In a thrilling battle to the finish line, Stewart
Strawbridge’s Guts For Garters (left) bested Imperial Way by a nose in the 118th
renewal of the historic Maryland Hunt Cup on Saturday, April 26.
Lightly regarded after an eighth-place finish in a Grand
National amateur timber allowance race a week earlier, Guts For Garters
conquered the tall fences on the Maryland Hunt Cup course in Glyndon, and
jockey Jody Petty drove the 11-year-old Irish-bred through the stretch to the
finish line.
Guts For Garters had just enough to win the head bob over
Merriefield Farm’s Imperial Way, ridden by Bethany Baumgardner. Merriefield’s
Bon Caddo, the 2011 timber champion, took the third spot, and two-time Hunt Cup
winner Twill Do was fourth for the second straight year.
Trained by Sanna Neilson, Guts For Garters ran the Hunt
Cup’s four miles in 9:20. The Hunt Cup win marked a milestone for Petty, a
former champion jockey who began riding as an amateur last year. He had entered
semi-retirement previously and decided to keep active in the sport by riding as
an amateur.
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