Last fence in the Open Hurdle Race (l-r): Noah And The Ark (Gerard Galligan up) is 1st; Compass Zone (Sean McDermott up) is 2nd; #1, Mr. Sarinana (Bernie Dalton up) finishes 3rd. / Douglas Lees photo
Two weeks after kicking off the spring point-to-point season in Virginia, the Warrenton Hunt ran a second day of Point-to-Point Racing at the Airlie racecourse. Eight races were on the card this day, Sunday, March 28, 2021, compared to just five for the opener. Four hurdle races were added, three of which were well-filled and one was split into two divisions.
Gerard Galligan posted his first of two wins for the day riding Noah and the Ark in the first race, Open Hurdles. The winner, a seven-year-old Irish-bred chestnut gelding, is trained by Todd McKenna and owned by Keystone Thoroughbreds.
Of the eight races on the card, Irish-breds won three: Open Hurdles, Open Timber, and Novice Timber. Galligan was in the irons for the Open Hurdle and the Novice Timber races.
In the Open Hurdles, Galligan held Noah and the Ark off the pace, started his rally in the final quarter-mile, and passed all three contenders to win by less than a length.
Lining up for Starter Hubert Davy in the Novice Timber Race are (l-r) Huyan (Eddie Keating up); Elucidation (Gerard Galligan up), the winner; Undisclosed (Bryan Cullinane up); Master Seville (Sean McDermott up); and #5, Boss Man (Chris Gracie up). / Douglas Lees photo
In Galligan’s Novice Timber race, he held Elucidation off the pace, started his rally in the final quarter-mile, and passed three horses to win by a half-length. Coincidence or pattern? That’s for opposing strategists to decide.
Irish-bred Elucidation, the Novice Timber winner, is a seven-year-old bay gelding, trained by William Dowling and owned by Jeremy Batoff.
Team Hannum (l-r): Rider Chloe, Trainer Emily, Owner Flora, and Jeb, who serves as Executive Director of the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA). / Douglas Lees photo
Paddy’s Crown with Chloe Hannum up won the Amateur/Novice Rider Hurdles in a match race against Lemon Again ridden by Brian Cullinane. In his last outing at Piedmont, Paddy’s Crown won the Maiden Flat Race. The winner is owned by Cloe’s sister Flora and trained by Richard Vallentine.
Marvari wins the first division of the Maiden Hurdle with Sophie Henelius in the irons. / Douglas Lees photo
The first division of the Maiden Hurdle Race was won by Beverly Steinman’s Marvari with Sophie Henelius aboard. Marva is trained by Doug Fout who made three trips to the winner’s circle this day. He saddled the Open Flat and the Maiden Flat winners as well. French-bred Marvari was clearly in command of the six-horse field. He went to the front quickly, held the lead throughout, and won by ten lengths. For Henelius, this win comes on the heels of her earlier victory at this season’s first Warrenton Race meeting. On that occasion, she won the Novice Timber Race aboard First Friday, a Dynaformer grandson. Henelius was deprived of sweeping both divisions of the Maiden Hurdle by a mere half-length at the wire in the following race.
Veteran jockey Bernie Dalton, one-half of the Dalton Team with his wife and trainer, Kate, piloted Virginia Lazenby Stable’s Western Crusade to a win in the second division of the Maiden Hurdle. / Douglas Leeds photo
In the second division of the Maiden Hurdle, it was Western Crusade first at the wire, ridden by Bernie Dalton and trained by Kate Dalton. The Daltons are a formidable husband-and-wife combination who have made a name for themselves over the years at Saratoga, their late summer stomping grounds. Bernie Dalton also won the Open Flat race on Doug Fout-trained Deposit, another win for owner Beverly Steinman.
In the stretch run of the Open Flat Race (l-r) is Deposit (Bernie Dalton up), the winner; Go as You Please (Sophie Henelius up), second; Big Bend (Bryan Cullinane up), third. / Douglas Lees photo
Steinman’s entries were one-two in the Open Flat Race with Deposit, ridden by Bernie Dalton, crossing the finish line four lengths in front of Go As You Please (Henelius up), the second-place horse in the six-horse field. The two horses are stable- and training-mates at Doug Fout’s training establishment. With the Open Flat winner and runner-up, and with wins in the Maiden Hurdle and the Maiden Flat, Doug Fout was leading trainer for this day of racing.
Click for complete results of all races and all horses. Results are assembled and published by Will and Kathleen O’Keefe on the website of the Central Entry Office for Steeplechase Racing in Virginia, Maryland, and the Delaware Valley. Foxhunting Life race reports rely on data and color by the O’Keefes and the stunning images by Eclipse Award-winning photographer Douglas Lees.
Posted April 19, 2021