VA Gold Cup Virginia

Behind the Voices of Gold Cup

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:03:54 EST

Behind the Voices

Official Race Call Announcer
William O’Keefe

Michael Hughes
Official Continuity Announcer

Chris Morris
Official Hornsman of the Virginia Gold Cup and International Gold Cup
Great Meadow, The Plains, Virginia

Chris Morris is a 1994 graduate of West Virginia University where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. Upon graduation, Mr. Morris enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a soprano bugler with The “Commandant’s” Own, Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, stationed at Marine Barracks 8th & I, Washington, D.C. The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps travel more than 50,000 miles annually, performing in excess of 400 events across the United States and around the world. While serving with the Drum and Bugle Corps, Mr. Morris performed for United States President’s, Dignitaries, Heads of State, Prime Ministers, professional sporting events, the State Fair of Texas, funerals at Arlington National Cemetery and in the Washington D.C. metro area, and also at Congressman Tejada’s funeral in San Antonia, Texas

In July 2001, Mr. Morris separated from the Marine Corps as a Staff Sergeant to pursue a career in teaching. Chris currently is a music teacher at J.W. Alvey Elementary School in Haymarket, Virginia. In May 2006, he received a Master of Arts degree from George Mason University in Education. He has performed at private weddings, played with a local band, DC Transit, that plays anything from jazz to rock and roll, and has also performed with the Piedmont Symphony Orchestra in Warrenton, VA. Mr. Morris has been the Hornsman at Great Meadow since May, 2010.

To contact Chris please call 703-328-7885 or hornsman4you@yahoo.com

Faquier County Resident Car Passes Now On Sale

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:12:04 EST

FAUQUIER COUNTY RESIDENT PASSES:

Again, the Virginia Gold Cup office is offering a special for our Fauquier County residents. Fauquier resident discount passes will be available from April 1 - April 30 in our office at 90 Main Street, Warrenton from 9am - 5pm.

Passes available are for North or South General Admission Car Passes. Each pass will admit one vehicle up to six people. The South General Admission entrace is on Route 17 and the North General Admission entrance is on Route 245.

Fauquier residents may purchase up to two car passes at $65 each, a discount of $20 per pass.

Come join the fun at the 88th Running of the Virginia Gold Cup ~ May 4, 2013

Harris Teeter Ticket Outlets

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:03:04 EST

Need a few extra tickets? Run to your neighborhood Harris Teeter.

Tickets will be available for purchase at your local Harris Teeter location beginning
April 10, 2013.

Harris Teeter will be selling General Admission Car Passes and Member's Hill Bages.

Don't forget......take your VIC card to receive a special promo pricing!

List of Outlet Stores may be found at the top of the Online Tickets Page.

Don't forget to check out their catering platter options when you are in the store!

Official Bus Trip tickets on sale!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:14:38 EST

The Official Bus Trip to the 2013 Virginia Gold Cup Races!

TICKETS NOW ON SALE!

Lindy Promotions hosts the best parties and events throughout the East Coast and they are headed to Gold Cup!

Join them for the Official VA Gold Cup Bus Trip which includes round-trip transportation from DC and Arlington, exclusive food & drink specials and entrance into the races.

www.lindypromo.com/goldcup

Pari-Mutuel Betting

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:49:01 EST

NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Vicki Bendure, APR

540-687-3360

THIS YEAR’S VIRGINIA GOLD CUP WILL OFFER PARI-MUTUEL BETTING

Virginia’s Equivalent of the Kentucky Derby Celebrates 88 Years With a Milestone

WARRENTON, Va., May 4, 2013 – One of the nation’s largest steeplechase races celebrates its 88th anniversary this year on Saturday, May 4, 2013. The exciting news for this year is the approval of pari-mutuel betting on the races. The Virginia Gold Cup (and the International Gold Cup in October) are now the only two steeplechases in Virginia to offer the betting.

Approximately 50,000 people in their race-day finest will gather at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia to socialize and watch some of the finest horses in the world compete over hurdles, timber and on the flat. Held every year on the first Saturday in May (the same day as the Kentucky Derby), the Virginia Gold Cup enjoys a spectacular setting in the heart of Virginia horse country with the Blue Ridge Mountains serving as the backdrop.

This event has become a long-standing tradition and is attended by national celebrities, local VIPs, Washington, DC politicians as well as visitors from around the world. Characterized by lavish tailgate spreads, sleek thoroughbreds and exciting hoof-pounding competition, steeplechase racing is said to combine the best of fast-action sports with a refined social setting. This is one of the Washington, D.C. region’s largest and oldest outdoor events.

The 88th Annual Running of the Virginia Gold Cup will take place on Saturday, May 4 at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. Gates open at 10 a.m. with pre-race entertainment starting at 11:15 a.m. including the Jack Russell Terrier Races. The first of seven horse races, including the Junior Field Master Chase gets underway at 1:15 pm. General admission car passes are $85 (allows entry of car and up to 6 occupants). Tickets are available at area Harris Teeter stores and discounted with a Harris Teeter VIC card.

