Making her first start over fences, Jennifer Pitts’ Bau Bai Gold put on a dazzling performance and won Foxfield Fall’s co-featured $20,000 filly-and-mare maiden hurdle by 13 1/4 lengths in Charlottesville, Va., on Sunday. No less dazzling was Perfect Peace Racing Stable’s Marq Your Bible, who won the co-feature, a $20,000 open maiden hurdle, by 34 1/2 lengths.
Trained by Jazz Napravnik and ridden by Ross Geraghty, Bau Bai Gold set all the pace and completed the filly-and-mare hurdle’s 2 1/8 miles over National Fences in 4:03 on firm turf. Betsy Mead’s So Far Away finished second, and owner-trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s E C’s Favorite took third in a field of nine.
Willie McCarthy sent Marq Your Bible to the lead immediately, and they danced home to an overwhelming victory. Trained by Lilith Boucher, Marq Your Bible also ran the distance in 4:03. Owner-trainer William Wofford’s Albus finished second, and owner-trainer Alicia Murphy’s Hooping was third in a field on seven.
McCarthy and Geraghty maintained their positions atop the jockey standings. McCarthy has 15 wins to lead the jockey colony, and Geraghty is second with 13 victories.