Steeplechase Races

The lowdown -- Benefit community foundations at the Catonsville Fall into Fitness 5K at 8 a.m. Saturday. The Catonsville Rotary and St. Agnes have combined their two respective races (Y5K Race and Fun Walk and St. Agnes Labor Day 5K Run/Walk) into one community event. If you go -- The run begins and ends at 1600 Frederick Road. Pre-registration is $25 for adults and $12 for children 12 and younger. Registration on the day of the event is $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 and younger.

Each April, I look forward to the Saturday when the Grand National Steeplechase jockeys ride across a swath of unspoiled Baltimore County valley. From a vantage point atop a hill off Butler Road, just off Falls Road, I look out across the Western Run Valley and think how fortunate we are to have this setting — and the chance to visit it on a single spring afternoon. That's enough; too much traffic is not what this location needs. The countryside race, held Saturday, is over private estates and farms.

Batchwood out-dueled Soaringoverseattle down the green stretch to win the $35,000 Joseph L. Aitcheson Jr. Novice Hurdle Stakes at Pimlico Race Course yesterday.The 2 1/8 -mile race over 11 fences on the turf honored former jockey Aitcheson, a 68-year-old resident of Laurel who won more steeplechase races, 440, than any other North American rider.Trained by Jack Fisher and ridden by Sean Clancy, the 7-year-old Maryland-bred Batchwood prevailed by a nose for his third steeplechase victory in seven tries.

No matter how hard you work, or how brilliant you may be, the art of training thoroughbred race horses often comes down to the simple matter of fate. Graham Motion probably understands this better than most. In fact, he's thought about it a lot recently, especially during the past two weeks, ever since his life was turned into a state of beautiful chaos when he won the Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom. On Saturday, Motion, 47, will live out a fantasy that is nearly 20 years in the making.

The 87th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase Races will take place Saturday at 3: 30 p.m. Thursday's LIVE section listed the incorrect day for the event. For more information, call 410-557-9466.The Sun regrets the error.Raja and the HolocaustLearn about Raja Englanderova, a child survivor of the Holocaust, when the Children's Theater Association presents "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" Sunday afternoon at the Baltimore Museum of Art. The powerful biographical drama about finding hope in the face of the Holocaust tells the story of Raja, who was a 12-year-old when she was imprisoned at the transit camp Terezin, outside Prague.

The steeplechase show at Laurel Race Course today will feature some of the sport's best riders, trainers and horses.Riders Jeff Teter and Blythe Miller will compete, as well as trainers Jonathan Sheppard, Janet Elliot and Charles Fenwick Jr.And recently retired jockey Charles Fenwick III will return to Laurel to ride in the three steeplechase races that will be part of a 13-race program. Post time is 1 p.m.The younger Fenwick, 19, announced in early April that he would stop riding in May and return to Gilman School this fall.

LAUREL -- Sticks And Bricks, a 12-1 long shot, rushed along the rail in the final furlong yesterday to win the featured Laplander Purse at Laurel Race Course.Tsunami Spangler, with Rick Wilson aboard, broke on top out of the gate in the six-furlong sprint on the turf with 6-5 favorite Woodsy, ridden by Edgar Prado, stalking him on the outside. Woodsy took the lead at the top stretch, but Stick And Bricks, with jockey Andrea Seefeldt using the whip, rallied along the rail to win the $23,000 race.

Some of the world's best steeplechase horses will compete Saturday at the 55th International Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow race course in the Plains, Va.The term "steeplechase" is said to have been coined back in 1752 by two Irishmen who made a wager to race their horses across the Irish countryside from Buttevant Church to St. Leger Church. The men raced their horses for some four and a half miles over hedges and fences as they "chased to the steeple" of St. Leger. Steeplechase races in Virginia were run as early as 1844.

A hot timber racer and a rising star are expected to duel in the 99th running of the My Lady's Manor steeplechase in Monkton on Saturday. South Monarch, a 7-year-old dark bay on a three-race winning streak, is one of the favorites in the 12-horse field; the other top contender is Incomplete, an 8-year-old who is two-for-two in sanctioned timber races but will be making a leap in class. The $30,000 My Lady's Manor marks the first of three successive weekends of Maryland steeplechase races, with the Grand National in Butler on April 18 and the Maryland Hunt Cup in Glyndon on April 25. The 19-race National Steeplechase Association spring season, which includes events throughout the East and Southeast, concludes at Fair Hill on May 23. For local spectators, steeplechase racing is as much about enjoying the Maryland countryside and the heritage of traditional overland horse racing as it is about the competition.

As more than 100 thoroughbreds and their jockeys competed in the Marlborough Hunt Races in southern Anne Arundel County yesterday, David Kolb and his friends savored a 100-pound, slow-roasted pig on the sidelines. At the steeplechase races in Davidsonville, the group has carved out a niche for itself, with a whole tailgating section - "Loedown Lane" -named in its honor. "Sixteen years ago, everyone else had their silver candelabra and their Mercedes here," he said. "All we had was a ham and our pickup trucks.

