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Four, five, six times on the walk to the paddock for the Maryland Hunt Cup Saturday, race favorite Senior Senator ran into the back of stablemate Derwins Prospector. The latter, a longshot with nothing but defeats in nine starts over timber, put up with the punishment like a tolerant older dog adapting to life with a new puppy in the house.
Except once.
Frank Chapot, world-class show rider, took a swing at the Maryland Hunt Cup. So did world-class event riders Bruce Davidson, Mike Plumb and Kevin Freeman.
Joe Davies has trained plenty of horses. Senior Senator is nothing like the others. A flop (and something of a rogue) on the flat at Penn National for Flint Stites, the now 7-year-old has bloomed into a star over timber. He’s crossed the finish line first or second in every timber race he’s started with … Read more
Look out timber horses, Senior Senator may have learned to harness his energy – relax a little even. Saturday, he delivered a polished victory in the $30,000 Grand National timber stakes at Butler, Md., and the seemingly perfect prep for defense of his 2016 Maryland Hunt Cup score.
Lemony Bay, Drift Society, Two’s Company, The Nephew. They’re bay geldings with two-word names, imported from England, owned by the Bruton Street-US partnership, trained by Jack Fisher. Each won at least one timber race in 2016. One was timber champion. Another ran credibly in the Maryland Hunt Cup. Another won twice over varied cross-country courses. One more won the timber stakes at Nashville.
Can you tell them apart without going to Google? Or at least Equibase? Yeah, neither can we sometimes.
Jack Fisher got his Horse of a Lifetime when Good Night Shirt showed up in 2005. The big, raw Maryland-bred’s meteoric career wound up one of the best ever with eight Grade 1 wins and more than $1 million in earnings, joining McDynamo and Lonesome Glory in the seven-figure club. In August, Good Night Shirt … Read more
Turney McKnight has been an owner, a trainer, an amateur jockey and more. He won the 1982 Maryland Hunt Cup aboard Tong, a horse bred by his mother June. In 1978, McKnight became chairman of the My Lady’s Manor Races in Monkton, Md. He was an ideal choice as someone who knew all aspects of … Read more
There have been countless studies on home-field advantage in sports. Harvard University examined it. Sports Illustrated, ESPN.com, SB Nation have written numerous articles on it. Professor Tobias J. Moskovitz and L. Jon Wertheim compiled home-field stats in sports from soccer to cricket in their book, Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports are Played and Games are Won.
Traditions.
Over the years, the Aiken Steeplechase has created trends, which have turned into traditions. Decades ago, Hall of Famer Burley Cocks would come out swinging, winning everything with his oat-devouring, muscle-bound bluebloods from the engine rooms of Valentine, Mellon, Murdoch and other luminaries. You could set your clock to it.
