong? / Douglas Lees photoThere are no discreet coverts to draw that can be surrounded by staff to stop hounds if a deer goes out. In the event of riot, staff is unable to gallop through the thick woods to get ahead of hounds and rate them. Or to even see which hound led the miscreants astray. He understands that he must first teach puppies what the proper quarry is, but he has no access to fox pens to even help him establish good habits from the start.
Thinking outside the box, he came up with the idea of using commercially available deer scent and fox scent as a tool to train hounds.
Trainer Neil Morris Goes Three for Five at Orange County
Novice Timber (l-r): Zanclus (Kieran Norris) first, Le Chevalier (Mark Beecher) second / Douglas Lees photo
Trainer Neil Morris made the best of his home turf advantage by saddling three winners on the five-race card at the Orange County Point-to-Point on Sunday, April 3, 2016.
In Novice Timber, the only race over fences, Morris-trained Zanclus won his second timber race in just two Virginia starts this season, both under Kieran Norris. His earlier win was at Blue Ridge. Le Chevalier, ridden by Mark Beecher, winner of the Novice Timber at Warrenton two weeks earlier, mounted a strong challenge in the stretch, but Zanclus prevailed at the wire by a neck.
Nyquist Is Strong Kentucky Derby Favorite
Last week’s Florida Derby was a good shakeout for potential Kentucky Derby favorites. Nyquist and Mohemen, both undefeated, met to see who would get the short odds on the first Saturday in May. Nyquist won decisively and looks to go to Churchill Downs as the favorite. Seattle Slew was the last undefeated champion two-year-old to […]
Dakota Slew Owns Piedmont’s Timber Course
At the finish Dakota Slew (Mark Beecher up in solid blue cap) holds off Drift Society (Connor Hankin) for a third consecutive Open Timber win at Piedmont. / Douglas Lees photo
The Open Timber course at Piedmont on Saturday, March 26th, was a happy hunting ground once again for Dakota Slew. Ridden this year by Mark Beecher, the brown gelding captured his third Open Timber Race in as many years over the Piedmont course for owner Magalen Bryant who took home the Rokeby Bowl yet again. He moved patiently up to first by the last fence and held off a hard challenge by Drift Society in the stretch to win by a neck. The Richard Valentine-trained Dakota Slew was the Leading Timber Horse in Virginia in 2015.
Virginia Foxhound Show Stays at Morven Park
A level pack from the Piedmont Fox Hounds (VA) show in the pack class at Morven Park / Lauren Giannini photo
The Virginia Foxhound Show will remain at Morven Park, and, with that question resolved, the Virginia Foxhound Club has gone forward with repairs and improvements to the kennels and rings. Bob Ferrer, MFH and Show Chairman of the Virginia Foxhound Club (VFC) brings us up to date:
“After some years of uncertainty about the future site of the Virginia Foxhound Show we are pleased to report we have reached an agreement with the new executive director of the Westmoreland Davis Foundation to keep the show at Morven Park.”
MFHA Seeks Executive Director
The Masters of Foxhounds Association, soon to be headquartered in Middleburg, Virginia, seeks an executive director to succeed Lt. Col. Dennis Foster, who will retire next year. Foster is just the third person in the 109-year history of the MFHA to manage the venerable association. The MFHA is the umbrella organization of mounted foxhunting in […]
Snow Falls, Mud Flies at Warrenton Point-to-Point
Dylan McDonagh displays evidence of Last Farewell’s stretch battle with Plated in the Novice Rider Flat Race — muddied but victorious. / Douglas Lees photoHeavy flakes of snow mixed with rain saturated the Airlie Racecourse throughout most of the day at the Warrenton Point-to-Point, Saturday, March 19, 2016.
Doug Fout-trained horses won three of the nine races on the card: Open Hurdle and Maiden Hurdle, with Kieran Norris in the irons for both, and the Novice Rider Flat Race with Dylan McDonagh aboard. In last year’s final standings in Virginia, Fout was Leading Trainer and Norris was Leading Rider.
Erin Swope finished clean and bright by winning wire to wire on Slaney Rock in the Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle. / Douglas Lees photoIn the Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdle, Erin Swope crossed the wire first, just as she did at Blue Ridge the week before, but this time she went to the winner’s circle. Swope—owner, rider, and trainer of Irish-bred Slaney Rock—had lost a weight from her pad during her race at Blue Ridge and had to be disqualified.
This year over hurdles and last year on the flat, her racing strategy has been consistent: explode to the front at the drop of the flag, gain a commanding lead, and win—wire to wire. It was also a good strategy for staying clean this sloppy day!