A long-standing Virginia tradition, the Junior Field Master Chase gives young riders a chance to demonstrate their riding skills before large race crowds, an experience especially important to riders who may be planning to make race riding a career. A tailgate competition will determine the day’s most gracious hosts; the hat competition will reveal the day’s most fashionable!

Great Meadow is located just 45 minutes west of Washington, DC and is in close proximity to Dulles International Airport. To get there from Washington, DC, take I-66 west to The Plains exit. Turn left at the end of the ramp onto The Plains Road (Route 245 south), follow signs to Great Meadow which will be on your left. Call 540-347-2612 for additional information or visit the web site at www.vagoldcup.com.

The Virginia Gold Cup Races are sponsored by BMW, Infinitive, United Airlines, M.C. Dean, Hogan Lovells and Lindy Promotions. Race day activities are underwritten by Rutherfoord, Merck, Old Virginia Tobacco Co.

Race Results

Tue, 08 May 2012 14:53:57 EST

Click here to open the 2012 Race Results (pdf)

Owners, Trainers, Riders, and Horses Announced

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:36:30 EST

Click here to see full listing of all owners, trainers, riders, and horses (pdf)

Race Results 2013

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:11:34 EST

Click here to view the 2013 Race Results (pdf)

Naylor plays strong hand in $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:59:31 EST

Champion steeplechase owner Irv Naylor will play a strong hand in the $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup when he fields two contenders in a highly competitive field for Saturday’s 88th edition of the four-mile timber classic. Also in the Gold Cup field are the winners of several major timber races.

For the first time, the Virginia Gold Cup meet at the Great Meadows course in The Plains will offer pari-mutuel wagering under the supervision of the Virginia Racing Commission. Post positions for the Gold Cup will be drawn at a special draw ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, at the race course.

Saturday’s program will offer six races with purses totaling $200,000. First post time is 1:30 p.m.
Naylor’s contingent is led by Alfa Beat, an Irish steeplechase stakes winner who pulled away to a five-length victory in the $30,000 Grand National, the second jewel of Maryland’s timber triple crown, on April 20. Billy Meister, who trains Alfa Beat, also will saddle Naylor’s Herons Well, a British-bred import who finished fourth in a division of the John Rush Streett Memorial maiden timber race at the My Lady’s Manor meet in Monkton, Md., on April 13. James Slater will ride Alfa Beat, and Roddy Mackenzie rides Herons Well.

The Naylor contingent will face stiff competition. Nelson & Traveller Stable’s Moonsox won the kickoff race of the Maryland timber triple, the My Lady’s Manor, by 1 3/4 lengths on April 13. Returning to ride Moonsox for trainer Kevin Boniface is Lia McGuirk, who won the My Lady’s Manor in her first sanctioned start.

Reigning champion trainer Jack Fisher entered Straight to It, the 2012 New Jersey Hunt Cup winner who is owned by Sheila J. Williams and Andre Brewster. In his only start of the current season, Straight to It finished second in the My Lady’s Manor. Willie Dowling will ride.
Michael T. Wharton’s Grinding Speed won the International Gold Cup over the Great Meadow course last fall, and he returns with jockey Mark Beecher, who is coming off a winning ride on Professor Maxwell in the Maryland Hunt Cup on April 27. Alicia Murphy trains Grinding Speed, who was leading the My Lady’s Manor when he fell at the last fence.

Richard Valentine, who sent out Hunt Cup winner Professor Maxwell from his The Plains base, will saddle Magalen O. Bryant’s Dakota Slew and Lucy Stable’s Justpourit in the Gold Cup. Dakota Slew would be making his first start of the season, and Justpourit was fifth in the Grand National at Butler, Md. Robbie Walsh has the mount on Dakota Slew, and George Hundt will be aboard Justpourit.

Trainer Edward Mulligan named Jeff Murphy for a return engagement aboard Holston Hall’s Hot Rize, winner of the $20,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup on April 20.

Maryland-based horseman Bruce Fenwick will saddle Merriefield Farm’s Foyle, who was elevated to the top spot in the Grand National’s Benjamin H. Murray Memorial timber allowance race when the first two finishers were disqualified for going off course. Christopher Read has the mount.

Who do you like in the Virginia Gold Cup?

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:03:45 EST

Alfa Beat (Ire) 2004 gr. or ro. g., Environment Friend (GB)—Belle d’Anjou (Fr), by Saint Cyrien (Fr). Owner: Irvin S. Naylor. Trainer: Billy Meister. Jockey: James Slater. 2013 record: 2-1-1-0, $1,800. 2012 NSA record: 6-0-1-0, $3,050. 4-1 odds. Made steady progress through Grand National field and won by five lengths on April 20. A week earlier, finished second in first division of John Rush Streett maiden timber. Two-time winner of the Guinness Kerry National Handicap Steeplechase at Listowel in Ireland.

