Leslie Young | Horse Racing Free Tips

National Steeplechase Season Closes With Steeplechase of Charleston Sunday

After nearly eight months and 23 meets in 10 states, plus a dozen race dates at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., and Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va., the 2021 National Steeplechase season comes to a close on Sunday with the Steeplechase of Charleston at Stono Ferry Race Course in Hollywood, S.C.

In a year that began under stormy skies — both literal and figurative — at the Cheshire point-to-point in March amid uncertainty due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it ends on an optimistic note, with fans back in attendance, tailgating parties in full swing, and family-friendly activities once more part of the experience that all contribute to the “thrill of the 'chase.”

Five races, four over jumps, are on tap for Sunday's card, which has a first-race post time of 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. They include a $15,000 maiden claimer; $25,000 maiden special weights event; $20,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less; $25,000 allowance; and a training-flat race for amateur riders. You can watch via live stream from the NSA website. The live stream is sponsored by Brown Advisory, the Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation, Charleston's Post & Courier, and the Virginia Equine Alliance.

What the meet lacks in stakes competition, it makes up for in high-stakes drama in the thrilling race to the wire for leading jockey and trainer, both nail-biters that will be determined by day's end.

Among conditioners, Leslie Young and Jack Fisher are knotted at 15 wins. Fisher, who was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs this summer, has won 13 training titles. Young, who began training in 2007 and recently recorded her 100th win, is seeking her first championship. Keri Brion, who trains the sport's leading contender for the Eclipse Award, Buttonwood Farm's The Mean Queen, is two behind with 13 victories. Brion has all but locked up the award for purse earnings. Neil Morris, who has had a remarkable year considering he's saddled only half the number of starters as the top two, has 12 victories. At Charleston, Brion and Young have entries in all four hurdle races; Fisher and Morris have entries in two.

In the duel for top jockey, Graham Watters and Tom Garner, each of whom is seeking his first NSA title, have 19 wins each. Both Garner and Watters have earned about triple the purse money of their nearest rival, Skylar McKenna. Going into Sunday, Garner has collected $619,800, about $30,000 more than Watters. Garner and Watters are scheduled to ride in three of the four hurdle races.

The NSA spoke with the leading title contenders in advance of the Charleston meet and here's what they had to say:

Graham Watters: “I have three rides this Sunday and the three have equal chances. Make a Stand for Mark Beecher is in good form coming off two flat runs, Gostisbehere has good form and should like the track and Ghostlighter is improving with every run and should also like the track. Winning the jockey's title would mean a lot to me but not the be all and end all. At the end of the year I had a fantastic season, winning my first Grade 1 at the Iroquois and a number of stakes races, and creating a strong partnership with the Fisher stable and his owners. Competing for the title with a close friend Tom Garner has been fun also, giving each other some stick all season.”

Tom Garner: “They've all got chances. They wouldn't be in it if they didn't. Don't Shout, in the ratings handicap, has been knocking on the door ; I think he's probably my best shot. If Duckett's Grove can get his jumping together he's going to be very tough. Twentyoneguns has got a chance. I'm grateful to be in the position I am. It's an honor. Growing up you dream of being champion jockey. I didn't think I'd be in this position in America, and I would take a lot of pride in it if it did work out.”

Leslie Young: “I feel I have had some exciting things happen in my life. In high school, I was a field hockey and lacrosse all-star team member. In college, I was a lacrosse regional all-American and North\South all-stars member. I was pony racing champion back in the day for small and large ponies and even was nationally ranked in Pony Club Tetrathlon. I grew up working for Jonathan Sheppard and Jack Fisher, two of the greats whom I still look up to today. They were my heroes growing up. So I feel leading trainer would be my greatest accomplishment.”

Jack Fisher: “I feel the most important title, for the sport itself, is the leading trainer in races won. To be leading money earner takes one horse to get you there, which is a great accomplishment. But leading trainer in races run takes multiple good horses. I also feel for the sport it's great to have someone else win the leading trainer titles. To have Keri win the leading trainer in money earned is great; The Mean Queen is good for the sport. And if Leslie takes home the leading-trainer-by-wins title, that's great for the sport.”

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Steeplechase: Tomgarrow Captures International Gold Cup, Bedrock Finally Enjoys His Breakthrough Moment

Saturday was a day of mostly “twos” at the International Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow Race Course in The Plains, Va. Tennessee owner Gill Johnston captured two races, as did jockey Gerard Galligan. Trainer Leslie Young padded her lead with a pair of victories on the eight-race card, too. And two riders, Stefan Tobin and Teddy Davies, won their first National Steeplechase Association hurdle races. The only one to throw off the balance was Tom Garner, who found the winner's circle a lofty three times.

