Three stakes on tap in weekend doubleheader
©Tod Marks
The jumpers land in Virginia on Saturday, and Pennsylvania on Sunday as the National Steeplechase Association season steams toward the finish line in Camden, S.C., on Nov. 23.
At the Montpelier Hunt Races, run on the front lawn of President James Madison’s historic home in Montpelier Station, Va., 53 horses have been entered for seven races worth $260,000. The meet was founded by racing pillar Marion duPont Scott, when she owned the estate. The feature, the $75,000 Noel Laing Stakes at 2 ½ miles over Montpelier’s signature brush fences, has drawn a strong field of seven, including Riverdee Stable’s Cool Jet, winner of the inaugural Grade 1 Commonwealth Cup at the 2024 Virginia Gold Cup Races and, more recently, the G3 Mariann De Tejada Memorial at Foxfield in nearby Charlottesville last month. Cool Jet is the 158 pound highweight and will be conceding 14 to 16 pounds to his opposition.
Although two of the prospective starters are still seeking their initial stakes success, they’ve had their shining moments. Gill Johnston’s Active Duty was victorious in a non-winners of two allowance at Great Meadow in the spring. Ballybristol Farm’s Noble Anthem was second to Cool Jet in the Commonwealth Cup, finishing ahead of three G1 winners – Proven Innocent, Belfast Banter, and Too Friendly – in the process. He also captured a 115 handicap at the Carolina Cup Races in the Spring.
Runnymoore Racing has a pair of runners competing for different trainers. Two-time 2024 stakes winner (Speedy Smithwick and Harry Harris) Clifton Down has made only two appearances this year, rallying for third in the Van Clief Memorial at Foxfield Spring, but was eased in the Michael G. Walsh novice stakes at Saratoga. Stablemate Tufton Avenue won a classy allowance race at Willowdale in the spring, where he defeated recent winners Two Past Eight, Chosen Judge, and King of the Kids. Hurricana Farm’s Sweet Will was a close third – beaten less than two lengths – in his stakes debut in the G1 Lonesome Glory at Aqueduct in September. Leipers Fork Steeplechase For the Parish roared past Sweet Will to score by nearly three lengths in a 120 handicap at the Iroquois Races in May.
Seven fillies and mares are expected to line up in the wide open co-featured $75,000 Marion DuPont Scott Memorial led by Daigneault Thoroughbreds’ Madaket’s Arrow, who has a second and third in stakes competition at Colonial Downs over the summer, and Adam Newman, Tom Rice, and James Stainbrook’s Gossiper, an impressive ( 9 ¼ length) maiden winner in her NSA debut at Foxfield in October.
Another one to watch is Ivy Hill Stable’s Love Saga, who got up in the final strides to beat the boys in a 110 handicap, also at Foxfield. Love Saga was a winner in similar 110 company at Montpelier in 2024.
There are also a contingent of other hopefuls. Paul and Molly Willis’ New Appointment is without a victory in 15 starts since her maiden score back in 2022, and has made just two starts in each of the past two seasons. The Willis’ and Green Valley Construction’s Bold Look is seeking her first NSA win as is S. Rebecca Shepherd’s Our Finest Hour and Riverdee Stable’s Wilma Flintshire.
The remainder of the card consists of a $30,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less; two $20,000 maiden claiming hurdles; a $40,000 maiden special weights hurdle; and a training flat race.
First race post time is 12:30 p.m. Here’s a link to the entries: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Montpelier-Overnight-Tuesday.pdf
And in Unionville…
Sharing the weekend on the calendar with Montpelier is the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup in Unionville, which returns after last year’s cancellation due to unusually hard ground. Post time for the four-race $70,000 card is 1:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. Don’t forget to turn back your clocks when you go to bed on Saturday night.
The $35,000 Pennsylvania Hunt Cup at four miles over timber has attracted eight veterans, several of whom have been chasing Keys Discount, who is five for five this year and soon to be crowned champion timber horse. Keys Discount’s 2025 season is over, and any of those in this group could step up to take home the top prize.
Nancy Reed’s Awesome Adrian, winner of the 2024 Maryland Grand National in Butler, makes his 2025 debut. Potter Group USA, Gaskells Waste Services, and Ashwell Stable’s Uco Valley has shadowed Keys Discount, most recently finishing second, 10 lengths behind him in last week’s International Gold Cup. Upland Partners’ Shootist had his crowning moment when finishing a neck behind Blackhall in the 2024 Maryland Hunt Cup. He faded in last Saturday’s International Gold Cup after racing in second for the first 2 ½ miles. His Upland Partners’ stablemate, Rhythmia, has made only a single start (a DNF) in stakes events, but was a blowout winner of an allowance over the Hunt Cup course in 2023.
South Branch Equine’s Master Seville has a first, second, and third in three 2025 starts, the show finish coming in the Willowdale Steeplechase in April where he was moved up from fourth following a disqualification. Greenlights’ The Butler Yates was a gallant second, beaten a length in the Willowdale, and in his next start five months later, captured the Genesee Valley Hunt Cup. Daniel T. Doane’s Theda’s Boy hasn’t been worse than third in eight starts since 2022; in his only stakes try, he was a distant third in the My Lady’s Manor in April. Armata Stables’ Goodoldtimes won the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup way back in 2021, and has been second or third in five consecutive timber stakes.
The card also includes three other traditional fixtures: two three-mile timber events, a $15,000 maiden and $20,000 allowance contest for non-winners of two, and a 1 ⅜ mile training flat race restricted to apprentice riders.
Click here for full entries: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PA-Hunt-Cup-Tuesday-Overnight-.pdf
You can watch the races via live stream from the link on the NSA homepage, www.nationalsteeplechase.com.Dan Nevin) closed well for third.