Team Senior Senator & The Challenge Cup
by Katherine O. Rizzo On the last Saturday in April, history was
made when Irvin “Skip” Crawford, II, retired the Challenge Cup at the Maryland Hunt Cup with his third win as owner. “It’s just incred- ible,” he said. In the 125 years of the Maryland Hunt Cup, the biggest timber course in the U.S., Crawford became only the seventh owner to retire the cup. Just a few years earlier, his big, gangly bay
horse, Senior Senator, was romping around the flat track making a bad name for himself. He was often difficult to handle on race days and had tossed a few jockeys. “Tat same spirit that makes him a little difficult to handle is what makes him a great Hunt Cup horse,” said Se- nior Senator’s trainer Joe Davies. But what truely makes Senior Senator great horse is the right team of people who came to- gether to turn him into the timber champion he is today.
The Right Horse Te Pennsylvania-bred son of Domestic Dis-
pute, out of the Awesome Again mare Queen Kennelot, spent his first few years as a flat track horse, running in Maiden Claiming races. His best finishes were a pair of seconds at Penn Na- tional and Timonium, both during his three- year-old season. “My wife [Blythe Miller Da- vies] saw some video of him online and really liked the look of him so I called the Crawfords to see what they thought,” said Davies. Although technically only Skip Crawford
Team Senior Senator celebrating their third Maryland Hunt Cup win and the retiring of The Challenge Cup.
lifestyle. “Horses always tend to find us,” said Vicki. “We’d be looking at one horse or another and then a different one we weren’t expecting would be the one we bought. It’s the same with our foxhunters!” Te Crawfords had previously found suc- cess with Davies as their trainer and a scrappy horse named Motocade. “My daughter Camille [Finley] had jumped him around a little down in Virginia and we decided to purchase him,” explained Skip. Motocade went on to become the Novice Steeplechase Champion in 1993 and ran successfully abroad in England as well. “He was also a difficult horse to handle,” said Davies. Over a decade later, Davies was on the phone
third. Ten Martin Rohan took to the irons in November to finish second in the Training Flat for Apprentice Riders at the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Races. “We had been out of racing for a little while when Joe [Davies] called us about Senior [Sen- ator] but we’ve always had a good relationship with Joe so just went for it!” Skip remarked.
The Right Rider Te following year, Davies had Senior Senator
run over hurdles at the Loudoun Hunt Point to Point in April 2014. “Eric Poretz was his jockey for that one and it went really well,” said Davies. “Unfortunately, NSA changed the rules that year and young riders could not ride in hurdle races any more so we switched jockeys at Fair Hill and that, well, it did not go as well.” “I remember that Fair Hill race!” Skip ex-
claimed. “Senior was running well and then after turning back towards the grandstand, he tossed his rider and jumped a few gates on his way back to the barn. We weren’t sure what we had gotten into but we trust Joe with our horses very much.” “After that, we all knew we wanted Eric back
In what has become Senior Senator’s style of racing, he took to the lead early in the 2019 Maryland Hunt Cup and never gave it up.
is listed on official records as Senior Senator’s owner, steeplechase racing is a family affair for the Crawfords. “We got into all of this because of the [Potomac] hunt club,” Skip Crawford explained. With his wife, Vicki, the two vol- unteered at the club’s annual spring point to point. One thing led to another and owning steeplechase horses just became part of their
20 | THE EQUIERY | JUNE 2019
chatting with the Crawfords about Senior Senator. “I told them we had this horse that could be a really impressive horse or could im- plode,” Davies stated. “It really was a toss up but he had the makings of a great horse.” Ross Geraghty rode the then three-year-old Senior Senator in the Training Flat at Te Races at Shawan Downs in September 2013, finishing
on board so we were forced to switch Senior Senator to timber,” explained Davies. “Te Crawfords always wanted a hurdle horse but timber is where we had to run the horse if we wanted to keep Eric as his jockey, which we re- ally wanted to do.” Poretz, a pony clubber, was just graduating from the junior races and look- ing for more experience in the big league races. With Poretz back in the irons, Senior Senator won the Maiden Timber, his first timber race, at the Blue Ridge Fall Races in September 2014. From that point on, Poretz remained Senior Senator’s jockey. “Eric is a lot like the horse. He’s a free spirit and fearless,” said Da- vies, adding, “Te only thing Eric is scared of is continued...
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Katherine O. Rizzo
Robert Keller
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