A Look Back: Celebrating the 2022 Series Winners

The 2022 Maryland Governor’s Cup Series was a great success and a refreshing return to normal. Prize money increased after being limited last year, crowds returned full force, and a new point-to-point was added to the schedule. On Thursday, June 16, the winners will be celebrated at the annual Awards Reception at the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club. Here are the horses, owners, trainer, and riders taking home the honors this year:

The Maryland Governor’s Cup Horse of the Year (Open Timber Champion): Vintage Vinnie (IRE)

The 13-year-old gelding, owned by Armata Stables, is no stranger to the MSA circuit. Last year, he won the My Lady’s Manor Timber Stakes under Chris Gracie and the Maryland Hunt Cup under Dan Nevin. He won the Hunt Cup by 112 1/2 lengths in record-setting time. This year, Vintage Vinnie returned to the Manor, this time running in the Apprentice Timber. Teddy Davies had the ride for his dad, and trainer, Joe Davies. A typical frontrunner, Vintage Vinnie had to compete for the lead with Renegade River for most of the race, but narrowly proved best in the stretch. Two weeks later, Teddy Davies let Vintage Vinnie roll to the front at the drop of the flag, and, in similar fashion to last year, went wire-to-wire to win the Hunt Cup by 62 1/2 lengths. He broke his own track record, finishing in 8:15 flat. These two victories gave Vintage Vinnie the points to be the Maryland Governor’s Cup Horse of the Year for the second year in a row.

Earlier this year, the MSA announced a new award, the Maryland Irish-Bred Horse of the Year. This award is sponsored by Irish Thoroughbred Marketing and awards $1000 to the owner and $1000 to the trainer of the leading Irish-bred. Vintage Vinnie (IRE) is the recipient of this award, as his victories at the Manor and the Hunt Cup gave him more points than any other Irish-bred this season.

Maryland Novice Timber Champion: Boutonniere

Boutonniere, owned by Ballybristol Farm LLC, tried timber for the first time this year after a couple starts over hurdles. Trained by Leslie Young, Boutonniere made his debut at the inaugural Mount Harmon Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point, where he won the Maiden Timber by 2 1/2 lengths. This point-to-point victory set him up nicely for the Maiden Timber at the Grand National two weeks later, where he bested seven runners to win by eight lengths. Freddie Procter had the mount both times.

$500 MHBA Maryland-Bred Bonus Winner: Include It

Include It, a 7-year old gelding bred by Fitzhugh, LLC, is the recipient of the Maryland-Bred Bonus for the second year in a row. Trained by Todd Wyatt, Include It tried timber for the first time last year and has had great success, winning his last five starts. This year, he won the Open Timber race at the Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point and had a repeat victory in the Apprentice Timber at the Grand National. Include It is by Include (MD) out of Pissarro (MD) and is owned by Riverdee Stable.

$500 Maryland-Million Sired Bonus Winner: Bogey’s Image

Bogey’s Image is a 5-year-old gelding owned by Daniel Colhoun, Achsah O’Donovan, and Harvey Goolsby. After breaking his maiden over hurdles last fall for trainer/rider Sean McDermott, he finished second in the 4-year-old hurdle stakes at Far Hills in New Jersey. He made his timber debut this year for trainer Joe Davies, winning the Apprentice Timber at the Mount Harmon Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point, before finishing third in the Maiden Timber at the Grand National. Bogey’s image is by Imagining (KY) out of Casablanca Lily (IRE), and was bred by South Branch Equine LLC. South Branch Equine LLC bred the winner of this bonus last year, Master Seville, who is out of the same mare as Bogey’s Image.

Amateur Apprentice Timber Horse and Rider Champion: Include It and Elizabeth Scully

Include It and Elizabeth Scully teamed up for two runs this season, winning both of them. The pair started the season at the Foxhall Team Chase before going on to the Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point where they won the Edward S. Voss Memorial Open Timber. Two weeks later, they trailed the field in the Apprentice Timber at the Grand National, rallied from the back heading towards home, and won by 5 1/2 lengths. Include It also won this race last year under jockey Eddie Keating. Only the Apprentice Timber win at the Grand National and completing the Foxhall course count toward this award. Include It is owned by Riverdee Stable and trained by Todd Wyatt.