In the opener, a $25,000 maiden hurdle run at 2 ⅛ miles (the distance of all hurdle races at Great Meadow), Johnston's State of Affair, a five-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, went wire to wire for Tom Garner and trainer Todd Todd Wyatt, drawing off by 5 ½ lengths. State of Affair was coming off of a third-place finish in a maiden at Shawan Downs in September, his first NSA start since his stateside debut at the Middleburg Spring Races in 2020. Mason Hardaway Lampton's Ace Ventura was second; Riverdee Stable's Twenty Years On was third.

In the second division of the maiden hurdle, first-time starter Merry Maker turned heads, running like an old pro, in his career debut for trainer Arch Kingsley. Owned by Hurricana Farm, the four-year-old Irish-bred soared over the last fence all alone under Galligan, winning by 2 lengths. Straylight Racing's Frontline Citizen, another Irish-bred making his second lifetime start, was second with Alex Leventhal aboard. Stewart Strawbridge's Lap of the Gods was third. Jockey Richie Condon, regular rider of leading 2021 Eclipse Award contender The Mean Queen, suffered a back injury in a fall and will be out of action for a while.

The $30,000 Steeplethon Stakes over mixed obstacles — hurdles, natural brush fences, timber, and through water — drew a field of five, and Silverton Hill's Bodes Well, winner of the Jonathan Kiser novice hurdle stakes at Saratoga last summer, led almost every step of the way for Garner and Young, demonstrating his prowess over a very different type of course. At the wire, Bodes Well held a 5 ½ length advantage over Irv Naylor's A Silent Player. Turks Head Turf's Brooklyn Speights finished third.

The fourth race proved a milestone for young Irish rider Stefan Tobin, who piloted Holwood Stable's Decisive Triumph to victory in the $30,000 allowance contest for non-winners of two. Coming off of two sharp seconds in the handicap ranks (for horses rated at 110 or less), Decisive Triumph held a short lead at the last fence over Melissa Cantacuzene's Yankee Doodle Boy and extended his advantage to 4 ¼ lengths at the finish.

In a win that was a long time coming, Irv Naylor's Bedrock prevailed in the co-featured G2 $75,000 David L. “Zeke” Ferguson Stakes. The highly regarded British-bred eight-year-old was a solid performer in Europe, winning eight times. The gelding finally enjoyed his breakthrough moment in the U.S., with an authoritative 7 ¾ length victory under Galligan for trainer Cyril Murphy. Content to sit back in the early going while Hudson River Farm's Iranistan, and Gill Johnston's Brianbakescookies set the pace, the eight-year-old rallied to draw off convincingly. Sharon Sheppard's Redicean was second; Brianbakescookies was third.

With the scratch of Dolly Fisher's Schoodic, the likely heavy favorite in the pari-mutuel wagering pool, the field for the $75,000 International Gold Cup timber stakes at 3 ½ miles was reduced to four, and got even smaller when Renegade River and Storm Team went off course in the early going. That turned the contest into a match race between Frank Bonsal's Stand Down and Leipers Fork Steeplechasers' Tomgarrow. But after a carefully measured ride, Tom Garner knew he had plenty of horse under him and drew away as he pleased, by 49 lengths for trainer Leslie Young. With three wins on the day, Garner spurted to a 19-16 lead over Graham Watters. And with her two wins, trainer Leslie Young took a 15-12 advantage over Jack Fisher and Neil Morris, the latter who has saddled only about half the number of starters this season compared to Young and Fisher.

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In the seventh race, a handicap for horses rated at 115 or less, Gill Johnston's Contented completed his comeback to give Teddy Davies, the teen son of accomplished trainer-riders Joe Davies and Blythe Miller Davies, his first NSA hurdle win. After taking a novice weight-for-age hurdle at Sedgefield in 2017 and novice handicap steeplechase at Worcester in 2018, Contented came to the U.S. Following an off-the-board finish in his NSA debut in the 2019 Queens Cup, the Irish-bred son of Dalakhani went to the sidelines for more than two years. He re-emerged this spring, and after three starts, Contented finally shook off the rust to win Saturday's handicap by 5 lengths over Sara Collette's homebred, Eryx. Colette, of Casanova, Va., passed away on Oct. 11 at age 86.

The day's finale, a $20,000 maiden claimer, saw Riverdee Stable's Senor Seville make a seamless switch from flat racing to hurdles. Following 18 starts in maiden and open claiming races on the flat, mostly at Laurel Park, the Maryland-bred tried hurdles for the first time and came home a neck winner for jockey-turned-trainer Danielle Hodsdon.

Racing far back under Ross Geraghty approaching the last fence, Senior Seville unleashed a furious stretch rally to nip Happenstance Stable's Hero's Return, with Kiplin Hall's Real Good Man third. In an interesting aside, the horse's connections, owner Sean Clancy, trainer Hodsdon, and Geraghty were all champion NSA jockeys at one time or another.

The full results can be found HERE.

The race replay can be watched HERE.

