Gwathmey headlines tripleheader in Virginia, Maryland
©Tod Marks
Glenwood Park hosts stars and stakes action at the Middleburg Spring Races on Saturday with an eight-race $300,000 card, anchored by the talent-laden $100,000 Temple Gwathmey stakes and $30,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup, marking the return of timber champion Keys Discount.
The Grade 2 Gwathmey handicap hurdle, at 2 ½ miles, is shaping up as an early season barnburner. And it marks the first time since 2020 that recently retired champion Snap Decision (a record four-time Gwathmey winner) is absent from the field.The seven nominees to this year’s edition — five of whom are stakes winners — is headed by Del Rio Racing’s Fil Dor, who shipped stateside for the American Grand National (G1) at Far Hills in October as part of Gordon Elliott’s unstoppable juggernaut that swept all five jump races on the card.
Though he finished fifth that day, the now eight-year-old remained in the U.S., with Ricky Hendriks taking over the training duties. Fil Dor closed out his 2025 campaign with a victory in the G1 $150,000 Colonial Cup, where he defeated a strong field that included Riverdee Stable’s Eclipse Award winner Cool Jet, his Del Rio stablemate Little Trilby (a dual 2025 stakes winner), and Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s multiple G1-placed Vae Patron, who also runs in the Gwathmey. Fil Dor, who carries high weight of 156 pounds – two to 14 pounds more than his rivals – tuned up for the Gwathmey with a workman-like training flat win at Aiken last month.
Also nominated to the Gwathmey are Upland Flats Racing’s Hidden Path, trained by Hendriks as well, who is coming off of an allowance win at the Old Dominion Hounds races on April 4; Riverdee Stable’s Zabeel Champion (Jack Fisher), a two-time stakes winner in 2023 who has made only four starts over the past two seasons; Michael A. Smith’s Foxy Walk (Leslie Young), who took the Good Night Shirt handicap at Foxfield in 2025 and was fourth in the Colonial Cup; and Green Valley Construction and Paul and Molly Willis’ Volantis (Barry Foley), who makes his NSA debut following a career in Europe where he was a two-time winner (maiden and handicap hurdle) in 15 starts.
Perhaps the most intriguing entry is Bruton Street-US’ Ziggle Pops (Jack Fisher), who was last seen in the winner’s circle following the G1 A.P. Smithwick at Saratoga in the summer of 2024. Now nine, Ziggle Pops, a four-time winner over jumps, came out of his Saratoga win with an injury that kept him sidelined until now.
The supporting card
Timber racing has been prominent early this spring, and it gets an added boost of excitement with the return of Dolly Fisher’s 2025 champion Keys Discount in the $30,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup at 3 ¼ miles. Keys Discount, trained by Jack Fisher, went a perfect five for five – all in stakes – last season to claim the title. The champ could be vulnerable since it’s his first start in six months. His four prospective challengers include Motley Crew Racing’s Marcel Magic (Kathy Neilson), who was a distant second to Keys Discount in the National Sporting Library & Museum Cup over the same Glenwood Park course, and kicked off 2026 with a second to recent My Lady’s Manor stakes winner Uco Valley at Cheshire. Bruton Street-US’ Track and Trace (Mark Becher) chased Keys Discount in a pair of 2025 stakes, but had more success racing against non-winners of two. Stewart Strawbridge’s Lightning Ridge (Sanna Neilson) enjoyed his shining moment in 2023 (Alston Cup three-year-old hurdle stakes at Charleston) and seeks his first victory over timber. Hyggelig Haven’s Druid’s Altar (Willie Dowling) was ineffective in three tries against Keys Discount last season, and his best finish was a well-beaten second (in a field of three) to champion Mystic Strike in the 2024 International Gold Cup at Great Meadow.
