A highly competitive field will line up Saturday for the $30,000 Genesee Valley Hunt Cup, the sanctioned feature race of the Genesee Valley Hunt Races in Geneseo, N.Y.
Trainer Kathy Neilson will play a strong hand with Armata Stables’ Embarrassed and Joshua G.
Embarrassed is coming off a victory in a Winterthur timber allowance on May 3, while Joshua G. won the Martha S. Wadsworth Memorial maiden timber race at last year’s Genesee Valley meet. McLane Hendriks was named on both.
Leading owner Irv Naylor will have two representatives in the 3 1/2-mile Genesee Valley Hunt Cup. Personal Brew, trained by Billy Meister, won a maiden timber race at Foxfield Spring and lost his rider in the Willowdale Steeplechase on May 10. Fritz Boniface has the mount.
Cyril Murphy trains Naylor’s Ebanour, who finished second in the John D. Schapiro Memorial amateur apprentice timber at My Lady’s Manor on April 11. Lia McGuirk will ride.
Todd McKenna named Annie Yeager to ride Welcome Here Farm’s Be Great. The owner-trainer-rider team combined to win last year’s Genesee Valley Hunt Cup with Serene Harbor.
Leading timber rider Mark Beecher has begun training, and James Stierhoff will ride Howood Stable’s Sky Count for Beecher.
Here is the field for the $30,000 Genesee Valley Hunt Cup.
Ebanour (Ire). 2007 ch. g., Indian Ridge—Ebadilya, by Sadler’s Wells. Owner: Irvin S. Naylor. Trainer: Cyril Murphy. Jockey: Lia McGuirk. Breeders: Aga Khan’s Studs (Ire). 2015 record: 1-0-1-0, $1,800. 2014 record: No starts. After missing the 2014 season, returned with a good second in John D. Schapiro Memorial amateur apprentice timber at My Lady’s Manor.
Sky Count. 2006 ch. g., Sky Classic—Dreams Count, by Unaccounted For. Owner: Holwood Stable. Trainer: Mark Beecher. Jockey: James Stierhoff. Breeder: Ruth Fitzgerald (Ky.) 2015 NSA record: No starts. 2014 record: No starts. Returned with run in Shawan Downs training flat race for trainer-jockey. Fell in previous jump start at 2013 Grand National.
Be Great. 2007 b. g., Gulch—Classic Ingrid, by Regal Classic. Owner: Welcome Here Farm. Trainer: Todd McKenna. Jockey: Annie Yeager. Breeder: Equivine Farm (Pa.) 2015 record: 3-0-0-1, $4,000. 2014 record: 2-1-0-0, $9,000. Finished fourth in 2015 Radnor Hunt Cup after third in Winterthur Bowl. Won maiden victory at Winterthur in 2014.
Joshua G. 2006 ch. g., Run Softly—Search for Reality, by Regal Search. Owner: Jason L. Cole. Trainer: Kathy Neilson. Jockey: McLane Hendriks. Breeder: Jason L. Cole (Pa.) 2015 record: 2-0-0-0, $3,750. 2014 record: 3-1-0-0, $10,400. Finished fifth in Maryland Hunt Cup after eighth in My Lady’s Manor. Homebred won 2014 Martha S. Wadsworth Memorial maiden timber race at the Genesee Valley Hunt Races in New York, then was fifth in the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup.
Personal Brew. 2006 dk. b. or br. g., Milwaukee Brew—Sergeant Mimi, by Personal Flag. Owner: Irvin S. Naylor. Trainer: William Meister. Jockey: Fritz Boniface. Breeders: Tammy Barnes and John Ubelhor, D.V.M. 2015 record: 3-1-0-0, $9,000. 2014 record: No starts. Won Foxfield Spring maiden timber after unplaced finish in John Rush Streett division at My Lady’s Manor. Lost rider in Winterthur timber allowance.
Embarrassed. 2005 b. g., Flatter—Stormy Blast, by Kayrawan. Owner: Armata Stables. Trainer: Kathy Neilson. Jockey: McLane Hendriks. Breeder: James S. Karp (Ky.) 2015 record: 2-1-0-0, $6,000. 2014 record: 2-0-0-0, $1,500. Won Winterthur timber allowance after being pulled up in My Lady’s Manor timber allowance. Finished fourth in the 2014 Grand National, then fell early in the Maryland Hunt Cup. Won 2013 Willowdale Steeplechase.