Zabeel Champion, Keys Discount, Mr. Fine Threads shine on busy weekend
©Tod Marks
The National Steeplechase Association passed the mid-Spring mark last weekend with 15 races spread across three meets in three states worth $460,000.
There was action at all levels of the sport, from claimers to stakes, over hurdles and timber, with multiple opportunities for veterans and newbies.
Three stakes highlighted the schedule. At Glenwood Park in Middleburg, Riverdee Stable’s Zabeel Champion rebounded from a year-long layoff to capture the Grade 2 $100,000 Temple Gwathmey handicap hurdle, while his Jack Fisher-trained stablemate, Dolly Fisher’s timber champ Keys Discount, picked up where he left off last year, with yet another eye-popping victory, in the $30,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup. At the Grand National races in Butler, Md., Armata Stables’ Mr. Fine Threads notched his second stakes in a row, capturing the second leg of the Maryland Timber Triple, the $50,000 Grand National, setting him up for his appearance in the final leg of the series, the Maryland Hunt Cup, this weekend.
Here’s a rundown of the results.
At Middleburg
Zabeel Champion wins thrilling Gwathmey stakes
You’d be hard-pressed to watch a more riveting finish than the one in the Gwathmey. They don’t come much better. Michael Smith’s Foxy Walk opened the 2 1/2 mile contest doing what he does best: Making the lead and saying catch me if you can.
And for the first two loops of the Glenwood Park course, Foxy Walk, under Luke Carberry, did just that. The third time round, however, Ziggle Pops (Jamie Bargary), the 2024 G1 AP Smithwick winner coming off of a two-year-layoff, took the lead with Upland Flats Racings’ Hidden Path (Stephen Mulqueen) rallying from last, hooking him at the final fence. From there, the duo battled through the long downhill run to the elbow leading into the short stretch.
At that point, Riverdee Stable’s Zabeel Champion (Freddie Procter), returning from a layoff of nearly a year himself, remained in second, but still fairly far behind. It remained a two-horse race in mid-stretch, but as Hidden Path pulled ahead of Ziggle Pops, Zabeel Champion came flying on the outside to get up in the final strides by a length.
The victory gave Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher two stakes wins on the Middleburg card.
Keys Discount is untouchable in Middleburg Hunt Cup
34 1/2 Lengths. That was the margin of victory for Dolly Fisher’s Keys Discount in 3 ¼ mile Hunt Cup. Only three runners contested the race in which the reigning 2025 timber champion began his title defense. And if the Hunt Cup was any indication of things to come, the seven-year-old Maryland-bred is on the precipice of a huge season.
Keys Discount led wire to wire enroute to his sixth consecutive victory (all stakes), which began with last year’s Middleburg Hunt Cup. The win put his career earnings mark above $200,000. His next likely start is in the $75,000 Virginia Gold Cup on May 2.
Once again, Graham Watters was in the saddle for trainer Jack Fisher, and the race was a tour de force for the duo, who had a clear lead from the start, and extended their substantial margin through the stretch while geared down. Bruton Street-US’ Track and Trace (Evan Dwan) with Hyggelig Haven’s Druid’s Altar (Jamie Bargary) third.
Predominate upsets champ in showdown of up and comers
Glenwood Park hosted a $50,000 allowance hurdle for non-winners of two races, which drew a superb field of seven, including Woodslane Racing’s co-three-year-old champ of 2025, Cooper, and his stakes-placed Jack Fisher-trained stablemate Scorpius.
But at the end of the 2 ⅛-mile contest, it was Gail Clark and Turks Head Turf’s Predominate who dominated the competition, coming from off the pace to draw clear by five lengths.
With Harry Beswick in the saddle for trainer Todd McKenna, a partnership that produced Grade 1 wins with Noah and the Ark in the American Grand National and Lonesome Glory, the seven-year-old son of Arrogate was content to sit back in fifth for the first mile and a half as Gill Johnston’s Awesome Man set a torrid pace under Virginia Korrell, leading by as much as a dozen lengths.
Predominate began to narrow the gap but still had plenty of ground to make up heading to the final fence. But Awesome Man was unrelenting, even while facing a threat from Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s Salted Carmel (Stephen Mulqueen).