Heavyweight Timber Champion: Blackhall (IRE)

Kinross Farm’s Blackhall, ridden by Theresa Dimpfel, was on the winning Foxhall team that also included Ashton Williams on Pocket Talk and Teddy Davies on Our Friend; all three horses are trained by Joe Davies. Theresa Dimpfel teamed up with him again at Elkridge, where the pair won the Heavyweight Timber, securing the Heavyweight title. Blackhall also completed the allowance race at the Grand National and the Maryland Hunt Cup, where he will likely be seen again next year. Blackhall is an 8-year-gelding who tried timber for the first time last year; he won at Howard County and finished second at Potomac.

Leading Owner (H. Turney McKnight Perpetual Trophy): Armata Stables

For the second year in a row, Armata Stables is the leading owner, led by stable star Vintage Vinnie. In addition to Vintage Vinnie’s two victories, Armata had two other winners in Maryland. Our Friend (IRE), trained by Joe Davies, won a division of the Maiden Timber at the Manor and Chosen Mate (IRE), trained by Ricky Hendriks, won the Novice Timber at the Mount Harmon Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point. Armata Stables also owns Goodoldtimes (IRE), trained by Alicia Murphy, who finished third three times this season, including in the Grand National Timber Stakes and the Maryland Hunt Cup. Ben Griswold IV and Perry Bolton are co-owners of the horses that run in Armata silks.

Leading Trainer: Joe Davies

Joe Davies trained seven winners this year, six ridden by his son Teddy, and one ridden by Theresa Dimpfel. Blackhall, Our Friend, and Pocket Talk, all trained by Davies, made up the winning Foxhall Team. He trained one winner at Elkridge, Blackhall; one winner at Mount Harmon, Bogey’s Image; two winners at the Manor, Our Friend and Vintage Vinnie; and two winners at Potomac, Grey Giant and Brave Deacon. His most notable victory was the Maryland Hunt Cup. Vintage Vinnie’s win marked Joe Davies’ sixth straight Hunt Cup victory, having won three with Senior Senator, one with Derwins Prospector, and now two with Vintage Vinnie.

Leading Lady Rider: Elizabeth Scully

Elizabeth Scully rode five winners and finished second three times in Maryland this season. She started with a victory for trainer Cyril Murphy on Irv Naylor’s Fearsome (GB) at the Green Spring Valley Point-to-Point, rode three winners for trainer Todd Wyatt at the Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point, finished second in one division of the Maiden Timber at the Manor on Lost Story, and won the Apprentice Timber at the Grand National on Include It. Elizabeth Scully also rode in the My Lady’s Manor Timber Stakes and Grand National Timber Stakes. In addition to Todd Wyatt and Cyril Murphy, she rode for Casey Pinkard and Todd McKenna. Scully, a recent Loyola University graduate, is originally from Maryland and rode in the pony and young rider races as a junior.

Voss Amateur Flat Race Series: Virginia Korrell

Virginia Korrell rides primarily for trainer Leslie Young. She won one division of the Amateur Flat at the Green Spring Valley Point-to-Point on Fast Vision (FR) and was third in the other division on Bodes Well (IRE). Both horses went on to win sanctioned races later in the season. She was also third on Project Two (IRE) in the Amateur/Apprentice Jockey Flat at the Mount Harmon Wicomico Hunt Point-to-Point. In addition to riding in the Amateur Flat races, Virginia rode her first sanctioned winner over timber this year at the Cheshire Hunt Races on Elusive Exclusive (IRE). The pair finished a close third behind Vintage Vinnie in the Apprentice Timber at the Manor.

