Always in good position, Rosbrian Farm’s Officer Sydney seized control of Foxfield Spring’s $30,000 Daniel Van Clief Memorial in the late going on Saturday and prevailed by two lengths over second finisher Lake Champlain. Pure Deal was third and front-runner Orchestra Leader was fourth.
Trained by Ricky Hendriks and ridden by Ross Geraghty, Officer Sydney tracked Orchestra Leader’s pace and took over as the 2017 Van Clief winner began to tire. Irv Naylor’s Lake Champlain, making his first start since winning a Colonial Cup handicap in November 2016, finished seven lengths clear of Pure Deal.
Officer Sydney, second in the Georgia Cup on April 7, ran the Van Clief’s 2 1/8 miles in 4:05 on turf rated as good.
Hendriks and Geraghty combined for three wins on the five-race Foxfield Spring program. The won the maiden hurdle for fillies and mares with Eve Ledyard’s Quarla, and they closed the day with a maiden claiming victory by Rosbrian’s Cheers to Us. Hendriks moved into second place in the trainer standings by both wins and purses behind Jonathan Sheppard, and Geraghty is tied for third by wins behind leader Jack Doyle and 2017 champion jockey Darren Nagle. He is second on the purses list behind Doyle.
Rosbrian’s two wins moved George Mahoney Jr.’s racing operation to the top of the owners list with $103,100 in 2018 purses. From 10 starts, Rosbrian has three wins, four second-place finishes, and a third.