Sunday\u2019s rich, seven-race card at the Charlottesville, Va., course produced plenty of thrills and unexpected results.<\/p>\n
In the featured Grade 2 $100,000 Mariann De Tejada Memorial stakes, all eyes were on Riverdee Stable\u2019s Zabeel Champion, the season\u2019s leading money earner who brought an unblemished two for two 2026 record (G1 Iroquois and G2 Temple Gwathmey) into his first start in five months. But at the wire, Zabeel Champion ended up a non-threatening fifth, and it was Silverton Hill\u2019s Two Past Eight who crossed the line first, a head in front of Maranto Manor\u2019s Lydford to apparently register his first career stakes score.<\/p>\n
But as quickly as the race concluded, a steward\u2019s inquiry was announced and after review, Two Past Eight, ridden by new NSA jockey Niall Prendergast, was disqualified for interference in the stretch and placed second behind the Tom Garner-trained Lydford, piloted by Evan Dwan.<\/p>\n
Two Past Eight had led from the start, tracked closely by Del Rio Racing’s Fil Dor (Conor Tierney) and soon thereafter by Lydford.There was little change in the running order for most of the race, and the pace picked up as the field turned toward the stretch the last time around. Fil Dor began to move on on the outside, while Lydford asserted himself on the inside. As Fil Dor, who finished third, began to give way, Lydford was in full gear, but Two Past Eight dug down to stubbornly retain his slight advantage.<\/p>\n
For Lydford, it was his second straight score at Foxfield. In the spring he won the Good Night Shirt stakes over the course. The nine-year-old made 15 starts in England prior to coming stateside in 2022, finishing off the board in a pair of novice stakes at Saratoga before going to the sidelines for a year and a half. He re-emerged in the spring of 2024, but didn\u2019t earn his first NSA victory until taking a 115 handicap at Callaway Gardens in the fall of 2025, which was followed by his win in the Good Night Shirt stakes at Foxfield last spring. He was sixth in the Iroquois in May, running well until giving way in the late going.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere at Foxfield:<\/p>\n
Lightup Lightup takes the opener with come-from-behind romp in $20,000 maiden claimer<\/p>\n
Metahorse Racing’s Lightup Lightup won his first race in 17 career outings by coming from off the pace in the opener and blowing past the rest of the field to score by 15 lengths for jockey Evan Dwan and trainer Tom Garner at the Charlottesville, Va., course.<\/p>\n
Sitting patiently as Runnymoore Racing’s Beau Ciel (Conor Tierney) set the pace for much of the 2 1\/8 mile going, Lightup Lightup rallied in the late stages and powered home as much the best. Lucy Goelet’s Basic Miles (Dan Nevin), who was well placed throughout, was second; Adam Newman and Paul and Molly Willis’ Righthere Rightnow (Danny Mullins) was close behind in third.<\/p>\n
Path to Victory finds her way to winner’s circle in $30,000 filly & mare maiden hurdle<\/p>\n
Why Not Racing’s Path to Victory, who launched her second career over jumps following 36 starts on the flat, rallied past Paul and Molly Willis, Atlantic Friends Racing, and Adam Newman’s Loving Look in deep stretch to narrowly take the second.<\/p>\n
With Conor Tierney riding for trainer Lilith Boucher, the seven-year-old daughter of Tonalist was content to sit back in the field of nine as Serio Racing Stables and L5 Racing’s All Gas No Brakes (Stephen Mulqueen) and Loving Look (Danny Mullins) separated themselves from the pack. Loving Look grabbed the lead about halfway through the course on the final pass and extended her advantage to around five lengths coming into the stretch. That’s when Path to Victory got into gear, and looked like a surefire winner. But in the final strides, Loving Look battled on and almost pulled off the comeback. Irv Naylor’s Jolie Etoile (Graham Watters) was third.<\/p>\n
Asleep in Court wakes up, breaks maiden<\/p>\n
Armata Stables’ Asleep in Court, who began his racing career at age five in the spring, earned his first victory in his fourth try, besting a field of seven in the third, a $40,000 maiden special weights hurdle.<\/p>\n
