It was a good day for the hometown teams at Saturday’s 89th edition of the Carolina Cup Races presented by MUSC Health at the Springdale Race Course in Camden.
On a sunny, if not windy, Easter Saturday afternoon, Camden-based trainers and horses left the grounds with a good chunk of the day’s hardware highlighted by the day’s $75,000 feature for novice jumpers being won by Abaan, a 7-year-old gelding trained on the grounds of the Springdale Race Course by Kate Dalton whose husband, Bernie, was in the irons for the winning ride.
Earlier in the day, signs were pointing in the direction of this being the start of something big as Camden conditioner Arch Kingsley Jr., saddled a pair of winners while just missing out on a third in the first three of six races on the card while Richard Valentine, who trains out of the Springdale Race Course made it four wins for Camden trainees. To stretch the point out a tad, former Camden resident and trainer, Laird George, also had a winner over fences.
Here is how the day’s undercard went.
Sherkali, by golly: Hurricana Farm’s Sherkali, an 8-year-old gelding, trained by Kingsley and ridden by Parker Hendriks, took the day’s opener, the $25,000 National Steeplechase Museum Maiden Claiming Hurdle.
Hendriks staved off a challenge from King of Tsavo (Jamie Bargary) by two lengths with Bless Bless (Ted Davies) third. The winning time for the 2 1/8th mile trek was 4:00.40.
Lightning strikes on a sunny day: The George-trained Lightning Rod, a 6-year-old Bellamy Road gelding owned by Clarke Ohrstrom, fended off a stirring stretch run from the Kingsley-trained Memento and Hendriks to win the $30,000 Dale K. Thiel Maiden Hurdle by a length.
The winner had Gerard Galligan in the saddle and the pair made the 2 1/8th mile run in 4:09.80.
Kingsley, Hendriks score, again: After a win and a second in the first two races, the Kingsley-Hendriks connection was back in the winners’ enclosure for the second time by capturing the $30,000 C.P. and Edith Wills DuBose Cup for Maidens.
In what was the closest race of the day, Richard C. Colton’s Feeling Festive and Hendriks beat Now Geese and Bernie Dalton to the wire by a half-length in a time of 3:59 for the 2 1/8th mile run.
Valentine’s day at Easter time: Trained by Richard Valentine, Tease and Seize, owned by Mrs. George L. Ohrstrom Jr., and ridden by Galligan, went to the early lead and never looked back in a whopping 19 1/2-length win in the $30,000 Kirkover-Woodward Cup Ratings Handicap Hurdle.
The running time for the 2 1/8th mile journey was 4:01.80.
Dante’s Fire (Harry Beswick) was a distant second with L’Or Des Roses (Dalton) checking in at third place in the starting field of eight.
No day at the beach: China Beach, a 6-year-old St. Rita Racing gelding trained by Ted Thompson, capped the day of racing by winning the Camden Plate, a one and one-half run on the flat.
Ridden by Dalton, who just rode the winner in the day’s feature, China Beach made the trip in a time of 2:42.80. Our Boy Wes (Davies) was second in the field of four starters.