Dakota Slew. 2007 dk. b. or br. g., Slew City Slew—Klearlee Kiera, by Allen’s Prospect. Owner: Magalen O. Bryant. Trainer: Richard Valentine. Jockey: Robbie Walsh. 2012 record: 5-2-0-2, $18,000. 2011 record: 2-0-0-1, $1,750. 10-1 odds. Won timber allowance at 2012 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup after fall in Genesee Valley Hunt Cup. Finished third, beaten two lengths, in Shawan Downs’ Legacy Chase timber allowance race on Sept. 29. Won John Rush Streett maiden race at 2012 My Lady’s Manor and was third in Fair Hill novice timber allowance on May 26.

Foyle. 2005 dk. b. or br. g., Yarrow Brae--Londonderry, by Perfecting. Owner: Merriefield Farm. Trainer: Bruce Fenwick. Jockey: Christopher Read. 2013 record: 1-1-0-0, $9,000. 2012 record: 3-1-1-1, $10,300. 2011 record: No starts. 10-1 odds. Declared winner of Grand National’s Benjamin H. Murray Memorial after first two finishers went off course. Started his timber career last fall and won maiden victory at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup in November. Maiden on flat last raced at Laurel Park in February 2008.

Grinding Speed. 2006 gr. or ro. g., Grindstone—Cozelia, by Cozzene. Owner: Michael T. Wharton. Trainer: Alicia Murphy. Jockey: Mark Beecher. 2013 record: 1-0-0-0, $0. 2012 record: 6-3-3-0, $55,350. 2011 record: 6-3-3-0, $55,350. 5-1 odds. Fell while leading in 2013 My Lady’s Manor. Had a strong 2012 season with victory in the International Gold Cup in Virginia after a good second in the National Sporting Library Chronicle Cup at Virginia Fall. Won maiden timber race at Winterthur and then scored in novice timber race at Fair Hill, Md. on May 26.

Herons Well (GB). 2003 b. g., Heron Island (Ire)—The Storm Bell (Ire), by Glacial Storm. Owner: Irvin S. Naylor. Trainer: Billy Meister. Jockey: Roddy Mackenzie. 2013 record: 1-0-0-0, $500. 15-1 odds. Finished fourth in second division of John Rush Streett Memorial maiden timber at My Lady’s Manor on April 13. Won over steeplechase fences at Aintree in June 2012.

Hot Rize. 2004 dk. b. or br. g., Sultry Song—Donesia, by Desert Wine. Owner: Holston Hall. Trainer: Edward Mulligan. Jockey: Jeff Murphy. 2013 record: 1-1-0-0, $12,000. 2012 record: 1-0-0-0, $1,050. 2011 record: 7-2-1-2, $23,100. 10-1 odds. For new owner and trainer, won Middleburg Hunt Cup on April 20. Finished fourth in 2012 International Gold Cup after sixth in National Sporting Museum Chronicle Cup.

Justpourit (Ire). 1999 b. g., Glacial Storm--Gale Choice, by Strong Gale. Owner: Lucy Stable. Trainer: Richard Valentine. Jockey: George Hundt Jr. 2013 record: 2-0-0-0, $1,575. 2012 record: 1-0-0-0, $2,000. 2011 record: 4-1-3-0, $14,400. 15-1 odds. Finished fifth in 2013 Grand National after fourth in the John D. Schapiro Memorial at My Lady’s Manor. In only 2012 start, finished fourth in the Radnor Hunt Cup at Malvern, Pa. Won the 2011 John D. Schapiro Memorial before three second-place finishes, including the Radnor Hunt Cup.

Moonsox. 2006 ch. g., Mojave Moon--Sister Sox, by Deputy Minister. Owner: Nelson & Traveller Stable. Trainer: Kevin Boniface. Jockey: Lia McGuirk. 2013 record: 1-1-0-0, $18,000. 2012 record: 4-0-1-0, $10,350. 2011 record: 4-1-1-2, $17,937. 9-2 odds. Won 2013 My Lady’s Manor by 1 3/4 lengths after leading early, dropping back to last, and then making a big late run. Finished second in the 2012 New Jersey Hunt Cup before a fall in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. Never out of money in his four timber starts in 2011.

Straight to It. 2006 ch. g., Giant’s Causeway—Helsinka (Fr), by Pennekamp. Owners: Sheila J. Williams and Andre Brewster. Trainer: Jack Fisher. Jockey: Willie Dowling. 2013 record: 1-0-1-0, $5,400. 2012 record: 3-2-0-1, $39,500. 2011 record: 7-1-1-0, $31,500. 6-1 odds. Rallied for second in My Lady’s Manor on April 13. Made successful transition to timber and won the 2012 New Jersey Hunt Cup at Far Hills, N.J. Won maiden victory over timber at Shawan Downs in September 2012. In only other 2012 start, finished third in Bright Hour, an amateur starter hurdle, at Nashville’s Iroquois Steeplechase on May 12.