With leading rider Freddie Procter aboard for trainer Mark Beecher, Asleep in Court sat patiently in what appeared to be a very slow-paced contest as Dee Tee Stables and Upland Flats Racing’s Landauer (Stephen Mulqueen) showed the way in a field that remained closely bunched throughout.<\/p>\n
Bruton Street-US’ Vienna Storm (Jamie Bargary), who was second or third for much of the going, took the lead midway through the last loop of the course, but with a little less than a quarter mile to go, Asleep in Court began to pour it on, opening up by 7 \u00be\u00a0lengths. Paul and Molly Willis’ My Kinda Ghaiy (Danny Mullins) got up to edge Vienna Storm for the place spot.<\/p>\n
Whiskeyinthejaro prevails in thrilling $30,000 handicap<\/p>\n
The fourth race, a handicap for horses rated at 110 or less, looked wide open in the late stages, but when the dust settled in the final strides, Atlantic Friends Racing and Paul and Molly Willis’ Whiskeyinthejaro (Dan Nevin) got the not over Riverdee Stable’s JHirsch in a four-horse photo.<\/p>\n
Racing toward the wire, Love Shaq (Danny Mullins), a narrow advantage, a lead he’d held throughout the journey. Nancy Reed and Jack Griswold’s Bright Eyed Eagle (Freddie Procter) moved alongside Love Shaq, as JHirsch (Jamie Bargary) and Whiskeyinthejaro gathered momentum. The latter two were able to split the two leaders and battle it out with Whiskeyinthejaro coming out on top. It was the second winner of the day for trainer Mark Beecher.<\/p>\n
It was also the second win in five NSA starts for Whiskeyinthejaro, who made the switch from the flat in the spring.<\/p>\n
Walk the Warrior is determined winner of $40,000 handicap<\/p>\n
One O Two Racing’s Walk the Warrior, who remained in close striking position throughout, asserted himself through the stretch and refused to be passed nearing the wire in the fifth, a handicap for horses rated at 120 or less.<\/p>\n
With Graham Watters aboard for trainer Neil Morris, the seven-year-old Irish-bred, who formerly ran in the colors of Leipers Fork Steeplechasers, was one of several runners vying for the lead turning into the stretch, the others being Riverdee Stable’s King Al (Jamie Bargary), Sharon Sheppard’s King of Tsavo (Conor Tierney), and James B. Steele’s King of the Kids (Bernie Dalton). As Walk the Warrior pulled clear, King of the Kids revved up and looked as if he’d blow past. But Walk the Warrior dug in and repelled the late charge to win by a neck.<\/p>\n
Highwayman makes first NSA start a winning one in finale<\/p>\n
Runnymoore Racing’s Highwayman, a lightly raced five-year-old Pennsylvania-homebred, stalked in second behind Fleetfoot, then took charge with a lap to go, and held on to score by a length in the finale at Foxfield, a training flat contest at 1 1\/2 miles.<\/p>\n
With Jamie Bargary in the saddle for trainer Ricky Hendriks, Highwayman who had made five previous starts in the maiden claiming\/claiming ranks mostly in the Northeast, showed plenty of grit against an accomplished field that included several stakes winners. The son of Cross Traffic actually extended his lead through the stretch and held off his late-charging Hendriks’ stablemate Blue Waters (Conor Tierney) for the win. Paul and Molly Willis’ Fleetfoot (Danny Mullins) was third.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sunday’s rich, seven-race card at the Charlottesville, Va., course produced plenty of thrills and unexpected results. In the featured Grade 2 $100,000 Mariann De Tejada Memorial stakes, all eyes were on Riverdee Stable’s Zabeel Champion, the season’s leading money earner who brought an unblemished two for two 2026 record (G1 Iroquois and G2 Temple Gwathmey) into his first start in five months. But at the wire, Zabeel Champion ended up a non-threatening fifth, and it was Silverton Hill’s Two Past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[97,52,2044],"tags":[2870,2867,2865,2866,2869,2868],"class_list":["post-7494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-events-magazine","category-events-magazine","category-magazine","tag-del-rio-racings-fil-dor-conor-tierney","tag-g1-iroquois-and-g2-temple-gwathmey","tag-mariann-de-tejada-memorial-stakes","tag-riverdee-stables-zabeel-champion","tag-silverton-hills-two-past","tag-zabeel-champion"],"yoast_head":"\n