FAR HILLS
After her Oct. 17 double, it seemed only fitting that Bitsy Patterson should go on to win one of the season's highlights, the $150,000 Breeders' Cup Grand National Oct. 24 at Far Hills, New Jersey. The young woman has been on top of her game this fall, shifting her focus from the stable of Sanna Neilson to that of Janet Elliot. And her timing was just right, with a Janet Elliot trainee called Flat Top also hitting his stride.
The two had already brought home the bacon in the Grade II Ferguson. Now it was time to tackle their first Grade I stakes, and a rich one at that.
Taking the outside route over Far Hills' level-to-downhill course, Patterson worked to settle her mount in front while Arch Kingsley Jr. struggled to rate stablemate Mario just behind them. The result was a bit of back-and-forth, until Romantic (Chip Miller) made a bid on the last turn. That was all FlatTop needed to spur him on, and the result -- one overturned foul claim later -- was a 1 1/4-length victory.
"It was Romantic, Mario and Flat Top over the last together," Patterson said. "It was very exciting -- (Flat Top) is just awesome."
The Grand National was definitely a career high for this young amateur apprentice, whose actual profession is that of a rental property manager. And in a year that has seen multiple Grade I winners, Flat Top now joins the hunt for an Eclipse Award.
Other winners at this rich meet were Approaching Squall (Jonathan Kiser), who ousted Dictador (Craig Thornton) in the Grade III Appleton Stakes; Talkin Butter, who took the $25,000 New Jersey Hunt Cup under JW Delozier III; Spring Salute, who toted Thornton to a sizable score in the $50,000 Foxbrook Supreme Hurdle for the Sport of Kings; Hanging Around (Arch Kingsley Jr.), who did anything but in the $35,000 Gladstone 3- year-old hurdle stakes; and Henares, who gave Thornton his second win in the $25,000 Harry E. Harris maiden hurdle for the Sport of Kings.
PENNSYLVANIA HUNT CUP
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The focus shifted to good old-fashioned timber for the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Nov. 1 near rural Unionville, Pennsylvania.
He made that return by edging Bronze Angle (Arch Kingsley Jr.) to take the 4-mile, $25,000 timber stake by a head.
Though the win was extremely popular, it was sparked by controversy. When Gordon- Watson cut a directional barrel twice, several other jockeys assumed he'd be disqualified. A stewards' inquiry later revealed, however, that Gordon-Watson had asked specifically about those barrels -- which were intended for the previous race -- and negotiated them correctly.
"There was confusion," the Pennsylvania-based winner explained. "Some riders were under the understanding that they had to go around (all three beacons)...they should have been taken down, in my opinion, or else it should have been a lot clearer." .
Also at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup: a late-closing Fayette Park (Sean Clancy) outran Classy Ivor (Patrick Cooney) to take the $10,000 Arthur O. Choate Jr. Memorial allowance timber.
Horses prepping successfully in this meet's two flat races included Sennacherib (Joe Gillet) and multiple Eclipse Award winner Lonesome Glory. The latter is reportedly headed for the Grade I Colonial Cup Nov. 22 in Camden, South Carolina.
CALLAWAY GARDENS AND MONTPELIER
The circuit wound south again Nov. 7 for The Steeplechase at Callaway Gardens (Pine Mountain, Georgia) and the Montpelier Hunt Races (near Orange, Virginia).
With only a couple of weeks left in the season, points-chasing reached an all-time high. Nowhere was this more evident than at Callaway Gardens, a picturesque course not far from Atlanta.
Sean Clancy continued to stake his claim for the rider's title, ushering Darn Tipalarm to a 3 1/2-length victory over Spring Salute (Craig Thornton) in the featured $75,000 AFLAC U.S. Championship Supreme Hurdle. The winning entry, a 5-year-old roan gelding, is owned by Ann Stern and trained by Jack Fisher (both of Saluter fame).
Clancy then repeated that feat with Kinross Farm's Age of Flight, who closed nicely to outduel Thelightfantistic (Arch Kingsley Jr.) in the $10,000 C B & T maiden timber.
But rider Craig Thornton was on his toes as well, doubling with Smart Jaune in the $25,000 Crown Royal hurdle handicap and Duraznillo in the $10,000 W.C. Bradley open claimer. Both horses were owned by Augustin Stable and trained by Sanna Neilson.
Also at Callaway, Skipper T (Vincent Marzullo) took the $25,000 Suntrust Maiden Hurdle.
Montpelier is a scenic National Trust property once owned by fourth president James Madison and, more recently, legendary horsewoman Marion duPont Scott. It forms a lovely backdrop for the Montpelier Hunt Races, run over an undulating course within sight of the mansion.The focus here in recent years has been the $25,000 Virginia Hunt Cup, the last timber stakes of the season in Virginia. The battle in this 4-mile event came down to Heroisbreezin', ridden by Colvin Ryan, and Big Destiny, with Chip Miller up. Both horses gave it their all, but Heroisbreezin' crossed the wire a half-length the better, while Miller's sister Blythe "'came a cropper" when Talkin' Butter stumbled at the last (she suffered a concussion).
The winner, an entry of Deborah Bichler who is trained by Marylander Alicia Murphy, is one of very few horses to have won stakes over both hurdles and timber.
The day's secondary feature, the $25,000 Noel Laing hurdle, gave Chip Miller a chance to recoup his losses And recoup them he did, with the James Lawrence-trained Avanico. Though concerned about his sister -- who had been flown to the nearest hospital -- the young Pennsylvanian ended the day with two more wins (Zhivago, in the first division of the Battleship maiden claimer, and Smart n True, in the race's second division).
Evening Gown carried George Kingsley to victory in the apprentice riders' conditioned claimer, while Safe Viewing (Colvin Ryan) won the training flat.
With just three meets to go, the national leaders were as follows: Sanna Neilson, trainer with most races won; Janet Elliot, trainer with most money won; Sean Clancy, rider with most races won; Jonathan Kiser, rider with most money won; Clearance Code, top money-winning horse and Augustin Stables, top money-winning owner.
Stay tuned for the season's southern climax -- and those final bids for the Eclipse Award.
LATE-BREAKING NEWSBRIEF:
Flat Top went on to win South Carolina's Grade I Colonial Cup on Nov. 22, securing his bid for the Eclipse Award. But Nancy Gerry's 5-year-old star did it with substitute rider Colvin "Gregg" Ryan, not his regular jockey Bitsy Patterson. The 28-year-old amateur sustained severe head injuries in an earlier race when she fell with another Janet Elliot trainee named Raptor. At press time, Patterson was reportedly in "critical but stable" condition at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina.
Look for an update on this story -- as well as the last three meets of the season and the National Steeplechase Association awards -- in the next issue.
Editorial note:
We have recently heard that Ms Patterson has regained conciousness - more details in our next report.
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