Aiken Trials Recap

 The 63^rd renewal of the Aiken Trials took place Saturday, March 19^th, in front of a crowd of several thousand revelers enjoying a perfect spring day- and the horse racing matched the great weather.

There were six Trials - three for two-year-old maidens and three for older horses. The two-year-old races were all quarter-mile races, while the older horses ran for 4 ½ furlongs.

The first race, the Gaver Trophy, was won by the Dogwood Stable entry of Ready Again.  The filly was ridden by Vanessa Feliciano and trained by Ron Stevens. Second was Ms. Behrens: owner, Nekia Farm (Aiken spelled backwards!); trainer Bruce Snipes, rider John Luzzi. Third was Idle Quest: owner, Stonerside Stable, trainer Tim Jones, rider Amy Gore.

Ready Again broke first and stayed on the lead all the way down the stretch, showing the quickness that trainer Ron Stevens knew she had: “She showed some quickness, and we knew she would run well. We wanted her to get some experience, and I’m very pleased with the way she moved and responded.”

The second race, the Coward Trophy, was for two-year-old colts and gelding, was won by Private Nekia. Owned by Nekia Farm, trained by Bruce Snipes and ridden by John Luzzi. Second was the Dogwood Stable colt Blotto, trained by Ron Stevens and ridden by Billy Bernard. Third was South of Broad, owned by Stonerside Stable, trained by Tim Jones, ridden by Amy Gore.  Private Nekia won by almost two lengths, under expert handling by Luzzi, one of the leading jockeys at Charles Town Racecourse.

The Post Trophy was the day’s third trail, for maiden two-year-old colts and fillies (with the added condition of having sires stand for less than $15,000). Trainer Ron Stevens scored his second win of the day with the speedy daughter of City Zip – named Caught In The Zip. Owned by Azalea Stables, she was ridden by Victor Negrete.

Azalea Stables also took a second in that race – with Out Of Cash, trained by Alberto Negrete and ridden by Amanda Casey. Third was Dogwood Stables’ Songandaflash trained by Ron Stevens and ridden by Vanessa Feliciano.

The Von Stade Trophy was next on the day’s race card. Nekia Farms, Bruce Snipes and John Luzzi returned to the winner’s circle with the South Carolina-bred Juniper Jack. The three-year-old gelding is the son of Ride the Storm (who stands at Franklin G. Smith’s Elloree Training Center). He had the race all his own way and still was just 2/5ths of a second off the track record of :53 3/5 for the 4 ½ furlongs – set last year by another Snipes runner, Rocketeering.

Second in the Von Stade was the Marshall Lamb-owned/trained Dixie Dazzler, ridden by Vanessa Feliciano. Third was Stonerside Stable’s Somebody Smart, trained by Tim Jones and ridden by Amy Gore.

The fifth trial was the Iselin Hall of Fame Trophy for maiden fillies and mares three and up (4 ½ furlongs). Dogwood Stable’s three-year-old Catered (by Lil’s Lad), trained by Ron Stevens and ridden by Vanessa Feliciano, took control coming out of the gate and showed heart and courage coming down the stretch to hold off a late-charging Autumn Memories. John Hamilton rode the second-place finisher, who is owned by Helen Andrews and trained by Anne Mitchell. Third was Golden Leaf; owned by Kip Knelman, trained by Tim Jones and ridden by Hilary Pridham.

The final race of the day was the City of Aiken Trophy and for the third year in a row this race for three-year-olds and up (at 4 ½ furlongs) was won by a Bruce Snipes-trained horse. The Nekia Farm four-year-old Victor Watz under a rousing ride by John Luzzi, held off a fast-closing Cripple Creek to win the big race of the day.

“This is the race I wanted to win,” said Snipes after the winner’s circle photo was taken. “It looks as if he’s responded to the surgery he had to remove chips in both his knees.”

Second-place finisher Cripple Creek is owned by Gregory Hawkins and trained by Aiken Training Track President Mike Freeman, and was ridden by John Hamilton. Don’t Not was third; owned by Barbara Baranello, trained by her husband Lou and ridden by Alice Knowles.