With those two battling on the front end, it wasn’t until the final bend entering the short Glenwood Park stretch that Predominate seized the advantage. Awesome Man held the place spot by a length over Salted Carmel.
The victory was the second in four NSA outings for Predominate, who switched to jump racing following 35 starts on the flat, mostly at Parx.
Fiery Dart graduates maiden ranks in third NSA try
R And K Racing’s Fiery Dart, who was beaten less then three lengths in each of her first two starts over jumps last season, became a winner in her first outing of 2026, advancing from 10th to first in the fifth at Glenwood Park, a $35,000 maiden event for fillies and mares.
With Stephen Mulqueen riding for trainer (and co-owner) Keri Brion, Fiery Dart looked like she’d have to settle for third, as she trailed dueling leaders Kobe’s Smile (Freddie Procter) and Wilma Flintshire (Jamie Bargary) over the final fence. But she continued to gain ground on the long downhill run turning into the stretch, where she finally collared the leaders.
A daughter of the wonderful New York-bred turf star Get Stormy, Fiery Dart made three uneventful starts on the flat before joining the NSA, promptly scoring over the new Fair Hill turf course during the special one-day meet last August. She made two additional starts in the fall after that over jumps, at Aiken and Glenwood Park, finishing third both times.
Siennois outduels De La Cruz in battle of up and comers
In the $40,000 open maiden special weights hurdle, many eyes were on a pair of first-time jumpers coming off the flat.
Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s Siennois, a five-year-old Irish-bred son of Advertise — a Group 1 winner at Ascot, Deauville, and Curragh — had made 10 starts at Del Mar and Santa Anita after coming over from France. In California, he was a maiden and allowance winner on the turf, running up impressive speed figures.
Similarly, Riverdee Stable’s De La Cruz, a five-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Divisidero — also a multiple Grade 1 winner in the U.S. — had underachieved on the flat, going 11 starts without a win, though finishing second or third seven times. He enhanced his credentials with a tally in his first NSA start, winning an allowance flat race at the reconstituted Fair Hill meet in August.
From the flag drop it was a two-horse race in the field of four (after two other prospective starters were scratched). De La Cruz, under Graham Watters, took the lead at the start, setting an easy early pace, with Siennois and Stephen Mulqueen within striking range. Nothing changed until the final fence, when Siennois drew even with his rival, leading to a spirited stride-for-stride duel until deep stretch when Siennois got up to score by 1 3/4 lengths. It was another 34 lengths back to the show horse, Noble Stables’ Mission Man (Luke Carberry).
Keri Brion trained the winner; Julie Gomena, the runner up.
“Master” of his domain
After competing in hurdle stakes and handicaps since beginning his NSA career in 2023, Bruton Street-US’ Quick Master made a seamless transition to steeplethon competition over mixed obstacles with a gutsy length win over veteran Decisive Triumph in the $20,000 finale.
With Jamie Bargary riding for trainer Tom Garner, the seven-year-old son of Hard Spun, broke well in the field of five, snatched the lead from Daniel Baker’s Decisive Triumph (Graham Watters) at the mile mark, relinquished the lead to his foe going extremely wide into a turn at around two miles, then reasserted himself before the final fence and held the advantage to the wire in the 2 5/8-mile event. Gill Johnston’s Anzio (Stephen Mulqueen) was 1 3/4 lengths behind for the show spot.
Jhirsch debuts a winner
Coming off a flat-race prep at the Carolina Cup Races in March, Riverdee Stable’s five-year-old New York-bred looked like a seasoned veteran over jumps with a handy seven-length, off-the-pace victory over six rivals in the $25,000 race for horses who previously ran for a $25,000 tag or were entered for that amount on race day.
With Jamie Bargary riding for trainer Laird George, the son of Not This Time rated patiently toward the rear as Bruce Collette’s Katsuo (Harry Beswick) set the pace, scooting off to a big lead. He moved into third two fences from home, then up to second at the final jump, when he dueled the leader, Genet Racing’s Really Good (Gus Dahl), until drawing away handily through the stretch.
Prior to Saturday’s start, Jhirsch had raced 15 times, mostly on the NYRA circuit, with a single maiden claiming score.