The rest of the card consists of four hurdle races at 2 ⅛ miles – a $40,000 open maiden, $35,000 filly & mare maiden, $50,000 allowance for non-winners of two races, and $25,000 maiden starter for horses who previously started for a claiming tag of $25,000 or less or are currently entered for that amount. There’s also a $20,000 steeplethon over mixed obstacles at 2 ⅝ miles and a 1 ½-mile training flat event. The flat race marks the return of two 2025 standouts, Madaket Stables and Paul and Molly Willis’ Jimmy P (Keri Brion), a two-time winner of the G1 Jonathan Sheppard at Saratoga, and Del Rio Racing’s Little Trilby (Ricky Hendriks), a two-time stakes winner last year.
First race post time is 1 p.m. For full entries, click the link: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Middleburg-Final-Overnight.pdf
And at the Grand National…
Seven to contest second leg of Maryland Timber Triple
Timber racing resumes in Maryland hunt country for the second Saturday in a row as six runners are expected to go to the post in the 123rd running of the historic contest in Butler.
The Grand National, at a distance of 3 ¼ miles over 18 fences, carries a purse of $50,000, up $15,000 from 2025. Gates open at noon, and the four-race, $100,000 card gets underway at 2:30 p.m. The Grand National is the first race.
Six of the runners entered in the race are among those nominated to the longest and most demanding leg of the series, the 129th $100,000 Maryland Hunt Cup, which will be run at 4 miles on April 25.
Potter Group USA, Gaskells Waste Services, and Ashwell Stable’s Uco Valley, who won the My Lady’s Manor, the first leg of the series heads the nominees. Trained by Leslie Young, Uco Valley was one of the leading timber runners of 2025, finishing second to champion Keys Discount on several occasions.
Also expected is South Branch Equine’s Master Seville (Mark Beecher), who closed out 2025 with a score in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup. He was sixth in his previous appearance in the Grand National, in 2023. EHB Racing’s Huyana (Willie Dowling), an allowance winner, makes his first start in stakes competition in his 20th NSA appearance. At age 13, Armata Stables’ Mr. Fine Threads (Joe Davies) has made just 16 career starts. He captured a non-winners of two allowance at the Grand National in 2024 and earned his only stakes, the Willowdale, a year ago, his most recent effort.
Upland Partners’ Shootist (Todd McKenna) hasn’t seen the winners circle in four years, but he’s had two thirds in previous Grand Nationals and missed by an agonizing neck in the 2024 Maryland Hunt Cup.
Once a formidable force, Oakdene Stable’s classy Storm Team (Willie Dowling) was a four-time stakes winner for the Fisher family and Northwoods Stable, most recently in 2023. His last victory came in an allowance event at Callaway Gardens a year-and-a-half ago.
Like Storm Team, Charlie and Danielle Fenwick’s Royal Ruse is a former stakes winner (2023 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup). He also boasts a second place finish in the Maryland Hunt Cup three years ago. The Grand National will be his first outing in a year and a half.
Completing the rest of the all-timber card is a $15,000 maiden at 3 miles; a $20,000 non-winners of two allowance at 3 ¼ miles; and a $15,000 allowance at 3 miles (for non-winners of a stake in 2025-2026) restricted to apprentice riders.
Click here for entries: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Grand-National-Overnight-final.pdf
And at Loudon…
As part of the National Steeplechase Association’s new and enhanced point-to-point schedule, Morven Park in Leesburg, Va., will for the second time host a trio of sanctioned races on Sunday as part of the annual Loudon Point to Point: A $20,000 maiden claiming hurdle at 2 ¼ miles, $25,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less, and a $15,000 hurdle for runners who didn’t win a stakes in 2025 or 2026. The latter is restricted to apprentice riders. The three sanctioned races will be contested as the first (2:35 p.m.), second (at 3:10 p.m.), and third (3:45 p.m.) on the card, which also features pony races and other events on the flat and over jumps.
Gates open at 10 a.m. For entries, click here: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Movern-Park-Overnight-.pdf
If you can’t make it to the races, you can watch via live stream at www.nationalsteeplechase.com