Leading Timber Rider (H. Brooks Durkee Memorial): Freddie Procter

Freddie Procter made his first trip to America this Spring as an amateur for trainer Leslie Young, and it did not take long for him to find success. He rode in 6 timber races in the Governor’s Cup Series, winning 5 and finishing second in one. Freddie rode a double at the Manor, including the My Lady’s Manor Timber Stakes on Leipers Fork Steeplechasers Tomgarrow (IRE). His second winner was on John Greene Jr.’s Monbeg Stream (IRE) in a division of the Maiden Timber. The following weekend, he rode another double at the Grand National. He won the Allowance Timber on Upland Partners’ Shootist, trained by Todd McKenna, and the Maiden Timber on Ballybristol Farm LLC’s Boutonniere. Freddie Procter continued to have success outside of the Governor’s Cup Series, including a victory in the Virginia Gold Cup Timber Stakes and three winners at Willowdale. He currently sits in second in the National Steeplechase Association jockey standings with ten sanctioned wins.

Leading Amateur Rider (Thomas H. Voss Memorial) and Overall Leading Rider: Teddy Davies

Teddy Davies finished the Governor’s Cup Series with 7 wins, 3 seconds, and 3 thirds; all seven winners were for his dad, trainer Joe Davies. Teddy started the season on the winning Foxhall team, rode Vintage Vinnie and Our Friend to victory at the My Lady’s Manor, won the Maryland Hunt Cup in record time on Vintage Vinnie, and finished the season with a double over hurdles at the Potomac Hunt Races on Grey Giant and Brave Deacon. He also rode for Jack Fisher and Suzanne Stettinius. Like Freddie Procter, Teddy Davies had success outside of the Governor’s Cup Series. He rode three winners at Willowdale, one of which was Our Friend, and rode Grey Giant to victory at the Radnor Hunt Races. He is currently tied for third in the National Steeplechase Association jockey standings with seven sanctioned wins.

Leading Junior Small Pony, Large Pony, and Overall Leading Pony Rider: Carly Kern

Carly Kern was successful on the junior circuit last year, but she was arguably even more successful this year. She had 6 winners, 2 seconds, and 1 third from 9 starts. At the Green Spring Valley Point-to-Point, she won the Small Pony Flat on Mallory and the large pony division of the Junior Field Masters Chase on Goose. The following weekend, she won the small, medium, and large pony divisions of the Junior Field Masters Chase at Elkridge. Her sixth winner was at Mount Harmon, once again on small pony Mallory.

Leading Junior Medium Pony Rider: Paige Wyatt

Paige Wyatt competed in the small, medium, and large pony divisions this season, but was most successful on medium pony Jigsaw. The pair won the medium division of the Junior Field Masters Chase at Green Spring and finished second in the same division the next weekend at Elkridge. This was Paige’s first season riding regularly on the junior circuit. Last year, she raced 4 times, and this year she raced in Maryland 11 times.

Leading Junior Horse Rider: James Wyatt

James Wyatt, Paige’s brother, rode a few large ponies this season in addition to competing in the junior horse division of the Junior Field Masters Chases. Green Spring and Elkridge were the only two opportunities for juniors to race horses this year, and James won both on Peter Jay’s Prime Prospector. Prime Prospector, trained by Todd Wyatt, used to be a regular on the Maryland timber circuit, most recently winning at the Manor in 2019. James hunted Prime Prospector over the winter and the pair completed the Foxhall Team Chase in March.

The winners of the Jonathan Kiser Memorial Scholarship and the Junior Foxchasing Scholarships will be announced at the Awards Reception.

The evening will feature a Sam Robinson Art Show, with 50% of the sales benefiting the Kiser Fund, the Equine Rescue Ambulance, and the Maryland Horse Library and Education Center.

For more information about the annual Awards Reception and to purchase tickets, click here.

The 2022 Maryland Governor’s Cup Series is presented by Mid Atlantic Farm Credit and is sponsored by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, the Maryland Million, the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, and Irish Thoroughbred Marketing.