Alpamayo, a horse to watch
If looks are any indication of success on the race course, Irv Naylor’s Alpamayo would be destined for greatness.
The regal looking five-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Karakontie, a multiple G1 European Classic and Breeders Cup Mile winner, raced four times in France in 2024, with two scores, then came stateside last fall to he promptly broke his maiden over hurdles at Great Meadow in his first and only start of the season.
Alpamayo returned to the races at Glenwood Park in a training flat contest that drew a tough field that boasted two-time G1 winner Jimmy P and the stakes-winning mare Time To Shine. And in a spirited dual, Alpamayo dug in and got the best of them with a one-length score under Harry Beswick for trainer Cyril Murphy.
While all of the connections got the conditioning they were hoping for in the race — a prep for bigger events down on the calendar — anyone who watched the race would be impressed by Alpamayo’s competitiveness against such classy opponents.
And at the Grand National
Mr. Fine Threads takes the 123rd Grand National
Timber racing returned to Maryland hunt country for the second Saturday in a row, and it was Armata Stables’ Mr. Fine Threads who stepped up to take the $50,000 Grand National, his second straight stakes and third win in his last four outings, under Teddy Davies for trainer Joe Davies, his dad.
A 13-year-old Maryland-bred making only his 17th lifetime start, Mr. Fine Threads rated well early, inherited the lead “due to the mishaps of others,” according to Equibase, led the final mile and held off Upland Partners’ late-charging Shootist (Elizabeth Scully) by three lengths. It was another 13 lengths back to the third finisher, South Branch Equine’s Master Seville (Dan Nevin), who was making his seasonal bow following a November score in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup.
The winner and runner up are nominated to the longest and most demanding leg of the series, the 128th Maryland Hunt Cup, which will be run at 4 miles on April 25.
In other action at the Butler course, Teddy Davies rode a second winner in Paul and Molly Willis’ Pavoni, trained by Todd McKenna. Davies took the $20,000 maiden by 3 ¾ lengths over Taco Tuesday Amigos’ Ice Bar (ridden and trained by Sarah Cundith), and Hard Game’s Ruthenian (Eric Poretz).
Poretz and Neilson combined for a trip to the winner’s circle with Irv Naylor’s Recoup in the third race, a $20,000 allowance race (restricted to apprentice riders), scoring by 20 lengths in front of Joe Davies’ Great Road (Chelsea Secor). Recoup and Great Road were the only horses to finish in the field of eight.
And at the Loudoun Point to Point
As part of the National Steeplechase Association’s enhanced point-to-point program, Morven Park in Leesburg, Va., hosted a trio of sanctioned races on Sunday at the 59th Annual Loudoun Point to Point.
In the $20,000 maiden claiming hurdle at 2 1/4 miles, Irv Naylor’s Ranger Thunderbolt made an eye-popping U.S. debut, romping by 30 ½ lengths under Harry Beswick. The six-year-old Irish-bred led by double digits at every call, extending his advantage by as much as 37 lengths, before coasting home as much the best. Pathfinder Racing’s Army Times (Graham Watters) was second; Commonwealth Racing’s Carnane (Freddie Procter) was third. For trainer Cyril Murphy, it was his second winner on the card. Murphy saddled Naylor’s Grade 1 winner Belfast Banter to his first victory in nearly three years in the finale, a $15,000 allowance hurdle for apprentice riders. Elizabeth Scully rode Belfast Banter, but the 2023 A.P. Smithwick winner didn’t have it easy. The now 11-year-old fought tooth and nail with Leipers Fork Steeplechase’s Walk the Warrior (Luke Carberry) for more than a mile and a half, had the lead, lost it, and battled back in the final strides to get up by a head.
The other winner on the day was Hudson River Farms’ The Insider, who bested Paul and Molly Willis’ Love Shaq (Kevin Sexton) by 1 ½ lengths in the $25,000 handicap for horses rated at 110 or less. Vivian Rall’s Super Chunk, the leading three-year-old of 2024, was third. Stephen Mulqueen rode the winner for trainer Keri Brion. Mulqueen also had two winners at Middleburg on Saturday, raising his 2026 total to seven, one more than Freddie Procter in the standings.