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Brion Saddles Four Starters For Race Named For Mentor Sheppard

Trainer Keri Brion will hold a strong hand in a prestigious stakes that bears the name of her long-time mentor, saddling half of the eight-horse field in Wednesday's $150,000 Grade 1 Jonathan Sheppard in a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase contest at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The 80th edition of the race formerly known as the New York Turf Writers Cup will be run for the first time under its new name, which honors the Hall of Fame trainer who won this race 15 times and trained at least one winner at Saratoga every consecutive year from 1969-2015. It will be the opener of Wednesday's 10-race card with a 1:05 p.m. Eastern post time.

Brion, a longtime assistant to Sheppard, took over the training responsibilities for many of his horses upon his retirement and has started to carve out her own reputation, saddling the top-two finishers of the Grade 1 A.P. Smithwick on July 22 at Saratoga when Baltimore Bucko and French Light ran 1-2 going 2 1/16 miles in the first Grade 1 hurdle race of the meet. In addition to that stellar pair, Brion will also send out The Mean Queen and A Silent Prayer.

“It's incredible that it shaped up the way it has with having half the field,” Brion said with a laugh. “When I heard the race was renamed, I was actually still in Ireland and I said to myself I was just hoping I would have a horse for that race. Now, I'm sitting here really hoping I win the race. It would mean a lot for me but I would love to win it for owners who were so supportive of Jonathan for so many years. Everything I know about steeplechase racing came from Jonathan, so it would obviously mean a lot to me to do it.”

Buttonwood Farm's Baltimore Bucko topped his stablemate by 5 3/4 lengths last out, building on his runner-up effort going 2 1/4 miles in the Green Pastures at the Nashville-based Percy Warner in June.

“It's amazing how fast he's come through the ranks,” Brion said. “I had both of these horses [French Light] in Ireland with me over the winter and they ran over there, so they have that added experience, which I think helped bring them along a lot quicker than maybe some others.”

Baltimore Bucko, a 5-year-old gelding, will now carry the high weight of 156 pounds with Richard Condon set to ride from post 3.

Irvin Naylor's French Light, carrying 152 pounds, will be looking to build on his stellar effort in his graded stakes debut, drawing post 4 with Jamie Bargary on the call.

“They went from being bottom weight end to being top weight and second top weight, so that changes things a little,” Brion said. “But the way they were first and second, you'd like to believe the weight shouldn't bother them too much.”

French Light raced five times for Brion in Ireland to start his 6-year-old campaign before making a statement in his return to North America. Brion said that race last month has only expediated his progress.

“His first race back in the states was the Smithwick, so I think he has a lot of improvement in him, just having that run in him,” Brion said.

The Mean Queen, also owned by Buttonwood Farm, appeared on her way to beating the boys before unseating rider Thomas Garner in deep stretch in the Jonathan Kiser Novice on July 28 at Saratoga.

The 5-year-old Doyen mare has already helped Brion accomplish something unprecedented when she captured the Slaney River Hurdle in April in Ireland, making her conditioner the first U.S. trainer to win a hurdle race in the country. She will re-team with Garner again, carrying 147 pounds from post 6.

“She made history for me,” Brion said. “She wasn't the winner of the novice stake, but she was by far the best in that race. There wasn't really anywhere else for her to run until September. She's doing really well. Her name fits her very well; she isn't easy to train, so it's easier just to run her. But she gets some weight off the boys and she's in a good spot. I think she's in with a shot as well.”

A Silent Player, also owned by Naylor, was fifth in the Jonathan Kiser last out in his stakes bow and will carry the co-field-low weight of 142 pounds with Barry Foley set to ride from post 5.

“He suffered an injury to his hind leg in his win in November, so his run back last time was his first time since his injury,” Brion said. “It's a lot harder to have a horse ready to go in Saratoga off an injury. He had to rehab off it, so I think he will be much improved this time around. He's pretty similar to Baltimore Bucko, to be honest. He's the bottom weight at 142, and I think that will really help. I think he'll run a lot better than he did in his last start.”

Hall of Famer Jack Fisher will send out two contenders in City Dreamer and Gibralfaro from posts 1 and 2, respectively.

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Riverdee Stable's City Dreamer ran second to Bodes Well in the Jonathan Kiser Novice and will step up to graded stakes company for the first time, carrying 146 pounds with Parker Hendriks in the irons.

His stablemate, the Riverdee-owned Gibralfaro was third last out in the A.P. Smithwick and will be competing in the Jonathan Sheppard for the third consecutive time, running fourth last year following a runner-up effort to Winston C in the 2019 edition. Gibralfaro will carry 148 pounds and have the services of rider Graham Watters.

Sharon Sheppard's Redicean, second in this stakes last year, two lengths back to winner Rashaan, returned off an 11-month layoff to run fourth in the A.P. Smithwick for trainer Leslie Young. After knocking off the rust, the 7-year-old British bred will break from post 8 carrying 150 pounds with Gerard Galligan aboard.

Half Married Syndicate's Recent Revelations made his first 23 starts in Europe and will look to make his mark in his North American debut, carrying 142 pounds in drawing post 7 with Harrison Beswick up.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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