South Monarch outlasted Bubble Economy in a stirring stretch battle to win the 100th edition of the $30,000 My Lady's Manor steeplechase race at Monkton on Saturday. Ridden by Jody Petty, South Monarch dueled with Bubble Economy throughout the lane and prevailed by a head after capturing the lead in the final quarter mile of the three-mile test over timber jumps. The outcome was decided in a photo review. "It's always hard to say I won the race. I wasn't so sure," Petty said.

A hot timber racer and a rising star are expected to duel in the 99th running of the My Lady's Manor steeplechase in Monkton on Saturday. South Monarch, a 7-year-old dark bay on a three-race winning streak, is one of the favorites in the 12-horse field; the other top contender is Incomplete, an 8-year-old who is two-for-two in sanctioned timber races but will be making a leap in class. The $30,000 My Lady's Manor marks the first of three successive weekends of Maryland steeplechase races, with the Grand National in Butler on April 18 and the Maryland Hunt Cup in Glyndon on April 25. The 19-race National Steeplechase Association spring season, which includes events throughout the East and Southeast, concludes at Fair Hill on May 23. For local spectators, steeplechase racing is as much about enjoying the Maryland countryside and the heritage of traditional overland horse racing as it is about the competition.

While flat racing struggles with fewer horses and declining revenues, the steeplechase circuit is enjoying steady progress. Proof of that can be seen in a perusal of the entries for today's annual Fair Hill Races, which have drawn bulging fields for the eight-race program that will begin at 1 p.m. at the picturesque Cecil County layout. With expected cooperation from the weather, an estimated 12,000 are expected to view a card headlined by the $30,000 Valentine Memorial for fillies and mares, a 2 1/4 -mile test over national fences.

When Billy Santoro saddles up in today's 112th Hunt Cup, the mother of Maryland timber races, he'll be taking on more than the horses. Santoro, of Monkton, will be racing Father Time. The 58-year-old rider of favored Private Attack is nearing the end of his jockey career - though not by choice. In 22 months, Santoro will be given the boot by the National Steeplechase Association, which sets a jockey's age limit at 60. More's the pity. After a 36-year hiatus, Santoro began riding competitively two years ago and won a prestigious race last week - the Grand National in Butler.

Five of this year's top 10 money-winning timber horses will be vying for the winner's share of a $25,000 purse in the Ski Roundtop Trophy Stakes, today's feature on the steeplechase card at Shawan Downs in Baltimore County. With the leader, Salmo, injured, Augustin Stables' Irish Prince could supplant him atop the list, but he'll have to contend with a host of challengers trained by Jack Fisher. The Monkton-based Fisher has four entries in the field, all of whom could substantially improve their standing with a victory.

The lowdown -- Benefit community foundations at the Catonsville Fall into Fitness 5K at 8 a.m. Saturday. The Catonsville Rotary and St. Agnes have combined their two respective races (Y5K Race and Fun Walk and St. Agnes Labor Day 5K Run/Walk) into one community event. If you go -- The run begins and ends at 1600 Frederick Road. Pre-registration is $25 for adults and $12 for children 12 and younger. Registration on the day of the event is $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 and younger.

Five of this year's top 10 money-winning timber horses will be vying for the winner's share of a $25,000 purse in the Ski Roundtop Trophy Stakes, today's feature on the steeplechase card at Shawan Downs in Baltimore County. With the leader, Salmo, injured, Augustin Stables' Irish Prince could supplant him atop the list, but he'll have to contend with a host of challengers trained by Jack Fisher. The Monkton-based Fisher has four entries in the field, all of whom could substantially improve their standing with a victory.

FAIR HILL -- The Fair Hill Races dug into some unbroken ground yesterday and encountered a few rocks.An experiment with simulcasts of steeplechase races from a major flat track, Monmouth Park in New Jersey, produced some run-ins with the six-race live card and left bettors precious little time to ponder between events.Overall, a 10-race card was completed in a little more than three hours, a dizzying pace."The handle was way down on those simulcast races," Fair Hill executive director Gregg Morris said.

As more than 100 thoroughbreds and their jockeys competed in the Marlborough Hunt Races in southern Anne Arundel County yesterday, David Kolb and his friends savored a 100-pound, slow-roasted pig on the sidelines. At the steeplechase races in Davidsonville, the group has carved out a niche for itself, with a whole tailgating section - "Loedown Lane" -named in its honor. "Sixteen years ago, everyone else had their silver candelabra and their Mercedes here," he said. "All we had was a ham and our pickup trucks.

In a sport where experience counts, Albert's Crossing may be somewhat lacking. But in pure jumping talent, the precocious 5-year-old gelding may have the edge today in the featured race of the Legacy Chase at Shawan Downs. Like the Legacy Chase, in its fifth year, Albert's Crossing is a relative youngster. While most timber racing horses don't start racing until they're 6 year olds, Albert's Crossing started at 4, and this year has a stakes win and $30,000 in purse money to his credit.