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By Betsy Parker
Rappahannock News Wnter
After the way Bowman’s Crossing handled heavy footing at Saturday’s Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point — shrugging off seven competitors like they were tied to a picket line and cleaning out the windpipes following a 16-month layoff — Trainer Richard Valentine can be forgiven for thinking big.
Unseen since devastating a maiden field at Glen wood Park in the fall of 2001, the Virginiabred son of Cozzene clearly recalled his duties. The Whitewood Farm homebred led for the first two of three miles, fencing brilliantly under rider Woods Winants.
Winants took back to give the big gray a breather after the 10th fence before reclaiming the lead at the third last. Never threatened, Bowman’s Crossing drew off to win by eight.
The winning time of 6:45 3/5 was more than 16 seconds quicker than the next fastest race at the three-mile distance.
“This a great course to give a horse coming back confidence,” said Valentine, private trainer fo£Whitewood Farm in The Plains. “The ground was a bit testing, but he ran beautifully.”
Valentine said that his next target would be the April 19 Grand National races. The Butler, Md. course is considered one of the most testing in the nation, with four-board plank fence lines and a grueling climb to the finish line.
If Bowman’s Crossing passes that test, Valentine allowed that possibly he would look to the April 26 Maryland Hunt Cup in Glyndon.
“I would’ve liked to have seen him jump better out here today,” Valentine said. “But, hey, it was his first time out in forever, and it was sort of sticky out there, the ground was really holding.”
Noting that the Whitewood horse has been plagued with injuries during his brief steeplechase career, Valentine said that “we’ll of course have to see how he is later this week. But I think he’s earned himself a trip north.”
The Old Dominion prep route has been used by Maryland trainer Charlie Fenwick, whose Buck Jakes won the 1994, *97 and *98 Grand Nationals, plus the *95 and *97 Hunt Cups.
Putting those two gigantic Maryland wins back-to-back is a harder task: Welter Weight was the last to so do in 1999, and prior to Buck Jakes’ double in “97, look far back to 1985 for Our Steeplejack’s timber feat.
Both the Grand National and Maryland Hunt Cup are restricted to amateur jockeys; Winants’ amateur status may play a key role in the route for Bowman’s Crossing. All other timber races in the U.S. are open to professional and amateur jockeys.
Earlier on the Old Dominion card, Valentine and Winants paired up for novice hurdle victory with Barbara Graham’s Crafty Celt, a repeat win
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